Students with Special Health Issues
Rebecca L. Stern
Embedded Files
Social Anxiety
Depression
Terminal Illness
Obesity
Presentation for TLED 301-12592
Fall 2025
By Rebecca L. Stern
Picture this:
A calm environment that will allow its students to learn in a way that is comfortable and meaningful to them.
A classroom that provides inclusive accommodations that are not
obvious. Accommodations such as flexible seating, chairs that are weight-rated for adults, spacious enough to allow for the socially anxious, or depressed, the sick, or easily overstimulated.
That classroom would be inclusive!
Definition
Identify at least two indicators associated with each condition.
Wellness Strategies
Describe three proactive wellness strategies that can be communicated to families and locate at least two reliable school or community resources that support student wellness.
Academic Accommodations
Explain three classroom accommodations appropriate for students with special health considerations and match them to specific student needs in a given case scenario.
Special Health Considerations including Social Anxiety, Depression, Terminal Illness and Obesity are often overlooked conditions that present in very real ways in the classroom.
Social anxiety is defined as an intense fear of social interactions, including school and situations where children may feel singled out (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Children with social anxiety may cry, throw tantrums, cling to trusted adults, or refuse to speak.
Depression is a serious mental health disorder characterized by low mood, negative self-perception, and in severe cases, suicidal ideation or attempts (American Psychiatric Association, 2023). In children, depression often appears through changes in eating and behavior, such as withdrawal from peers or sudden loss of appetite.
Social anxiety is defined as an intense fear of social interactions, including school and situations where children may feel singled out (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Children with social anxiety may cry, throw tantrums, cling to trusted adults, or refuse to speak.
Depression is a serious mental health disorder characterized by low mood, negative self-perception, and in severe cases, suicidal ideation or attempts (American Psychiatric Association, 2023). In children, depression often appears through changes in eating and behavior, such as withdrawal from peers or sudden loss of appetite.
Across these conditions, common behavioral concerns include absenteeism, stomach aches, headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, food avoidance, and difficulty coping with emotions such as shame, guilt, or distress. These students are also at greater risk of bullying and harassment (National Association of School Psychologists, 2005).
Across these conditions, common behavioral concerns include absenteeism, stomach aches, headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, food avoidance, and difficulty coping with emotions such as shame, guilt, or distress. These students are also at greater risk of bullying and harassment (National Association of School Psychologists, 2005).
Special Health Considerations including Social Anxiety, Depression, Terminal Illness and Obesity are often overlooked conditions that present in very real ways in the classroom - What’s a Teacher to do?
👉Get to know your students!
👉Watch for their cues, their tell tale behaviors. By knowing normal, you will be able to assess avoidance behaviors if they arise.
👉Keep in communication with appropriate administrators at your school regarding absenteeism.
👉Keep in communication with your school nurse about medically-related symptoms and with the school counselor about emotional or behavioral concerns that they may assist with.
School-Based Resources:
Move This World → Emotional regulation videos (Move This World, n.d.).
Jane the Brain → Videos linking food and emotions (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.).
Dr. Yum Project → Nutrition education promoting healthy eating habits (Fernando, n.d.).
Any of these programs are beneficial for young children
Proactive Wellness Strategies
Wellness strategies should be school-approved and integrated into curriculum for all students.
Universal Practices that should be presented and discussed with students include: Adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, (involve your cafeteria staff for reinforcement of good choices at lunch) regular exercise, (work with physical education staff on programs for students with obesity) avoiding drugs, and routine medical care as well as screen time limitations.
There are resources that can be incorporated into the daily curriculum as instructional or as “brain break” opportunities.
Academic Accommodations
Students with social anxiety, depression, obesity, or terminal illnesses may need accommodations tailored to their needs. Teachers must acknowledge these conditions as real challenges and respond flexibly to help students succeed.
For example, students with social anxiety may fear being called on or asked to present in front of peers. Accommodations could include using personal whiteboards for group responses, creating smaller group activities, or assigning specific roles within groups.
Students with depression may benefit from additional emotional support and extra time for assignments without penalty.
THIS
THIS
NOT THIS!!
NOT THIS!!
Academic Accommodations
Students with obesity may require physical accommodations, such as desks that are not attached to chairs, chairs with high weight limit tolerances, and opportunities to participate in physical education without fear of bullying.
Students with terminal illnesses may require homebound instruction, extended deadlines, or classroom modifications such as air purifiers. Teachers must also reflect on their own reactions when supporting seriously ill students (Kaplan, 1974). Confidentiality is especially important, and families should guide how much information is shared with classmates.
Inclusive classroom practices should be the foundation for supporting students with special health considerations. When classrooms are structured to be flexible and accessible, most students’ needs can be met without major adjustments.
Interestingly, obesity was more often discussed as something to prevent rather than something to support in the present moment. This highlights the importance of focusing on the need to maintain the dignity and immediate needs of students already living with these conditions while encouraging positive pro-active behaviors.
In Summary
As educators, instruction must be adapted constantly to meet both academic and personal needs. Physical accommodations in the classroom can be the key to help students with special health concerns be successful in the classroom while they continue to deal with and resolve those health issues.
Self-awareness of our own biases is also critical. Kaplan (1974) emphasized that “children’s ability to cope is largely dependent on the behavior of the adults in the immediate environment” (p. 326).
Students look to us as models of resilience, and it is our responsibility to provide that example.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2023). Depression in children and adolescents. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/children-and-adolescents
Cleveland Clinic. (2023). Social anxiety disorder in children. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22242-social-anxiety-disorder
Fernando, N. M. (n.d.). The Dr. Yum Project. https://www.doctoryum.org/
Kaplan, D. M. (1974). School management of the seriously ill child. Journal of School Health, 44(6), 325–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.1974.tb08049.x
Move This World. (n.d.). Social emotional learning for schools. https://www.movethisworld.com/
National Association of School Psychologists. (2005). Helping children cope with health conditions. https://www.nasp.org
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Jane the Brain video series. [Video]. NIMH. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/get-involved/science-education/video-series-jane-the-brain
Segal, Y. (2024, May 2). Childhood obesity. In National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books
Stanford Medicine. (n.d.). Psychosocial needs of the dying child. https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=psychosocial-needs-of-the-dying-child-90-P03055
Stanford Medicine. (n.d.). Psychosocial needs of the dying child. https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=psychosocial-needs-of-the-dying-child-90-P03055
What set of behaviors and actions are characteristic of a student experiencing social anxiety?
A. Clinging to adults, refusing to speak, crying when singled out.
B. Disengagement in class and avoiding physical activities.
C. Irritability, appetite changes, and isolating socially
D. Withdrawal from peers and signs of sadness.
You are an elementary school teacher and you observe your student only eating part of their lunch, you observe them sitting alone at recess and avoiding joining in on the class soccer game.
Based on what you have learned, what condition might your student be suffering with?
A. Depression
B. Obesity
C. Social Anxiety
D. Terminal Illness
You are an elementary school teacher and you observe your student only eating part of their lunch, you observe them sitting alone at recess and avoiding joining in on the class soccer game.
Based on what you have learned, what condition might your student be suffering with?
B. Obesity
What set of behaviors and actions are characteristic of a student experiencing social anxiety?
A. Clinging to adults, refusing to speak, and crying when singled out.
DISCLAIMER
As teachers, we will encounter all kinds of students and families all with very different needs, expectations and ideas. We can study and learn and know every accommodation out there, but we must be very careful about our implementation. We are not doctors and we may not diagnose!
There will never be harm in seating variety, offering tables instead of standard attached desks, and using calming lighting and music in our classroom environments. However, we should never assume a students condition or needs..
Our job is to educate and keep our students safe while they are in our care. We may provide accommodations for students without them ever being labeled as such and that is perfectly acceptable.
Be meaningful, purposeful and diligent in your communications with your families.
Take the best care of your students that you can.
HOW I USED A.I.
I have used Google Gemini exclusively in this specific assignment. Previously, I used the instructor created Chat GPT to review the essay and incorporated some of the feedback given to improve the clarity of the lesson as well as the APA formatting. I am brand new to the world of AI used in this way. Learning how this technology works and completing the assignment is time consuming for me and the time allotted has not allowed me to branch out into other AI platforms yet.
I used Google Gemini to create the images and attempted infographics. I was unable to use the infographic as it had misspellings and duplicate words that I could not correct no matter how many times or how many ways I attempted to get the errors corrected. The prompt was “create an image” or “create an infographic” along with the information I wanted to use to create the images.
Using AI affected my process mainly in time. As I am new to using it, it takes me a while to figure out what I want to say and how I want to say it. Do I believe that AI enhanced my lesson? Yes, I do in that I have those images it created to incorporate into my lesson. It helped during the essay phase to have a review (specifically of the APA formatting) and the corrections provided.
Overall, I’m still not trusting completely, but I am more open to using the technology and not quite as hesitant as I was at the very beginning of the semester. I am frustrated with the inability to correct obvious (misspelling, duplicate words) errors. I will continue to explore AI platforms as time permits
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