Original ArticleSchool Performance of Childhood Cancer Survivors: Mind the Teenagers!
Section snippets
Educational Support
In France, legislation establishes various supports for children who cannot attend school because of extended health problems. As in many other countries, in-hospital school services are provided. In our unit, a referent teacher coordinates teaching with the child's school and gives primary school pupils 1 hour of lessons per day, 4 days a week. For secondary schooling, 4 main subjects (mathematics, native language, foreign language [English, Spanish or German], and history) generally are
Results
Of 186 eligible patients, completed questionnaires were obtained for 148 children (79.6%). Thirty-eight questionnaires could not be filled in because of wrong phone numbers (n = 21), lost medical data (n = 6), inability to contact the family by phone (n = 8), or parents' refusal (n = 2). Participants in the study and non-participants did not differ in age, sex, or time since diagnosis of the disease, but there were more hematologic malignancies and fewer cerebral tumors in the participant than
Discussion
We studied school performance by evaluating the rate of repeating a grade rather than by performing neurocognitive tests. IQ test results are not related to well-being at school.7 The rate of repeating a grade, however, is also a problematic measure because this practice is not common in English-speaking and many other countries, which complicates comparison with published data. We found that survivors of cancer did not repeat a grade more often than the general reference population of the same
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Cited by (45)
Supportive care in pediatric oncology: Considering children and AYA's special needs
2022, Bulletin du CancerAdolescence and Socioeconomic Factors: Key Factors in the Long-Term Impact of Leukemia on Scholastic Performance—A LEA Study
2019, Journal of PediatricsCitation Excerpt :The primary endpoint was repeating a grade after the AL diagnosis. Patients who stopped attending school (at an establishment or at home) immediately after the diagnosis were also considered to have repeated a grade because of the very small size of this category (n = 2).13 The secondary endpoint took into consideration a broader definition of scholastic difficulties if at least 1 of these events occurred after the AL diagnosis: repeating a grade, changing orientation, or changing to a specialized educational track.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.