Children on the Edge: Starting School with Additional Health and Developmental Needs

Health and learning are inextricably linked: children with additional health and developmental needs (AHDN) begin school with poorer academic and social-emotional skills, compared to their peers and early differences persist. Even conditions with no direct impact on cognitive or neurological functioning—like allergies or asthma—can influence academic performance through pathways such as school absenteeism. As such, children with additional health and developmental needs sit right at the interface between health and education. For children with additional health and developmental needs to reach their full potential, coordinated efforts across the health and education systems are required. In this chapter we explore the issues related to children sitting at this boundary between systems; we review what is currently known; and we highlight opportunities for better supporting these children through coordinated, responsive systems of health and education.