What Educators Should Know

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and digestive system. Kids with CF have thick mucus inside the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. They can get lung infections often and, over time, can have more trouble breathing. They also have digestive problems that make it hard to gain weight.

Challenges for Students With Cystic Fibrosis

Students with cystic fibrosis (SIS-tik fye-BROH-sis) may:

• need to go to the restroom often (digestive problems from CF can cause diarrhea and gas)
• take oral or inhaled medicine at school
• need to eat or drink in class to get the calories they need to grow
• cough a lot to clear mucus from the lungs
• be tired in class due to breathing therapy early in the morning or losing sleep from coughing at night
• benefit from having a 504 education plan. It should state that students with CF need to stay at least 6 feet apart from each other to help prevent the spread of infections that only kids with CF get.

What Educators Can Do

• Talk to your student and their family about whether it’s OK for other students to know your student has CF. Some kids may want privacy and don't want to talk about having CF. Others may feel more open about it and may even want to teach their classmates about the condition. Support whatever choice your student makes.
• Students with CF may miss class time or be absent due to breathing therapy at home, lung infections, doctor visits, and hospital stays. To help your student with CF succeed academically, you can:
  • give them extra time to finish schoolwork
  • let them do fewer assignments
  • let them make up missed assignments and tests
  • give take-home or online tests if needed
• Being active can help loosen mucus in the lungs. Encourage your student with CF to participate in physical exercise, sports, and other school activities as best they can.
• To help students with CF avoid lung infections:
  • Encourage all your students to wash their hands with soap and water or sanitizer after coughing, sneezing, using the bathroom, or playing outside at recess.
  • Move students with CF away from classmates who are sick.
• Make sure your students with CF know they can:
  • leave the classroom as needed, without asking, to go to the restroom or to cough in the hallway
  • eat in class without asking
  • carry a water bottle
• Help build your student’s confidence by recognizing and appreciating their strengths — in reading, math, drama, art, or whatever they enjoy.
• Provide support. If you think your it would be helpful, talk to your student and their family about counseling options in school or in the community. Some school districts don’t require parents’ permission for a student to see a counselor at school while others do. Check your local school district’s policies.