Missing School

[Booghead]

How do you guys deal with missing school? I have missed 6 days in 3 weeks and I'm sick with a cold and will probably miss more this week. What do you do when you miss for Celiacs and then miss for something like this? I am so behind in school. I just don't know what to do.

Any advice or help?

[kareng]

High school, right? Email all your teachers. Look at their websites. Try to keep your homework up to date. Have someone turn in your homework. Have someone get stuff out of your locker that you need or go after school and get it.

If you show the teachers you are trying, most will work with you. You may have to get your mom or dad involved. Of course, they are calling your absences in, right?

[dilettantesteph]

My kids both miss a lot of school and their school is really tough about missed work and missed days. It is a lot of effort, but they do manage to make everything up. It helps to e-mail the teachers when you are out. It can also help to explain your medical condition to them. Then they know that you are serious about school and can't help the absences. If so, you can say that you are too sick to make up any work yet, but you will get to it as soon as you feel like you can.

When you return to school, make sure to see all your teachers the first day back to get make up instructions. Keep careful track of all the make up lab, test etc. appointments. It is easy to double book. When you think that you have caught up with everything, go to your teachers and ask one more time if you have made up everything. Often something has slipped through the cracks and one zero can really hurt your average.

Call the doctor and have him send a note about how you have just been diagnosed with celiac disease and how it may cause more absences until you learn the diet. That can go in your file and if you get in trouble you can refer them to the note.

[Ginger Sturm]

How do you guys deal with missing school? I have missed 6 days in 3 weeks and I'm sick with a cold and will probably miss more this week. What do you do when you miss for Celiacs and then miss for something like this? I am so behind in school. I just don't know what to do.

Any advice or help?

At my high school, I was on the 504 plan. It basically was for students who got sick alot and it just means that no matter how many days I missed, I never lost credit. Maybe talk to a counselor about it? Most of my teachers were really cool about it and let me take home tests (which was part of the 504 plan)

Good luck!

[mommida]

Not a teenager, but sometimes parents do have some information that helps.

My kids were missing so much school it really wasn't fair at all. To be handed a stack of make-up work with no directions, no *special notes (like skip this question because it is way too hard, and you haven't been taught the skills to solve it), and what is a reasonable amount of time to turn in this late work?

You can get "homebound" status. You aren't expected to go to school but all the work is dumped on you to do from home. A district teacher is put on your case and you get a visit at least once a month.

I found an on-line public charter CYBER school. It is connections academy. If you check out the website make sure you are in the public school section as there is a private school (tuition $) option. It is not in every state. There are more cyber schools starting in more states. Maybe it is an option for you? Sometimes it is lonely, so make sure you go out and spend time in interest group activities and with friends.

My daughter has been able to go back to gymnastic classes, because she is not as exhausted all the time. (She has Celiac and Eosinophilic Esophagitus) It is really good for her to stay out of an allergen everywhere school environment!

Until you make a decision about your future education plans... The previous post about contacting the schools and teachers through phone, and e-mail are your options right now.

Good luck!

[jhuebner]

We have our son on a "medical IEP" one step up from a 504plan. He's in 9th grade this year, & we have to start "retraining" a whole new building of folks about his IEP and his Celiac. UGGG...

Fortunately our other 2 older son's had either an IEP or 504, (for whole other reasons) & they are used to us! Having mom be a school board member for 12 of the last 13 years has helped a bit too. Not that you have to go to that extreme, but having an advocate for special needs kids on the board has helped the district learn "A LOT" ...

Our school uses Google Docs for most of the class room work anyway so he's able to keep up (mostly). The German 1 teacher's not letting him back in, this winter so we're going to have to look into our options for foreign language, at least to get German 1 done so he's able to jump into German 2 next year. Kind of ditto for band, so he's decided to do Choir ... it works for him.

He missed ~ 9 weeks of 8th grade, and is on track for that or more this year ... poor kid.

One day lately a "troupe" of his minions (all girls) showed up at the door to check on him... "you know where he is" ... & off they tromped to his room. It was so cute!

IDK why the school has such difficulty with this concept, they've had to have dealt with a kid doing Chemo or some other long term illness before ? ??? I'm going to contact our AEA (Area Education Agency) ... the thing here in Iowa that the School Districts use as their "how to" resource. DUhhhhhhh...

This is a good topic, hope to see more posts!

JLH

[Eric096]

im always sick but i still manage to go to school.

Not really sure it helps me keep up though because I cant focus when im sick.

P.S. I cant find out how to change my profile picture could someone help?

[Mark.]

At my high school, I was on the 504 plan. It basically was for students who got sick alot and it just means that no matter how many days I missed, I never lost credit. Maybe talk to a counselor about it? Most of my teachers were really cool about it and let me take home tests (which was part of the 504 plan)

Good luck!

Do you know if the 504 plan could maybe still be in my school even though I go to a private school? I've been missing LOTS of school lately and am mostly caught up except for one class in particular, AP Calculus... Like someone else said, on the days where I'm feeling terrible even if I go to school and doesn't really seem to help much as it just sucks and I can't focus.

[ravenwoodglass]

Do you know if the 504 plan could maybe still be in my school even though I go to a private school? I've been missing LOTS of school lately and am mostly caught up except for one class in particular, AP Calculus... Like someone else said, on the days where I'm feeling terrible even if I go to school and doesn't really seem to help much as it just sucks and I can't focus.

Yes you would still be covered under a 504 in a private school. Talk to your counselor or advisor. Your parents might want to also contact the deans office to see how to get one in place. Meanwhile talk to your Calculus instructor and see if there is someone who might tutor you to help you with stuff you miss.

[patz16]

I haven't been diagnosed yet, and so I am not sure if I count. I have missed many days of school, but I have always managed to catch up. I go to a small school, so I suppose that helps a lot. The idea is to always stay ahead anytime you have a chance - I know it sounds hard , but I'm in 11th grade now and it has worked for me