School grades are down

[bmombtoo]

This may sound like "the dog ate my homework" but I have noticed that Joshua's grades have gone down over the last month. He is not in danger of failing anything for the year but his performance is not what it has been over the previous quarters. He has been on antibiotics since his visit to Hopkins in early April. He just finished the most current dose on Thursday. And he is at the end of his prednisone taper. He started at 60 mg about 3 weeks ago and is now at 10mg. for 2 more days.
His lung functions were 60 the beginning of May. His peak flows have not gone up all that much and this morning they were down slightly. I don't see him doing much homework ( thye do get a chance to do it at school) and I checked some test papers in his room and they were not as good as usual. He stilll is not going outside to play much, more like at all. This week he has been going to his room and laying down and usually falls asleep. when he gets up he will play video games with his buddy. I know that lack of oxygen can affect cognitive performance (I'm about 3 months shy of finising my doc in clinical psy) but for some reason I'm not wanting to believe that is what is going on........it makes it sound like he is really sick. He doesn't look sick. The weather is getting warmer in Baltimore and we had a few days of 90 degree temp. If his peak flows are still headed down on Tuesday I will let the CF nurse know. He is scheduled to go back on May 8th. He has finals this week ( 10th grade now) 
any thoughts?

 

[bmombtoo]

This may sound like "the dog ate my homework" but I have noticed that Joshua's grades have gone down over the last month. He is not in danger of failing anything for the year but his performance is not what it has been over the previous quarters. He has been on antibiotics since his visit to Hopkins in early April. He just finished the most current dose on Thursday. And he is at the end of his prednisone taper. He started at 60 mg about 3 weeks ago and is now at 10mg. for 2 more days.
His lung functions were 60 the beginning of May. His peak flows have not gone up all that much and this morning they were down slightly. I don't see him doing much homework ( thye do get a chance to do it at school) and I checked some test papers in his room and they were not as good as usual. He stilll is not going outside to play much, more like at all. This week he has been going to his room and laying down and usually falls asleep. when he gets up he will play video games with his buddy. I know that lack of oxygen can affect cognitive performance (I'm about 3 months shy of finising my doc in clinical psy) but for some reason I'm not wanting to believe that is what is going on........it makes it sound like he is really sick. He doesn't look sick. The weather is getting warmer in Baltimore and we had a few days of 90 degree temp. If his peak flows are still headed down on TuesdayI will let the CF nurse know. He is scheduled to go back on May 8th.He has finals this week ( 10th grade now)
any thoughts?

 

[bmombtoo]

<p>This may sound like "the dog ate my homework" but I have noticed that Joshua's grades have gone down over the last month. He is not in danger of failing anything for the year but his performance is not what it has been over the previous quarters. He has been on antibiotics since his visit to Hopkins in early April. He just finished the most current dose on Thursday. And he is at the end of his prednisone taper. He started at 60 mg about 3 weeks ago and is now at 10mg. for 2 more days.
<p>His lung functions were 60 the beginning of May. His peak flows have not gone up all that much and this morning they were down slightly. I don't see him doing much homework ( thye do get a chance to do it at school) and I checked some test papers in his room and they were not as good as usual. He stilll is not going outside to play much, more like at all. This week he has been going to his room and laying down and usually falls asleep. when he gets up he will play video games with his buddy. I know that lack of oxygen can affect cognitive performance (I'm about 3 months shy of finising my doc in clinical psy) but for some reason I'm not wanting to believe that is what is going on........it makes it sound like he is really sick. He doesn't look sick. The weather is getting warmer in Baltimore and we had a few days of 90 degree temp. If his peak flows are still headed down on TuesdayI will let the CF nurse know. He is scheduled to go back on May 8th.He has finals this week ( 10th grade now)
<p>any thoughts?

 

[Beccamom]

I am not a doctor, but I also noticed the same trend with my daughter. I would assume that pulsox would also have to go down and not just PFT for a direct cognitive affect, but not feeling well definitely affects my daughter's grades. When she has less energy (PFTs are down) and she seems less effecient with her work. This makes homework take more time and leaves less time for studying. My daughter is only in 6th grade, but I would assume it will only become more pronounced. I found that sitting with my daughter and helping her to reorganize really made a difference. The problem ended up being that she seemed to be moving in slow motion. For weeks leading up to her last inpatient hospital stay she said that she never had time to pack up her binder and so she just piled the last classes work on top of her binder and went to the next class. She must have been walking slower to the next class then usual as well because when she got to the next class she still didn't have time to put her things away in the binder. A month of this and she had a 2 inch pile of work with no organization and no energy to reorganize with. I helped her reorganize and she has been feeling better and can now keep up with it. I also let her sleep in when she is really tired in the morning. I find she gets more out of the rest of the school day versus being half awake during the whole school day. I would think you would need a 504 plan if you want to consider the sleep in idea and not get unexcused lates. Best wishes.

 

[Beccamom]

I am not a doctor, but I also noticed the same trend with my daughter. I would assume that pulsox would also have to go down and not just PFT for a direct cognitive affect, but not feeling well definitely affects my daughter's grades. When she has less energy (PFTs are down) and she seems less effecient with her work. This makes homework take more time and leaves less time for studying. My daughter is only in 6th grade, but I would assume it will only become more pronounced. I found that sitting with my daughter and helping her to reorganize really made a difference. The problem ended up being that she seemed to be moving in slow motion. For weeks leading up to her last inpatient hospital stay she said that she never had time to pack up her binder and so she just piled the last classes work on top of her binder and went to the next class. She must have been walking slower to the next class then usual as well because when she got to the next class she still didn't have time to put her things away in the binder. A month of this and she had a 2 inch pile of work with no organization and no energy to reorganize with. I helped her reorganize and she has been feeling better and can now keep up with it. I also let her sleep in when she is really tired in the morning. I find she gets more out of the rest of the school day versus being half awake during the whole school day. I would think you would need a 504 plan if you want to consider the sleep in idea and not get unexcused lates. Best wishes.

 

[Beccamom]

I am not a doctor, but I also noticed the same trend with my daughter. I would assume that pulsox would also have to go down and not just PFT for a direct cognitive affect, but not feeling well definitely affects my daughter's grades. When she has less energy (PFTs are down) and she seems less effecient with her work. This makes homework take more time and leaves less time for studying. My daughter is only in 6th grade, but I would assume it will only become more pronounced. I found that sitting with my daughter and helping her to reorganize really made a difference. The problem ended up being that she seemed to be moving in slow motion. For weeks leading up to her last inpatient hospital stay she said that she never had time to pack up her binder and so she just piled the last classes work on top of her binder and went to the next class. She must have been walking slower to the next class then usual as well because when she got to the next class she still didn't have time to put her things away in the binder. A month of this and she had a 2 inch pile of work with no organization and no energy to reorganize with. I helped her reorganize and she has been feeling better and can now keep up with it. I also let her sleep in when she is really tired in the morning. I find she gets more out of the rest of the school day versus being half awake during the whole school day. I would think you would need a 504 plan if you want to consider the sleep in idea and not get unexcused lates. Best wishes.

 

[kirstynkoffs]

Please don't take this the wrong way as parents but have you ever considered it is really hard to concentrate when you have constant grumbling infection. If if I don't feel completely gross I sometimes feel "foggy" when im on a/bs. I know what I need to do just can't think clearly kind of thing. Nothing I have found other than rest seems to fix it. Sometimes it goes on for weeks. I have learnt I just need to know when to push and when not to because otherwise it stresses me out. If I can share one word of wisdom with you it would be worry about the health and the grades will follow. Best of luck<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[kirstynkoffs]

Please don't take this the wrong way as parents but have you ever considered it is really hard to concentrate when you have constant grumbling infection. If if I don't feel completely gross I sometimes feel "foggy" when im on a/bs. I know what I need to do just can't think clearly kind of thing. Nothing I have found other than rest seems to fix it. Sometimes it goes on for weeks. I have learnt I just need to know when to push and when not to because otherwise it stresses me out. If I can share one word of wisdom with you it would be worry about the health and the grades will follow. Best of luck<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[kirstynkoffs]

Please don't take this the wrong way as parents but have you ever considered it is really hard to concentrate when you have constant grumbling infection. If if I don't feel completely gross I sometimes feel "foggy" when im on a/bs. I know what I need to do just can't think clearly kind of thing. Nothing I have found other than rest seems to fix it. Sometimes it goes on for weeks. I have learnt I just need to know when to push and when not to because otherwise it stresses me out. If I can share one word of wisdom with you it would be worry about the health and the grades will follow. Best of luck<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Beccamom]

Thank you for the CF point of view.  As a mom it is hard to know what causes what.  At this point my daughter still has no dx just a million CF symptoms and I never know when she is acting like a tween or she is ill.  I have taken 6 weeks off of work and at this point I am not planning on returning to work.  I think I need to be more available to meet her medical needs.  I have also been encouraging my daughter to talk to the drs directly and explain how she feels.  This seems to have worked out well on the medical side as her drs seem more concerned and seem to be getting detials about how she feels that have helped them dort out a dx.  On the school front when I talk to other parents of children the same age they all have the same complaint about lack of focus, so it is hard to figure out what causes what.  I appreciate the honest feedback on this site.  It helps keep life in perspective.

 

[Beccamom]

Thank you for the CF point of view. As a mom it is hard to know what causes what. At this point my daughter still has no dx just a million CF symptoms and I never know when she is acting like a tween or she is ill. I have taken 6 weeks off of work and at this point I am not planning on returning to work. I think I need to be more available to meet her medical needs. I have also been encouraging my daughter to talk to the drs directly and explain how she feels. This seems to have worked out well on the medical side as her drs seem more concerned and seem to be getting detials about how she feels that have helped them dort outa dx. On the school front when I talk to other parents of children the same age they all have the same complaint about lack of focus, so it is hard to figure out what causes what. I appreciate the honest feedback on this site. It helps keep life in perspective.

 

[Beccamom]

<p>Thank you for the CF point of view. As a mom it is hard to know what causes what. At this point my daughter still has no dx just a million CF symptoms and I never know when she is acting like a tween or she is ill. I have taken 6 weeks off of work and at this point I am not planning on returning to work. I think I need to be more available to meet her medical needs. I have also been encouraging my daughter to talk to the drs directly and explain how she feels. This seems to have worked out well on the medical side as her drs seem more concerned and seem to be getting detials about how she feels that have helped them dort outa dx. On the school front when I talk to other parents of children the same age they all have the same complaint about lack of focus, so it is hard to figure out what causes what. I appreciate the honest feedback on this site. It helps keep life in perspective.