The academic journey of students with chronic gastrointestinal illness: Narratives from daughters and their mothers

Children and adolescents surviving illnesses, increases in outpatient care, and continuous technological advancements as compared to past decades are giving students with chronic illness further opportunities to attend mainstream schools. The rising integration of students with chronic illness into the school setting requires educators to aptly accommodate students while the students pursue their academic journeys. The research involves 3 case studies portraying students with a chronic gastrointestinal illness, Diffuse Irritable Gastrointestinal Tract Syndrome (DIGITS). In each case, the student and her mother were interviewed separately. These interviews were focused on the students with a chronic illness and their parents' perceptions of the students' educational experiences. Implications arising from the study highlight how educators can recognize the perspectives of students with a chronic illness to adapt the school environment with increased opportunities for these students to be integrated into mainstream schooling and achieve their academic goals.