Juvenile Arthritis

 300,000 children are diagnosed with some form of juvenile arthritis (JA) nationwide. As the sixth most common childhood disease, more children have arthritis than those with muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell combined. 

Donate to the Juvenile Arthritis Network!

WHAT IS THE JUVENILE ARTHRITIS NETWORK?

The Juvenile Arthritis Network (JA Network) addresses the needs of the 5,000 children and their families in the metropolitan Washington area diagnosed with arthritis. Your support of the JA Network will:

• Provide scholarships to families who cannot afford to attend regional and national conferences such as the Annual Juvenile Arthritis Lace Up & Go event.
• Supply free literature and materials such as ergonomic backpacks filled with Arthritis in Children, When Your Student Has Arthritis and Decision Making for Teenagers with Arthritis brochures. 
• Underwrite the cost of free picnics, special events and support groups which provide food, family activities, guest speakers and addtional educational materials.

When a young child is diagnosed with a chronic illness, the entire family is affected.  Schedules revolve around medication routines, physical therapy and doctor visits. Currently, there is only one pediatric rheumatologist seeing patients in Washington, DC. Due to the lack of available resources, the Arthritis Foundation strives to build a system which enables families to learn from and depend upon each other for support. A goal of this system is to provide tools to children w/ arthritis and their parents that will enable them to better cope with their daily lives. Skills are taught that arm them with strategies to use in situations that present special challenges such as how to handle the inability to participate in school and peer related activities throughout the year. This network of support is parent to parent, sibling to sibling and arthritis patient to arthritis patient which encourages better avenues of communication. 

The JA Network offers a variety of services such a educational conferences, picnics at local theme parks and support groups and gathering which provide more intimate settings to learn, share, and support each other through common experiences. The chapter also has a Parent Resource Team composed of parents who have volunteered their time for several years to help build this supportive network.  These dedicated Moms and Dads make themselves available to families new to the Foundation who are oftentimes coping with a newly diagnosed child.

WHAT IS JUVENILE ARTHRITIS (JA)?

Often perceived as minor aches and pains, juvenile arthritis (JA) a serious disease. JA is an autoimmune disorder which results from the body's defense system attacking healthy joint tissue by mistake. Because of the fragility of a child's growing body, if left untreated, JA can lead to major physical deformities, permanent systemic damage, blindness or even premature death. The most common symptoms of JA are pain, swelling, inflammation and fatigue; although, there are many emotional side-effects which often have a greater impact on a child's life: depression, anger, embarrassment, frustration and feelings of isolation.  Children of all ages may not be able to dress or groom themselves, participate in school sports or games with classmates, or even hold a pencil or use a computer. They often miss multiple days of school due to doctor visits which occur sometimes out-of-state due to a severe lack of pediatric specialists.  Surprisingly, children can be caught in a "catch-22" whereas treatments directed at their physical symptoms cause others to underestimate the severity of their disease while a lack of treatment or side-effects from medications cause others to treat them differenly than their peers (e.g., ridicule or remedial teaching methods). To learn more about juvenile arthritis, click here.

MEET SOME OF OUR LOCAL CHAMPIONS:

(click the images below to read their stories)

 To learn more about the JA Network, please call 202-537-6800 or e-mail info.mwa@arthritis.org.