Education Matters

One of the most important things you can do for your child is to meet with his teachers and other key school staff at or before the beginning of the school year to formulate a plan of action to ease your son’s transition into the classroom.

This is the time to discuss confidentiality concerns, classroom accommodations, and your son’s treatments or therapies.

Forming a collaborative team of teachers and other professionals within the school will ensure that your son’s needs are being monitored and met by multiple people throughout the year.

Education Matters Guides

To better assist parents and teachers in providing a fulfilling education for the student with Duchenne, PPMD has created the following helpful guides:

• Education Matters: A Parent's Guide (download)
• Education Matters: A Teacher's Guide (download)
• Education Matters: Adaptive PE (download) (written specifically for the physical education teacher)
• Education Matters: Learning and Behavior in Duchenne (download) (written by James T. Poysky, PhD)

All are available above as PDF downloads, or you can view our Support Materials page to request a hard copy.

The guides cover everything from the basics of Duchenne and its progression to specific classroom accommodations organized by age group. Some general tips for teachers include

• Confidentiality- Meet with the student’s parents to be sure that you understand and respect how open they want you to be about their son’s condition.
• Honesty- Within agreed-upon limits of confidentiality, answer children’s questions about Duchenne as honestly as you can, in age-appropriate terms that will be easy for them to understand.
• Equality- Remember that the Duchenne child is an individual, not just a diagnosis. Encourage others to see him this way also.
• Creativity- Lay heavy emphasis on activities and hobbies that the child can do and encourage him to discover and do things he likes. Children are very creative, and children with Duchenne often find new and alternative ways to participate in activities that interest them.
• Community- Remember that you can’t do this alone. Parents, teachers, physical therapists, and the school administration can all be part of the team that works together to monitor and assist the Duchenne student.

Connect with other parents who understand what you're experiencing, or learn about developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Related Links

Education Matters: A Parent's Guide (download)
Education Matters: A Teacher's Guide (download)
Education Matters: Adaptive PE (download) (written specifically for the physical education teacher)

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