Seminar in Rockland targets Lyme in students

THE JOURNAL NEWS
A child's sluggishness, inattention, inappropriate behavior or moodiness can signal lots of things to teachers and school nurses from possible drug abuse to attention-deficit disorders.

Yesterday, experts added another possibility: chronic Lyme disease.

"With children, Lyme disease gets masked and might never be identified as a net cause" for problems in school, said Catherine O'Brien, special-education supervisor for Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services. "It's urgent for people to pay attention."

Rockland's schoolchildren had yesterday off while their teachers, administrators and staff attended workshops, discussions and lessons on how to do their jobs better. From security and substance abuse awareness to the finer points of how different children learn, the county's eight public school districts took time to expand their knowledge as part of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools to provide training for teachers.

While most districts worked with their own employees, Rockland BOCES invited special-education teachers and school nurses from across the country to Old Nyack High School for a morning-long discussion of Lyme disease.

The session, sponsored by BOCES and the Lyme Disease Association, drew about 300 people.

"I came here with all my school nurse staff because I thought it was valuable information," said Christine Healy, East Ramapo's health services coordinator. She brought 35 people to the discussion, she said.

"We look for educational opportunities and conferences like this help us learn more of what we are looking at with the children," she said. "I don't know that we've seen an increase (in Lyme cases). I think that our awareness has increased in assessing the different problems in the children. We've broadened the way we look at children who present problems."

Lyme disease is generally caught from deer ticks. If left untreated, it can cause chronic conditions that include joint swelling, facial paralysis, personality changes, fatigue, hair loss, difficulty walking, poor balance, forgetfulness, disorientation, blindness and deafness.

While most people are aware that Lyme disease exists, few educators know enough about it to think of Lyme when they deal with sudden, unexpected changes in their students, said Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association. For several years, she has appeared before school audiences to alert professionals to the complications from chronic Lyme.

Carminda Clemente, a school nurse at BOCES' Jesse Kaplan school, said she found the session helpful.

"It was interesting to learn more about whatever information they give out about Lyme," she said. "It'll help give me a better understanding."