Band-Aides

Here are a few things that children with serious illnesses have had to say about their experience at school (taken from the “Band-Aides & Blackboards” website)

• “I wish you would treat me like a student instead of like a patient. I’m not sick, so when you ask me if I feel OK all the time, this heart problem that I have feels like a heavy weight.”
• “I really want to be just like everybody else, so please don’t expect me to give lessons about my leukemia to the class. Then I stand out like a sore thumb.”
• “When you asked me privately if I’d like to tell the class about my arthritis, it made me feel special, like I was in charge. Thanks!”
• “I have to drink a lot of water to stay healthy, and it was so nice of you to let everyone in the class keep water bottles on their desks. It didn’t make me feel weird.”
• “Because I have to test my blood and give myself Insulin shots while I’m in school, I’m glad that you know about my diabetes, and that you don’t make a big deal about it. I feel safe.”
• “When I’m not paying attention in class, it’s often because my heart isn’t sending out enough oxygen, not because I’m being bad. I wish that you would know those signs, so that I wouldn’t always be getting in trouble.” 
• “When kids were making fun of me for being clumsy, you had a class meeting about all of our differences. I never thought of my muscular dystrophy that way before, and it really helped me.”
• “What a surprise to get a videotape from the class when I was in the hospital. All the other kids were so impressed. My roommate said, ‘Boy, you must really be popular.’”
• “I hate it when you keep asking if I can eat this or do that. I know what my limitations are and I can look after myself. It also embarrasses me in front of my friends.”
• “I’m in preschool and I have epilepsy. Since none of my classmates have problems like that, I really appreciated it when my teacher read a book about taking epilepsy to school. The neurologist sent it to my mom, and she gave it to the teacher. The good thing is that now the teachers know about seizures in case I have one at school. It also felt pretty cool to have the teacher read a book about me! So if you have kids in your class with epilepsy, or any other problem, just ask for a book about it so that you’ll understand.”

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