Thousands of Children Fighting a Silent Battle Against Arthritis

Around 10,000 school children in the UK are living with a painful joint disease called juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or JIA. The condition causes swelling, pain, and stiffness in joints like the knees, hands, and ankles. Many of these kids feel tired all the time and find it hard to move around. Even so, most teachers have never heard of it and don't know how to support students who have it.

JIA is the most common type of arthritis found in children and teenagers. Arthritis is a disease where the immune system — the part of the body that fights germs — accidentally attacks healthy joints instead. Most people think arthritis only happens to older adults, so the warning signs in children are often missed or ignored. Because of this, many kids wait a long time before getting the right diagnosis.

Jessica Ward knows this struggle very well. When she was just six years old, she got very sick with blood poisoning after her appendix was removed. After she recovered, her joints stayed swollen and painful. For 14 months, she visited the hospital over and over again for blood tests and checkups, but no one could figure out what was wrong.

Finally, she was sent to the rheumatology department — a clinic for joint diseases — at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Doctors there knew what was wrong almost right away. 'They knew immediately from the way I walked,' Jessica said. She learned that her condition is not well known unless you work as a specialist with children.

Getting a diagnosis was a relief for her family, but the years that followed were still very hard. Jessica's teachers at her school in Wirral didn't understand her condition. She had trouble writing because of pain in her hands, and she needed crutches and special shoes to walk around school.

School life was very difficult for Jessica in other ways, too. She missed many classes because going to the hospital made her feel anxious and stressed. At one point, a change in her medication made her immune system very weak, and she got sick often. She even remembers a day when her grandmother had to carry her home because her knees hurt so much, and some students made fun of her for it.

Jessica was also bullied for not being able to join in activities with other kids. Nursing staff from Alder Hey once visited her school to explain juvenile arthritis to students and teachers, hoping to build more understanding. During her exam years, another change in her medicine made her very unwell, and she didn't get the grades she had hoped for, even though she passed all of her tests. She later moved to a different school, focused on practical work, and her grades improved.

Today, Jessica is 27 years old and works as a teacher herself, helping students with physical and special educational needs. She still finds it hard to explain arthritis to the people around her. 'There's never a one size fits all,' she said. She believes the most important thing schools can do is make students with JIA feel believed and understood.

There is no cure for JIA, but there are medicines that can help manage the pain and swelling. These include painkillers, steroids, and special drugs that calm down the immune system. One common medicine called methotrexate can make children feel sick and exhausted, which is a big reason many kids miss school. Some children with JIA eventually go into remission, meaning the disease calms down, but others deal with joint pain and damage for their whole lives.

A charity called Arthritis UK wants schools to learn more about JIA and be more supportive of students who have it. Lynne Woolley, who leads the charity's work with young people, says that small changes at school can make a big difference. The charity offers free resources on its website, including guides for teachers and videos that explain the condition. 'Often, relatively simple adjustments can prevent children from missing school and make an enormous difference to their wellbeing, confidence and ability to thrive,' she said.