When your child suffers from a chronic illness that requires long hospital visits and treatments, it's hard to keep up with life, let alone worry about the schooling he's missing. Long stays on the hospital bed, late nights worrying, fighting through the physical effects of medication or therapy can all hamper a student's ability to keep learning.
Normalcy in the form of a consistent schedule is highly recommended for children whose physical health is beyond their control. However, the logistics of attending school are nearly impossible for those with physical impairments or situations that need continuous care.
Enter online learning.
– Online learning allows your student to log into lessons from wherever they are (including the hospital, care unit, or home.)
– Lessons are often self-paced so students can move faster when feeling better or slower when having bad days.
– Online lessons can also include fun activities like online chats with fellow students (which can help bring socialization to your child), learning games, videos, interactive media, and so forth.
A chronically ill child can easily fall so far behind in school, that it's difficult for him to make up time, often graduating high school late (often prolonging dependency on adults). Another factor parents struggle with is peer isolation or bullying if in a group of learners who don't understand the medical condition at hand.
Online school can offer friendship of fellow distance learning classmates and teachers who don't judge by appearances. More practical and affordable than tutoring, consistent online lessons can also build independent learning skills and provide motivation for staying on pace for less catching up on lessons later. Continuing lessons can sometimes even be a distraction for physical pain.
What's your opinion on chronically ill children doing online lessons?