Learning Challenges Your Child May Face

As a result of diagnosis or treatment, your child may have difficulties in school. Some academic problems may appear immediately, but others may not surface for several years. Because childhood cancer is rare--and studies on survivors continue to release new findings about educational late effects--educators may not be aware of all of the educational late effects. As a result, educators may view your child from a very different perspective than you. It is important for you to inform your child's teacher that potential learning problems may be related to cancer and its treatment.

It may be a good idea to request a 504 Plan for your child at diagnosis and continue it through high school. A 504 Plan is a legal document designed to plan a program of instructional services to assist students with special needs in a regular education setting. Keep the plan in place after your child's treatment ends, as this makes it easier to tap into resources, if needed.

Indicators of learning problems include:

Problems with handwriting or spelling.
Problems understanding what they read.
Problems completing tasks on time.
Schoolwork takes much longer for your child to complete compared to a healthy child.
Problems recalling math facts (e.g., multiplication tables) and performing calculations correctly when solving or organizing a math problem.
Problems writing neatly and/or quickly.
Increased difficulty remembering information that is 'seen' versus information that is 'heard.'
Difficulty processing, copying or writing information that is seen.
Difficulty remembering visual, novel and non-meaningful items.
Attention deficits.
Problems with short-term memory.
Difficulty planning and organizing schoolwork.

Your child may also have learning problems if:

Grades fall, particularly in math and spelling.
The teacher frequently reports that your child doesn't pay attention.
Homework takes much longer to complete than before.
Your child complains about school and frequently battles about homework..
Your child is continually frustrated with schoolwork

Interestingly, the following learning areas seem to be unaffected by cancer treatment:

The ability to learn and remember information that is heard.
The ability to understand the application of math concepts.
The ability to use spoken language to communicate understanding of concepts and new material.
The ability to recall information accurately if provided enough time.
The ability to be creative.

Remember, if you sense that your child is having trouble at school, talk to her teachers. Alert them to the possibility that the problems may be related to her illness and treatment. In some cases, learning difficulties can be alleviated with changes in the learning environment, such as relocating a child's seat or allowing extra time on a test. In other cases, there may be no way to restore the child's previous ability to learn. It may be helpful to seek neuropsychological evaluation to identify the possible cause of the problem. In every case, you should work with the educational team to alleviate your child's difficulties and reduce stress as much as possible.

National organizations serving persons with disabilities are listed in the Resources/Helpful Links menu under "General Education" and "Disabilities" sections.