Other Health Impairments What are they?

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Other Health ImpairmentsWhat are they?

• Spirit Lake Consulting. Inc.
• Fort Totten, ND

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What does OHI mean to staff in the schools?

• The student with other health impairments does
  not have the strength or alertness to keep up
  with their class.
• Common other health impairments on the
  reservations are asthma, ADD, ADHD and
  diabetes.
• Less common health impairments are epilepsy,
  heart conditions, or hemophilia.
• These health conditions impair a students
  ability to perform successfully in their
  education UNLESS MODIFICATIONS ARE MADE.

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ASTHMA

• The most common other health impairment in
  children. During an asthma attack, the air
  breathed in gets stuck in the lungs and the
  airway starts to close. A mucus formation starts
  to build and the person breathes out less air
  than they breathed in. When this happens, the
  person then starts to breathe quickly and deeper,
  but this only causes rapid breaths that are not
  helpful. Asthma medication can reduce the
  frequency of these attacks for some children.
  Most children with asthma will use an inhaler
  which helps them breathe when an asthma attack
  occurs.

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ASTHMA (continued)

• A major impact of asthma is on attendance. The
  average child with asthma misses 3-4 days of
  school per year due to asthma . About 10 of
  children with asthma miss TWO WEEKS or more of
  school due to asthma.

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• There are three types of ADHD
• Predominantly Inattentive Type serious
  inattention problems, but few hyperactivity/impuls
  ive symptoms
• Combined Type serious inattention problems and
  serious problems with hyperactivity and
  impulsivity
• Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type
  serious problems with hyperactivity/impulsivity,
  but not much problem with inattention
• For more information, we highly recommend CHADD
• http//www.chadd.org/
• Children and Adults with Attention
  Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)

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DIABETES

• Diabetes occurs when a persons pancreas stops
  making, or makes less, of a hormone called
  insulin. When a person does not have insulin,
  their cells do not absorb glucose and all the
  unused sugar in a persons body starts to build
  up in the blood. The kidneys then try to filter
  out all the excess sugar.
• Type I is insulin-dependent diabetes. It is most
  common in children ages ten through sixteen and
  usually develops before a age 35.
• Type II is no- insulin-dependent and happens when
  a persons body cannot make or use insulin. This
  type is most common in people over 40, those who
  have a family history of diabetes and are
  overweight.

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DIABETES

• Diabetes affects childrens school performance by
  its impact on attendance (school days are missed
  due to illness).
• Also, childrens ability to participate in
  physical education may be limited. This, however,
  depends on the child. Do not assume just because
  a child has diabetes he or she cannot play at
  recess or be a member of school teams. Discuss
  the childs abilities with parents and other
  members of the IEP team.
• Children may have low blood sugar episodes during
  school and take several hours to recover, thus
  having difficulty completing the days school
  work.

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Epilepsy

• Epilepsy is a seizure disorder. There are many
  types of seizures and a student may have one type
  or any combination of them.
• The two most common types are
• Generalized seizures (also called grand mal) -
  convulsions occur as all many of the persons
  muscles are involved. Sometimes people lose
  control of their bladder or bowels during a
  seizure.
• Absence seizures (also called petit mal) - last
  for just seconds. The person loses awareness of
  his or her surroundings.

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CANCER

• This disease causes a persons cells to grow
  uncontrollably. A common treatment is
  chemotherapy, which has many side effects,
  including increased chances of infection.
• More than half of students who have cancer have
  leukemia and brain tumors. These conditions may
  cause different types of learning problems, if
  the nervous system has been affected.

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HIV

• HIV is a disease caused by a virus. It weakens
  the immune system so that the person finds it
  harder to fight off illness. The virus can be
  transferred through any activity involving body
  fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid and
  breast milk.
• Relative to the other health impairments
  mentioned, HIV in children is extremely uncommon
  on most reservations.

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TEACHING STUDENTS WITH OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENTS
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Students may miss many days of school due to
illness. Accommodations should be made to keep
students from falling too far behind, including
sending work home and providing a tutor in the
childs home or after school. Most students
actually want to go to school, as they see it as
a distraction from their illness and they need to
socialize with their friends. Attending school
and being with their friends helps them to feel
normal. It is important to students who spend
much of their time in emergency rooms,
doctorsoffices and hospitals to just be able to
be a kid with the other kids.
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MORE TEACHING STRATEGIES
Change the lesson plans. If a student misses
class a lot because she is sick, the teacher
needs to change around the curriculum for her so
she is not so far behind. She can receive
lecture notes, videotaped lectures, or can use
the Internet in researching topics from home.
The teacher must also be aware of the students
physical condition and mental abilities. Often
students with health impairments do not have the
same stamina as other students. They can be
paired up with another student, given assignments
that are shorter, or given more time to complete
their work. They can use art instead of writing
in an assignment if their writing abilities or
other intellectual abilities have become limited
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MORE TEACHING STRATEGIES
Emotional issues. Students with OHI are
different from other students and they have to
deal with that fact. Some lose their hair from
chemotherapy, others cant eat anything with
sugar in it because of their diabetes, some have
seizures in front of their fellow classmates and
become embarrassed or labeled as strange. They
cannot blend in to be like everyone else because
they just arent, even when they want to be just
like everyone else. Other students may tease
them, because thats just what kids do.
Teachers have to be prepared for this and be
able to intervene when there is a problem. We
dont accept racist comments in our classrooms.
It is not a case of children can be cruel and
the child has to learn to deal with it. As
adults, we need to enforce acceptable behavior.
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MORE TEACHING STRATEGIES
Death issues. Students may be facing death and
may not live past their youth. Teachers have to
be ready if that situation comes up. They may
have to talk to the students classmates, or
perhaps the student and his/her family
themselves. They have to also be aware of their
own loss, losing a student. Some children are
comforted by the idea of leaving a legacy. You
may wish to work with the child to create
artwork, poems, stories or other articles for
family and friends. Again, this is one of those
areas where communication with parents is
essential.