Preparing the School for Your Child With Primary Immune Deficiency Disease

By Terri Mauro, About.com Guide

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Teachers can be great allies in keeping your child with Primary Immune Deficiency Disease (Primary Immunodeficiency) safe and successful in school, but you'll need to make sure they have all the knowledge they need to help. Use these suggestions to create a information packet to bring educators up to speed.

Five Things Teachers Need to Know

1. My child's immune deficiency is genetic and not contagious. It is not the same thing as AIDS (acquired immune deficiency). My child is not a danger to anyone, and should not be treated as such.

2. Other children and their germs can be a danger to my child, however. Please help students practice good hygiene in the classroom, and keep me and the school nurse informed of illnesses that may be going around.

3. My child may be absent due to illness or treatments more frequently than other students. Please pass on assignments as needed so that we can keep him current on work.

4. It's okay to let my child's classmates know about her condition as long as it is done in an appropriate way. I'd be happy to help prepare a program.

5. Please keep the lines of communication open between our home and the school. My child needs to have all of the adults in his life to be working together.