School for Students with Ulcerative Colitis

For a child with Ulcerative Colitis, school can present many problems. These problems change based on the age of the student and the severity of the condition. The condition may be mild enough that no medicine is required or it may require medicine, which usually consists of some form of steroid. Steroids present their own problem in that they create weight gain and what is known as a "Cushing-Like" or round appearance. This can be particularly disturbing to young women.

Additionally, in very severe cases, there will be a surgical operation performed, which creates the need for major lifestyle changes; that of a new waste opening.

There are several things parents have to be aware of as their child passes through the stages of school.

First, a parent is smart to consider the extent of peer awareness. It is not necessary, early on, for a child to tell everyone they suffer from this illness. However, some kids are different than other kids and just don't have a problem with it; Ulcerative Colitis is truly a unique illness; changing person to person both in physical and emotional impact.

Sports present a unique problem as does the necessity of restroom privileges; often more demanding and frequent than those of other children. In the case of our son, contact sports were not considered to be wise nor were imbibing in excessive fluids all at one time

Typically, it is important to talk with the principal or counselor of your child's school to make them aware of the severity of your particular child's condition. Further, as with our son, a special diet had to be made available to him and this had to be discussed.

When our son first started school, we were more worried about seeing that he became aware of his condition before he worried about dealing with it as far as interacting with other people. As he got older and into high school, "being social" became way more important, however, by that time he was well-liked and the illness was just a "non-event".