Posted by Simon (62.7.21.200) on May 11, 2000 at 08:27:19:
In Reply to: School teachers with CH posted by Ron M on May 11, 2000 at 01:59:49:
Ron,
I’ve been teaching since I started these damned things, and have found that if children
know what is going on they understand better than a lot of adults.
I make a point, with each new class I see, of explaining what these things are, what they
can do to people, and what I have to do to stop them. I’m fortunate in that the Imigran
jabs are 100% effective.
So if I have an attack I explain that I have to pop out for a minute, and that when I return
I shall probably be a bit vague for five minutes or so. They have to understand that,
though I can deal with simple things in that time, I don’t want to have to concentrate on
lots of questions, or worry about their behaviour. Normally if someone steps out of line,
the rest of the group will stop him/her very rapidly.
If they haven’t seen the kit by that time, I then show them what it is, and how it works.
Taking the ampule out and showing them makes them realise that it is serious. (They
know they only have injections for important things, and that it must be more than a
headache!) If they’re squeamish about injections, they can look away.
Finally, making a little game of it by putting a light object or pencil on the end of the
actual firing mechanism, then shooting it across the room, can make them realise that
you can cope with it once the immediate pain is past. Presenting things in this matter-of-
fact way has never led to any complaints, and has produced a lot of understanding.
Before I had the jabs, and had to rely on waiting for the tablets to work, I always had a
scarf which I would wrap around my head, with the knot over the temple on the affected
side. They could actually see the symptoms, and got used to them. They knew they would
go away, and in the meantime got on with something useful. It is rare that the attack
comes on so quickly that you cannot find something for them to do in the “downtime”.
(The scarf became a trademark, and was lampooned in sketches at the end of term etc.)
I’m always puzzled by people who feel they have to hide their symptoms. True, people
do not like to have their faces rubbed in others’ illnesses, but by hiding things entirely
one removes the greatest aid to understanding ch., ie. seeing somone go through the mill.
In a few years, all those pupils I’ve taught will be out in the real world, with a knowledge
of and sympathy for, ch. sufferers. What better publicity for the cause - other than
OUCH!
Hope this helps,
Simon