There is increasing awareness of ME/CFS in children and adolescents.  It is more common in children over 10 than in younger children, though it can affect children as young as 5. 13% of youth who get Infectious Mononucleosis go on to develop ME/CFS.  This illness commonly persists for many years.  There is no known cure.  Because it is not well known or understood by most doctors, it is thought that over 80% of people with ME/CFS are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

ImmuneDysfunction.org has developed a 98 page manual specifically for school nurses. The manual will help to identify this serious illness among a student population. While there is no known cure, we CAN establish a recovery protocol and prevent worsening. Our goal is to foster awareness among school nurses. In turn, when cases are discovered, we can avert the misdiagnoses and prevent a lifetime of disease.

It is immensely difficult for adults to grasp even a rudimentary knowledge of this disease and a task that is multiplied tenfold when it affects children.

Please share this with your friends and professional associates.

$40.00
Adopt a School Nurse

This will have a Manual for School Nurses sent with a cover letter either to a nurse in the State of Vermont or to the School Nurse of your choice.

The materials are supplied with permission from the following organizations;

NJCFSA: www.njcfsa.org
The CFIDS Association of America, www.cfids.org dba:The Solve CFS/ME Initiative
The Organization for Fatigue & Fibromyalgia Education, (OFFER), Utah,www.offerutah.org
The International Association of CFS/ME, (IACFS/ME), www.iacfsme.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/cfs
Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association, www.MassCFIDS.org

The VT CFIDS Association, Inc. is a non-profit private foundation whose purpose is to:

Raise public awareness of ME/CFS,

Support and advocate for Vermonters who suffer the debilitating symptoms of this and related disorders,

Facilitate the education of patients, families, healthcare providers and primary care physicians in order to validate and establish a recognized and acceptable protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of Myalgic Encephalomylitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

Our activities include a medical scholarship program at the University of Vermont, an active website, attorney referrals, dissemination of information with audio and video materials, a book, and a 60 minute documentary film.

Excerpted from the Manual for School Nurses:

                  One Family’s Nightmare by Mary O’Connor

Our family is an ordinary middle-class family. There is really nothing unusual about us. We attend church, vote, watch television - a conventional family. We were unprepared for the nightmare that happened to us. We tell our story in the hope that other families will be spared from this experience. ...continue reading

Evaluating CFIDS: A Checklist for School Nurses by David S. Bell, MD

The ABC’s of CFS by Kenneth J. Friedman, Ph.D.

Adolescents with ME/CFS in the School Setting by Barbara B. Comerford, Esq.

One Families Nightmare by Mary O’Connor Prologue by Charles W. Lapp, M.D.

Setting Limits: Teaching a Child with CFIDS to Take Responsibility By Mary Robinson

Educating the Child with CFS by Shanon McQuown

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Children and Adolesents by Rosemary Underhill, MB BS

Tips for Classroom Teachers of Young People with CFIDS By Kate Anderson, M.Ed.

What Children with CFIDS Need & What Adults Can Do to Help Meet Those Needs
                                                                                    presentation by Lynn Vanderzalm

Recognizing and Assisting Students with CFS by Dr. Kenneth Friedman and Rosemary Underhill

Parents Share Ideas For Educational Planning By Mary Robinson, MS Ed

Slow and Steady Wins the Race A Kid’s Guide to Surviving and Succeeding in School With CFS & FMS

CFIDS Profiles: Sharon Walk

Marissa’s Story

Brian’s Story: A Family Transformed