Academic Considerations and Collaboration with Schools in CKD

Just as children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience a broad range of kidney disease severity—from mild CKD to kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplant—children with CKD also experience a wide array of impacts on school attendance and academic achievement. Some of these challenges relate directly to the impact of CKD on neurocognition (see Chap. 7 for additional details), while others are consequences of living with a chronic illness. These include increased absenteeism, social/emotional challenges related to interactions with teachers and peers, and challenges meeting medical needs during the school day. Ultimately, the gaps in educational achievement layered over a child’s lifetime with CKD can be significant. Gaps in academic achievement are particularly notable in children who develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). In addition, lower educational attainment as a result of CKD can lead to decreased employment opportunities into adulthood. This chapter aims to review the known effects of childhood CKD on school attendance, educational achievement, and the resulting long-term work/employment outcomes and to discuss the ways in which families, the medical team, and school personnel can work together to support academic and vocational success for children with CKD.