Radious Guess thought her son's school administrators knew that he had sickle cell disease & what that meant for his education.

But They Didn't.

She found that out when she got a letter after her son's first grade year. Despite the fact that little Paul was an excellent student, school officials wanted to hold him back.

The Reason ??? Pain Crises & Hospitalizations, from Sickle Cell Anemia, had caused him to miss to much school.

"I thought they knew," Guess said. "I had always kept the school informed & brought in doctors' excuses when he was sick".

But she didn't let her son get held back a grade, because of ABSENCES, "OUTSIDE HIS CONTROL".

Instead, Guess began Researching & Discovered Something Many Parents Don't Know.

Paul was Eligible for a "SECTION 504 PLAN", a "FEDERAL LAW", That Ensures, That a Child, With a Disability, Has Equal Access...to EDUCATION.

It generally covers children with HEALTH ISSUES, SUCH AS SICKLE DISEASE OR DIABETES.

Many Parents have heard about Plans for Children with Learning Disabilities, BUT NOT FOR KIDS WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

"A lot of parents Don't Know, What's Out There," said Darlene Nsien-Reynolds, Education & Resource Coordinator, for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Oklahoma & A Sickle Cell Nurse, at St. Francis Hospital.

"One thing is, You're Bringing All the School Personnel Together at One Time," she said.

"They're going to hear about this child's condition. So When This Child is Absent & in the Hospital, They Have to Accommodate That Child".

By Approaching the School Counselor & Asking for This Plan, Guess Found Taht Paul, Got a Bluepprint Designed Just for Him. He was Allowed to Carry a Water Bottle in School & Go On Bathroom Breaks, as Needed. And he Wasn't Allowed to get To Hot, or To Cold.

"Children with Sickle Cell Need to Drink More Fluids & Have More BAthroom Breaks," said Cheryl Freeman, Executive Director of the (Oklahoma) State Sickle Cell Organization. "Sometimes, Chldren with Sickle Cell have to take some Pain Meds, That Make Them Drowsy. And Sickle Cell Kids Don't do so Well, in the Heat."

Children with Sickle Cell Disease Can Be Vulnerable to Pain Crises Without Allowances to Avert Thirst, Heat, & Other Needs. Many of the Crises Require Hospitalization or Blood Transfusions, she said.

After an Absence, Because of Health Reasons, These Children, Should Be Given the Chance to Make Up Homework, or to have Tutors, Freeman said.

Children with Other Conditions, Such as Diabetes, or Cancer, Also, Are Protected by the law. Each Child's Section 504 Plan is Customized for His or Her Needs.

Guess Has Another son, 5-year-old Seth, who has Type I Diabetes. He already has a Section 504 in Place, for When he Starts Kindergarten.

"I thought that by filling out eight forms of Health Information, in the Nurse's Office, at the Beginning of the School Year, Everyone at the School, Would Know What He Needed," she said. "I WAS WRONG". "I discovered that Information was Just Between the Nurse & Myself."

Lori Holmquist-Day, a Neuropsychiatrist at Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City, said Some School Districts, Are Unaware of Children's Right, to Have Their Health-Care Needs "MANAGED, AT SCHOOL".

"Children, with Cancer, Sickle Cell & Others Have Medical Needs, That Are Something, We CAN'T IGNORE, While They're in School." she said.

Holmquist-Day Noted One Patient's Mother Who Said the School, Told Her That Her Child, Could Go To School, ONLY A HALF DAY, Because He Was Diabetic & Needed Injections.

"NOT MANY PARENTS ARE AWARE OF *THEIR RIGHTS", she said..."ASK, AND IF YOU DON'T GET AN ANSWER YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, AS SOMEBODY ELSE".

Start With the Child's Physician, or School Counselor, Holmquist-Day, said. IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, CONTACT THE STATE (OF OKLAHOMA, OR ANY OTHER STATE) SCHOOL LEADER OF EDUCATION.

"They are so Open to Parents, & They Want Something, To Be Done", she said.

Now Entering Third Grade, Radious Guess' son Paul, is Better Able to Reach *His Academic Goals, Despite His Disease.

"I thought That I was By Myself,"...Guess Said.  "But I didn't have to be".

THIS ARTICLE...SHARED BY HAZEL DAVIS, bojacks1@yahoo.com 

CHILDREN WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS ARE PROTECTED BY THE LAW, & EACH CHILD'S SECTION 504 PLAN, IS CUSTOMIZED FOR *HIS / HER* NEEDS !!

(This article appeared in the Publication of The Tulsa World, Newspaper, dated Saturday July 26, 2008, a newspaper published at Tulsa, Oklahoma, a newspaper distributed across the State of Oklahoma.