It’s the news no parent ever wants to hear, that their child is facing a life-threatening chronic disease. It’s a nightmarish prospect but one all too common for the tens of thousands of children affected by CKD. If you’re lucky enough to catch it in time, you can manage your child’s symptoms and improve their outcome, but CKD is an illness that not only attacks the body, it drains sufferers of their mental and emotional well-being as well.

Unfortunately, in children who have kidney disease and are still developing, this often can hinder their performance in school. Although this may seem to be the least of their troubles, school lays an important foundation for your child’s future. Not to mention, it can provide them with a welcome distraction from tedious medical appointments and/or dialysis sessions. 

A recent study utilized data from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition, Abbreviated (WIAT-II-A) to measure academic performance of children with CKD in a number of subjects. One-third of the children exhibited lower academic achievement, most notably in mathematics, which researchers surmised was the result of high absenteeism.  

Although your child may be struggling with a number of issues, the importance of their continued academic progress cannot be undervalued or overlooked. It’s important that parents of children with CKD take extra care to offer encouragement and vigilance regarding their child’s schoolwork and at the first signs of struggle, take the necessary steps to remedy the situation. This may entail extra help with teachers or the contracting of a tutor or enrollment in a learning center. 

There are numerous options available which can help. With adequate attention and assistance, there’s no reason your child can’t enjoy continued academic success in spite of their CKD.

Be sure to check out our other articles on childhood kidney disease here for more tips on what you can do to help your child deal with this devastating disease.