THE CHRONICALLY ILL CHILD IN THE SCHOOL

Chronic illness affects up to 20% of children in the school aged popul ation of which 5% are severely compromised. Facilitating successful fu nctioning for these youths is a growing problem for schools, children and their families, and health care professionals. Clearly, school fun ctioning is critical in the overall adjustment of the school aged chil d and adolescent. This article focuses on the problems encountered by the chronically ill child in the school setting from the point of re-e ntry after having been either diagnosed with a chronic illness or havi ng survived such an illness. Both barriers to attendance and academic performance are addressed. Finally, the role of the school psychologis t in maximizing the chronically ill student's success in school as an ongoing process is delineated.