Managing Education: for Young People Living with Fatigue Conditions

Online learning or tutoring can be a useful way to keep in touch with education especially if you have missed a lot of school

• Talk to your school about options for your education.
• School might be able to advise about/ offer online options or arrange tutoring via an alternative education provider.
• If you feel as though your school is unable to meet your educational needs, you may need to discuss the requirement of additional support in excess of what school can provide.

You may need a parent or your healthcare professional to communicate with your school about what alternatives can be offered to help you to stay as up to date as possible.

Plan to go back to school gradually

• Choose a subject you enjoy or don’t find too difficult.
• If you find mornings difficult, start with lessons late morning or early afternoon.
• If you feel more tired, avoid subjects where the classroom is at the top of a flight of stairs or the far end of a building.
• Travelling can be tiring - plan your journey when choosing your lessons; getting a lift to school may be helpful to help conserve energy for lessons.
• Start with one or two lessons a week, non-consecutive days, for a couple of weeks, or until this feels OK. Then add a lesson or two in the same or a different subject. It is generally helpful to have consistent levels of activity across the week but may be worth prioritising going in for lessons where self-study is more difficult, even if that means going in at different times of day each time.
• You may wish to add a lunchtime before or after the lesson you are attending. This enables time with classmates / friends. You can also work out the energy needed for ‘social activity’ and how this can be tracked by having social time at school.
• Getting the pace of return to school right is important, keep talking with your school and health professionals. If increasing by a lesson is too much, ask to attend for an extra half lesson and study in the library for the other half, until you stabilise.
• Avoid carrying books. Ask if you can have a ‘buddy’’ to help carry books. Keep extra books in a locker, only carrying ones you need for the next lesson or two. Some schools allow you to scan the chapter you are working onto a tablet, e-books may be an option too, so you don’t need to carry books at all.
• Slowly building up lessons is a positive sign of increased mental and physical activity.
• If you need to move rooms between lessons, ask if you can leave a few minutes before the end of the lesson. Empty corridors may feel less exhausting, and you will have time to stop and rest if needed. You may need a special ‘pass’ to do this.

• Teachers can help by letting your tutor groups/class know you are returning on a reduced timetable and gradually building up.
• Think what you might like the teacher to say / prepare something for the teacher to use.
• Let your friends know that you’re coming back to school.
• Friends may ask why you have been away, what is wrong with you or why, have an answer ready so you don’t have to think about this each time.

Lunchtimes can be a good time to catch up with friends

• Meet friends at the start of lunch or in a morning break before or after a lesson.
• Slowly increase the number of lunchtimes the same way you increase lessons.
• Meet friends away from school for short periods to get used to being together.
• If you have school lunches, get to the canteen earlier to be first in the queue and so you don’t have to stand for so long. You may be able to get a lunch pass.
• Make time to relax and enjoy yourself too… this is really important!

Managing Attention and Concentration

It takes much energy to concentrate and pay attention.

• Choose a quiet, well-lit area for studying, this helps not to use up energy as quickly.
• If you do not have a quiet place to study because you live in a busy household, try a white noise app at a low volume, your brain may find it easier to filter this out as it is a predictable noise.
• In class, if possible, sit near the front to see the whiteboard or work from handouts as this will again help preserve the attention you have.
• Start off with subjects you like, feel motivated to do or find relatively easy to help build up mental stamina.
• Do short bursts of more intense study, followed by breaks. There are many apps including ‘pomodoro’ that can help you plan your work and break times and help you keep track of progress.
• When you manage to build up a reasonable amount of time, tackle the more challenging subjects. Keep the easier ones for when attention is tailing off a bit.
• During your breaks, keep off screens. Standing up, having a stretch, doing some breathing exercises, can help you feel more energised.
• If you find background noise distracting or you are sensitive to sounds, consider using an in-ear device that softens sounds without blocking it, it may also help with managing anxiety or feeling overwhelmed. There are several companies that produce these, they are available online.
• If you feel that you have increased sensitivity to light, discuss with your class teacher changing the light levels and filters on the interactive whiteboard in class. You can also adjust your own screens at home including phone, tablet or computer when undertaking homework or work at home. You can do this under ‘settings’. This will also help to reduce visual stress and visual fatigue. If you wear glasses, you can also review this with your optician or you may feel more comfortable wearing sunglasses that reduce glare and UV light, especially in bright classrooms or outside in the summer. Make sure that this is agreed with school/ college.