Action for M.E.

Getting back to school

When you're feeling well enough you can start to think about getting back to school, even if it's just for a short amount of time. It'll help you to keep up with your work and keep in touch with friends, classmates and teachers.

If you have been away for a long time, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will be kept down a year. Most schools look at the individual case and decide what would be best for you.

Head teachers are allowed to make special arrangements, so you do not have to start back doing all the different subjects, you can take it slowly. If you have been having home or hospital tuition, your tutor should tell your school what work you have been doing, so your school teachers can make a plan for you.

Your Local Education Authority is responsible for making sure that:

You have an agreed plan to help you get slowly back into school
This plan includes meetings to discuss you coming back to school, responsibilities and rights of those involved, possible people in school who can help you, a programme of small goals and a system to make sure all these things are checked
You have lots of support for your schoolwork during the time you are trying to get back to school

You and your parents will need to talk to your teacher to make a plan that you are happy with. Give them information from Action for M.E. about the illness to help them understand how your symptoms come and go. Ask the Head teacher to explain to your other teachers how the plan is going to work.

Explain to your friends your plan, so they can tell other people if needed. The more planning you do, the easier getting back to school will be, because everyone will understand what you are doing.

You've done really well to get this far but however much you might be feeling that you want to go right back into it asap you need to start gradually. Remember how long it has taken you to get to this point. You don't want to throw it all away in a mad catch up. It's better to start going back to school in bite-size chunks.

Other things you need to think about are:

Getting to and from school

You need to think about the best way to get to and from school without exhausting yourself or wasting your energy walking when you could be using it to chat with friends later or to think about your work. Talk to your parents or carers to make a plan of how you can save this energy.
Carrying heavy books

It's not a good idea to carry all your books around with you, as you will be using up your energy. Try and think of ways around this, can a friend carry yours for you or leave the ones you are not using at home.
Eating and Drinking

When you are at home you can eat and drink when you feel like it. This may not be allowed at your school. However to maintain your energy levels and to not get low on water it's important for you to eat and drink regularly. Talk with your teacher about making a plan to tackle this. Many schools allow children to drink water in lessons.
Sport, dance or athletics

Don't feel under any pressure to take part in these activities. Ask your doctor for advice and agree what you think would be the best approach. If you think that exercise is not a good idea at this stage, it is important that you talk with the sports teachers so you can make a plan (if necessary) to do another type of activity when the rest of your class is taking exercise. You could rest in the medical room, work in the library or whatever, but make sure you do not use up all your energy. Once you have built up your energy levels and you are getting stronger you may be able to do some of the sports lesson.

Remember you are bound to be a bit worried about going back to school after you have had this time off. Everyone gets worried going back to school after they have been poorly, so you're not alone. Just make sure you think about what your limits are before you go to school and stick to them. Don't let anyone push you into doing something you feel is bad for your M.E.

Information produced February 2004