Asthma education: special applications for the school-age child

School-age children have learning needs unique to their psychosocial and cognitive developmental stage. Teaching that requires the learner to master abstract concepts is particularly challenging. This article describes how the idea for an interactive doll/model evolved among a group of health care professionals at a day camp for children with asthma. How this group of educators designed, developed, and field-tested the model in clinic and classroom environments are presented and discussed. Strategies related to a class on key concepts of asthma education illustrate the various ways the model can be used to facilitate learning. Field testing has shown that this teaching aid enhances knowledge retention and has a high degree of learner satisfaction.