My name's Alisha, I'm 9 years old and I have Asthma.
Asthma's a condition that triggers difficult breathing and wheezing…
I can't play outside in cold weather because the cold normally affects my asthma.
I have to take my blue inhaler whenever I get wheezy.
My normal medicine in my inhaler stops me coughing for a little while and opens up my chest so I can breathe more.
When I have an asthma attack, it feels like your chest has just closed up and you can't breathe…
If I have an asthma attack, most of the time I go to the hospital. They treat me by putting an oxygen nebuliser on me, so I get more breath.
It makes me feel really upset when I can't play outside because it just reminds me that if I was okay, and I didn't have asthma… I could've played outside.
I would say that I could do P .E. most of the time… but every few weeks I don't play it because of my asthma.
I play korfball in school, and go to tournaments sometimes…
Korfball sometimes makes me cough, because I'm running about and you have to try and run fast to get to where the ball is going to be thrown.
It does sometimes trigger my asthma, but I try and fight it.
I'm different to the people who don't have asthma because you have to watch what you play, whereas other people don't have to.
I can't do running every single day. I can only do it three plays in a week.
I like knitting because I'm with my friend, and it's not like running about… And affecting my asthma.
Most of my friends like to play line dob and then I can't play with them. My friends do sometimes play with me but it does also make me feel upset because they give up their games to play with me and I can't play with them.
Alisha's friend:
Alisha can't run as fast, but it doesn't make a lot of difference to our friendship.
Alisha:
On Friday playtimes, I do Librarian. Librarian means that you tidy up the Library and make sure it looks nice for visitors to come and see.
The good thing about Librarian is that I'm not always outside on the playground so I have to be reminded that I'm taking people away from playing their games that I can't play and I can't play them…
I do miss school a lot because of my Asthma, sometimes I could've had an Asthma attack or I could be very unwell because of my Asthma.
There have been some girls who have been mean to me about Asthma because… sometimes I miss out on school and then they think that maybe I've chickened out on something or they've excluded me because I've missed out on their club and they've thought that I was doing it on purpose.
That makes me feel really upset because they don't understand that I'm not doing it on purpose, it's Asthma and it's not my fault.
People should take Asthma seriously because it is a very bad thing and first it might not seem like it because you could just start wheezing but then you could have an Asthma attack and end up in hospital, and then…the last thing, that is the worst thing is that they could die!
So it is very serious.
My advice to the people who have friends that are Asthmatics, or people in their class that have Asthma, is that…if you get angry with them cos they missed a day of school and then that's your partner or someone, don't get angry with them because it's Asthma and you can't see it but it does affect them.
My best friends help me by asking the teacher if I could go with them in partners if I'd missed out on that day and they will tell me everything that we've missed and help me.
My friends are very understanding cos they know that my Asthma is very bad.
Instead of running, they come and play with me… Like hand games or slow games that I don't have to run about much and that does really help me.
Video summary
Alisha is a nine-year-old girl who suffers from asthma.
She talks about how it affects her life and the things she finds difficult.
Alisha’s asthma is a serious medical condition and an attack can be fatal.
Her asthma is affected by exercise, making her cough and become short of breath, so she uses an inhaler to keep it under control.
She also finds it difficult to play outside in the cold weather.
As a result, Alisha has to be careful what activities she does.
She prefers more passive activities which she does with a friend.
Her friends will often give up their games to play with her and play games where there is little or no running.
The asthma causes her to miss school sometimes and she falls behind with her work.
Some pupils have been mean to her, while others exclude her from their activities, thinking she does it on purpose.
Her friends help her to catch up with her school work and are very supportive.
This clip is from the series Same but Different.
Teacher Notes
The class could have a discussion about the causes and effects of asthma, or a discussion about how asthma may make a person appear different and not be able to join in with some activities.
The children could explore how asthma can be controlled through the use of an inhaler, and consider of the role of medicine as a drug.
The children could also be taught what to do in an emergency if someone has an asthma attack.
This short film will be relevant for teaching PSHE at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2nd Level in Scotland.
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