Project PENCIL aims to provide easy-to-follow information for parents and teachers to help children with chronic illnesses succeed academically and socially. The symptoms and treatment of chronic illnesses affect children’s school attendance and their ability to participate academically and socially. Parents and teachers play important roles in advocating and creating a supportive environment for children with chronic illnesses.

Project PENCIL provides information, tips, and strategies to help parents and teachers of children with chronic illnesses. The Project PENCIL Parents’ Guide and Teachers’ Guide contain eight concrete steps to help support children with chronic illnesses. The guides include extensive information about educational accommodations, federal regulations, contingency plans, and more. The guides use case studies, handouts, checklists, and infographics to help parents and teachers practically apply the information in real-world settings.

The Project PENCIL website supplements these concrete, easy-to-follow steps by providing video testimonials from children with chronic illnesses, parents, teachers, and other school personnel. The Project PENCIL website also provides free downloadable handouts and infographics for parents and teachers to use to support children with chronic illnesses. The legal rights section of the PENCIL website introduces parents and teachers to the relevant federal and state laws that protect children with chronic illnesses and provides a breakdown of how each state implements these laws.

Project PENCIL was developed by KDH Research & Communication with funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number 1R44HD071663-01A1). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.