PSYCHOLOGICAL & QUANTITATIVE FOUNDATION

Clay's Research Recognized, Leads to Practical New Book

The American Psychological Association recognized Counseling Psychology Associate Professor Daniel Clay with a prestigious Early-Career Research Award for his "significant contribution to research in rehabilitation psychology in the first 10 years of his career."

Clay's research focuses on children with health problems and disabilities. His latest book, Helping Schoolchildren with Chronic Health Conditions: A Practical Guide, incorporates knowledge gained from his scientific research and his clinical experience into practical interventions for educators.

The book helps K-12 educators make sure chronically ill students don't just fit in to the classroom, but thrive there. It provides educators and school psychologists with a wide range of tools for providing a welcoming and productive learning environment to the estimated 10 to 15 percent of students who experience chronic, significant health problems. Those problems include everything from cancer and diabetes to asthma and AIDS.

The book provides multiple checklists, handouts, and intervention strategies. It also explains in clear language some of the more common chronic childhood ailments, including possible side effects of medications and other treatments, and discusses options for meeting federal rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

"This book is a gift to all of us who care for children with special health needs," said Sharon Berry, Ph.D., a chief psychologist at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis, Minn. "I use the many resources in this book every week."

Clay said schools are terribly under-funded, and he saw his book as a way to make it easier for them to accommodate students with severe health problems.

"The goal is to keep these kids in schools and in regular routines," he said. "Not just for educational reasons, but for social reasons as well."

Classroom teachers will find the book especially helpful, as it provides suggestions for dealing sensitively with the parents of chronically ill students as well as for helping the other students in the classroom understand why their ailing classmates may look or behave differently.

"When a student goes away for cancer treatment and comes back with no hair, you need to be prepared for that," Clay said. "The book encourages educators to be aware of issues before they become a problem in the classroom. Teachers can't afford to wait until a student is teased."

On the other hand, Clay said, it's important for educators to respect the privacy of a chronically ill child and his or her family. Parents may not want a specific diagnosis shared with classmates for fear that their son or daughter will become ostracized. So the teacher must find a way to address the issue in class while respecting the wishes of the ill child's family. - by Stephen Pradarelli