ELC

Just used this in a presentation in class (working on my bachelor's degree) and got more than a few laughs. It was great!

This has been an ongoing issue between the two school districts they have attended. I know that staff at each school has tried to work with these students, I just don't think that mom really believes there is a problem and when the previous school nurse did a home visit it was obvious that housekeeping was poor. I guess the most frustrating thing is the fact that staff from all areas, secretaries, principals, teachers, PE teachers, have all been talking to these kids on a regular basis and can't seem to get the message across. The children, as I said, become extremely defensive, when spoken to. The principal is going to also try to approach them from a community standpoint-they are all members of the same church, attend the same community functions, and the principal's wife is also the parish nurse. So hopefully between all of us something positive will happen. I am only in this district once a week, so a lot of this falls to other staff. They have a part-time counselor as well, and she has been working with this as time allows. Thanks for the idea for a reward for coming to school clean. I'm not sure how this will work for these kids, 4th grade & older, but a good idea. Also just found out that mom in now doing her para-pro internship at the elementary school where 2 of the kids are. Maybe seeing students from this perspective will help her understand, and I expect the teachers will be honest with her as she works in the school. Thanks, ELC:)

Hello, I've already tried this once but don't see that it went through so will try again. Can you tell this is the first time I've used this site? I am a school nurse working in southeast Washington state in 7 rural districts, from a 9 student district to 950 student district. My question: How do you deal with severe hygiene issues and what has been successful for you? There is a family in one district (2 brothers, 1 sister) who had moved to another district due to this problem and have now moved back. The teachers have all approached me about their severe body odor and the fact that it is getting warmer and warmer now that spring is here. All the teachers have spoken to the parents, the previous school nurse was able to do a home visit last year (lots of animals in the home, cats & kittens), the superintendent/elementary principal has spoken to the family as a whole and I have taught the growth & development classes to all 3 students with emphasis on personal hygiene with no success. I was also approached by the teacher in the little 9 student district about a student with severe body odor. This teacher has noticed that it might be just the normal home environment because grandma smells the same when she comes to the school. This student's clothes are always neat, clean and well kept. How do you approach this problem when it's not something that is within the student's control? Any ideas? Legal issues?