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Educators and parents collaborate to connect a homebound student with his classmates using two-way video technology.
Students with chronic diseases miss many days of school due to hospitalizations, illnesses, and medical appointments. Frequent or prolonged absences from the classroom may hinder academic performance and opportunities to socialize with peers. A live video and audio connection can link a homebound student to his or her classroom, teacher, classmates, and friends. This article is a case report of one school district's experience using interactive video-conferencing technology to educate and socialize a homebound middle grades student. The report includes a description of the video technology, its costs, and issues experienced in implementation; a discussion of the roles of the teachers, the tutor, the parents, and the student; an assessment of the benefits of the technology and considerations for the student; and a brief review of current technologies available to schools.
Adolescents with health care needs
The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs 2005-2006 (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative [CAHMI], n.d.) estimated that 13.9% of children ages 0-17 live with special health care needs, and 21.8% of households with children have at least one child with a special health care need. Children with special health care needs are defined as "those who have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally" (McPherson et al., 1998, p. 138). The survey also estimated 14.3% of children 5-17 years of age missed 11 or more days of school due to illness (CAHMI). Although children with special health care needs do attend school, many of them miss several days of school due to treatments, medical appointments, and hospitalizations. Moreover, 24% of children with special health care needs reported their health conditions consistently affected their daily activities (CAHMI).
Maintaining relationships with classmates
Frequent or prolonged absences from school make it difficult for students to maintain relationships with peers and succeed in their academic life. Normally, the amount of time spent with friends is greatest during middle childhood and adolescence, with teenagers spending about one-third of their waking hours with friends (Hartup & Stevens,...