Are asthmatic children educationally handicapped?

Abstract

Asthma is a common illness of childhood and may place children at risk for educational difficulties. Some asthmatic children demonstrate neurocognitive impairment or interruption in academic progress as a direct or indirect effect of the disease or its treatment. Contributing factors may include increased school absenteeism, medication side effects, and in severe instances respiratory arrest and hypoxia. However, for most asthmatic children these factors do not result in educational impairment. Neither illness severity or rate of school absence predict achievement levels. Further, several studies have demonstrated that, on average, academic achievement among asthmatic children is no less than that of their peers. Those at greatest risk for difficulty in school adaptation are children with poorly controlled asthma who are isolated from peers and physically inactive. The risks for educational as well as psychosocial impairment in these children is further increased with the co-occurrence of multiple risk factors, including severe illness, poverty, and family dysfunction.

IQ Scores of Children with Moderate Asthma: A Comparison with Healthy Children

“…4 However, as with other studies, the current work has shown that asthma does not alter cognitive function. 12,13 Keremer and colleagues conducted a study on 26 allergic rhinitis patients and compared them with 36 healthy people aged from 16 to 65 years. They showed that although psychological symptoms such as somatic disorders, anxiety, sleep disorders and depression were higher among the patients, their cognitive function was similar to the healthy group.…”

A randomized trial to test the effectiveness of art therapy for children with asthma

“…Further, the illness can interfere with a child's education, acceptance by peers, and participation in extracurricular activities. 1 Such restrictions in turn may limit childhood experiences important to the child's psychological development. The chronically ill child with many limitations may have difficulty developing a healthy self-concept.…”

A text message a day keeps the pulmonologist away

“…It is responsible for the most school absences caused by a chronic condition [37]. Some researchers have argued that this leads children to have an academic handicap [6,22,25]. Beyond the psychosocial effects of having a chronically ill child, asthma has a negative economic toll on families.…”