Your history teacher means well, but she sends you to the nurse’s office every time you so much as cough. Your coach can’t understand why you need to take so many breaks during track practice. It can be hard to talk about asthma, but your safety at school depends on giving teachers and coaches the information they need to know in order to deal with an emergency — and when to let you manage your asthma on your own.

Teaching teachers about asthma

Your teachers may know a lot about math or English, but don’t assume they know a thing about asthma. Even if they have their own friends and family members with asthma, everyone has different symptoms and triggers. So your teachers and coaches need to find out from you what your particular asthma needs are. The best time to talk to teachers and coaches about asthma is at the start of the school year. But even if the school year is well under way, it’s never too late to talk about asthma

The National Institutes of Health provides a few guidelines for educating people about asthma. When talking to your teachers and coaches, explain the following:

• As long as your asthma is under control, you can do anything anyone else can do. Gym teachers and team coaches especially need to know this. Otherwise, they may feel uncomfortable letting you go all out while playing sports.
• You know how to manage an asthma episode. Describe the steps you take to prevent and control symptoms. In fact, many schools require that you leave a copy of your asthma action plan with the school nurse. The more specific you are about your management plan, the more confident teachers and coaches will feel about your ability to control asthma symptoms on your own. Many teens manage their asthma symptoms during gym or sports practice by taking a few puffs on their inhaler and spending about 15 minutes warming up. If your gym teacher or coach knows why that makes a difference, he or she will better appreciate this timeout.
• What help, if any, you need during an asthma episode. It’s best to discuss these details before you’re coughing and wheezing in the middle of algebra. Agree on a hand signal (such as holding up an index finger while raising your hand) that will communicate to your teacher or coach that you need help. And work out beforehand what kind of help you’d prefer. The same system can work for other situations. If you don’t like using your inhaler in front of classmates, work out a sign that alerts your teacher that you need to leave the room to use it. In gym class, a hand signal can tell your teacher you need an extra break.

The embarrassment factor

If you feel self-conscious about having asthma, you can take steps to make yourself feel more comfortable when talking to teachers and coaches. Bring your best friend with you if that helps. Or enlist the help of your school nurse, who understands many of the issues facing teens with asthma. Some teens prefer to write down their asthma needs and concerns and give the list to their teachers to read after class.

Along with your school nurse, your teachers and coaches are part of your asthma management team. Good communication can take some of the pressure off in classroom situations, and even help reduce the number of asthma episodes you have at school. You may also find that it’s easier to participate in class discussions and sports when you don’t have to worry as much about asthma. In the end, teachers will respect you for your honesty. They may even help you come up with new ways to cope with asthma at school.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 6:41 am and is filed under Teens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.