Did You Know?
This week I am going to continue off of last week’s entry with parents telling their children about being HIV positive. Last week discussed the basics of parents not wanting their children to know about their status, but at the same time there is an increased self confidence when the child knows what illness they have. I located another article relating to parents telling their children, and it made a lot of valid points that I wanted to share with all of you. This article makes some valid points about telling the child about being infected with HIV. Some benefits include that by giving the child “increased knowledge and understanding about HIV, it can help facilitate the child’s adjustment (within the family, with the illness, within society, etc.), more adherence to medications, less risky behaviors, stronger family ties are built,” (Disclosure of HIV Status to Children and Adolescents:). Of course with the good comes some bad, and this article actually made it a point to show that there are some negative points to telling the child about their HIV status. With this article it discusses that 26 out of 35 children felt stress associated with being told they had HIV and the children also learn very quickly about stigmas. I understand a parent wanting to protect their child from just about anything, but at the same time, there seem to be way more positives associated with telling the child that they are HIV positive.
Week 9!
This week has been pretty hectic! With everything that goes on in normal life and classes, we started the M&M simulation this week. This requires students to swallow the M&M’s as if they were their medication with being HIV positive. This has proved to be harder than I thought it would be and the hardest part is trying to plan my meals in line with taking my medicines that need to be taken with food.
This week I am going to continue off of last week’s entry with parents telling their children about being HIV positive. Last week discussed the basics of parents not wanting their children to know about their status, but at the same time there is an increased self confidence when the child knows what illness they have. I located another article relating to parents telling their children, and it made a lot of valid points that I wanted to share with all of you. This article makes some valid points about telling the child about being infected with HIV. Some benefits include that by giving the child “increased knowledge and understanding about HIV, it can help facilitate the child’s adjustment (within the family, with the illness, within society, etc.), more adherence to medications, less risky behaviors, stronger family ties are built,” (Disclosure of HIV Status to Children and Adolescents:). Of course with the good comes some bad, and this article actually made it a point to show that there are some negative points to telling the child about their HIV status. With this article it discusses that 26 out of 35 children felt stress associated with being told they had HIV and the children also learn very quickly about stigmas. I understand a parent wanting to protect their child from just about anything, but at the same time, there seem to be way more positives associated with telling the child that they are HIV positive.
Week 9!
This week has been pretty hectic! With everything that goes on in normal life and classes, we started the M&M simulation this week. This requires students to swallow the M&M’s as if they were their medication with being HIV positive. This has proved to be harder than I thought it would be and the hardest part is trying to plan my meals in line with taking my medicines that need to be taken with food.
This week’s QOTW involved my grandma contracting HIV at her retirement community. This was strange question of the week, because my grandma was the one that reacted in a very old fashioned way towards HIV. Then again maybe it isn’t that strange, because if my grandma was the type of person to think that only gay people and sinners can contract HIV, then she might have been more willing to have unprotected sex with her partner in the community. In my response to this QOTW I decided to let my grandma know that I will be her support and make sure that she gets to a doctor to see about anti-retroviral. I also made it a point to set alarms on her phone and made a promise to set the same alarms on my phone and give her a friendly reminder while she gets use to her regimen.
Every single week there is something new to learn and I’m so excited for the men’s panel that is coming up sooo soon!!
References
Disclosure of HIV Status to Children and Adolescents:. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2010, from wakeupune: http://www.wakeuppune.org/site/uploads/Outline_summary-Children_and_HIV.pdf
Every single week there is something new to learn and I’m so excited for the men’s panel that is coming up sooo soon!!References
Disclosure of HIV Status to Children and Adolescents:. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2010, from wakeupune: http://www.wakeuppune.org/site/uploads/Outline_summary-Children_and_HIV.pdf
I cannot believe how crazy this M&M simulation is. Just when you think your life couldn't be hectic enough! But this just proves to me that it takes a really strong person to get through HIV/AIDS. Also regarding the kids closure of their status, I think it is extremly important for the child to know if they are HIV positive if they are at youngest 8. Other than that I think the parents should give them hints about their disease, but not fully explain it to them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I've been missing your blog. Sorry about that. I have a friend with a HIV positive child who is now in his teens and very happy. She was straight up with him from the very beginning but in very simplified terms as a child would understand, such as saying you have a blood disease like mommy does. This approach has worked quite well for her.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to tell children because they should be able to go through those years like their peers. Only wondering about what to wear and what boy has said what about them in school. My daughter knows she is HIV positive, but truthfully, I don't know just how she has internalized this information. She is a very deep person, even at 12 years of age. Luckily for her, her best friends families are all cool with her illness and they don't leave her out of anything.
ReplyDelete