Teacher, parent, and child evaluative ratings of a school reintegration intervention for children with newly diagnosed cancer.

The disruption of school participation and accompanying social experiences because of cancer and its treatment has been related to major problems in adaptation to the disease. For the child with cancer, continuation of his/her social and academic activities provides an important opportunity to normalize as much as possible a very difficult experience. The present study reports on the children's, parents', and teachers' subjective evaluations of the benefits of a comprehensive school reintegration intervention. Forty-nine children, newly diagnosed with cancer, received comprehensive school reintegration consisting of supportive counseling, educational presentations, systematic liaison between the hospital and the school, and periodic follow-ups. Children parents, and teachers were asked to rate their perceptions of the utility and value of the intervention approach. Overall subjective evaluations were very positive, providing support for the social validity of the school reintegration approach for children with newly diagnosed cancer.