Salute JA Warriors During Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

July may be best known for watching fireworks, eating ice cream and splashing in the pool. But it’s also the month when we recognize that one out of every 250 kids in the United States lives with some form of juvenile arthritis (JA).

Yes, July isJuvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, dedicated to making everyone aware that kids get arthritis, too – and a reminder that, while a lot of progress has been made in treating it, there’s still a lot more to do to get to the bottom of this painful and debilitating disorder.

So this month, help spread awareness about the 300,000 kids nationwide who suffer from JA, and salute their bravery, strength and determination as mighty JA Warriors! Support your favorite Warrior bysharing your story,sharing our causeandmaking a donationtoday!

What to Know About JA

JA is an autoimmune disease where the child’s immune system mistakenly targets and attacks healthy tissue.There are many kinds of JAand other childhood rheumatic conditions, likelupus,sclerodermaandjuvenile dermatomyositis. Each has its own symptoms, treatments and prognosis. Though children with JA often have similar symptoms, such as pain, swelling, stiffness and rashes, there’s no single symptom that indicates with certainty that a child has it, requiring a thorough examination by a pediatric rheumatologist and blood work or imaging studies.

For a child diagnosed with JA today, the prognosis is better than it ever has been. The advent of new drugs and established track records with the older ones make it possible for most kids to live fulfilling, active lives, and in most cases avoid the severe, permanent joint damage that was common a generation ago.

早期发现很重要，确定孩子患的是哪种关节炎是第一步。缓解，或不活跃的疾病，是底线目标，尽快关闭疾病。With thevariety of treatment optionsavailable today, and the early, aggressive use of therapies, doctors are now, more than ever, able to reduce or stop the inflammatory process and achieve remission, which may or may not last for the rest of the child’s life.

Looking for Groundbreaking Solutions

关节炎基金会非常重视JA，我们把它作为我们最优先考虑的事情之一。我们正在召集来自全国和世界各地的其他卫生组织和医学专家，以确定导致儿童关节炎和其他风湿病的原因，并确定对每个人最安全、最有效的治疗方法。我们的目标是消除尝试和错误，这是我们今天唯一的方法，我们正在实现这一目标的路上。

与此同时，我们正在帮助有JA的家庭了解他们需要知道的东西，并与彼此联系，这样他们就可以从彼此的经验中受益。We hostdozens of summer campsthroughout the U.S., where kids get to meet peers who are going through the same thing, as well as learn how to manage the disease, gain self-confidence and just have fun being a kid.

JA Awareness Month also coincides with ourNational Juvenile Arthritis Conference, which kicks off in mid-July at the first of two locations, in Houston, followed by a second conference in August in Indianapolis. It’s our 33^rdannual national event, which has touched the lives of more than 25,000 participants – kids, parents, siblings, caregivers and health care providers – over the years.

How You Can Help

Every voice counts – you canhelp us spread awarenessabout the 300,000 kids nationwide who strive to be JA Warriors!

• First,share your storyabout the triumphs and challenges they have had to face. Be an inspiration for others, and read about other Warriors in our community!
• Second,share our cause on social media.Tell your family and friends that it’s JA Awareness month and ask them to support our Warriors!
• Finally, you canhelp us fund research for a cureand ensure that we keep all of our worthwhile JA efforts – like JA Camps and Juvenile Arthritis Conferences – going each year, by donating. Every dollar helps!

Together, we can help our JA Warriors say Yes – to playing with friends, attending their classes – and to being a kid!

Related Resources:

• KidsGetArthritisToo.org
• Arthritis Foundation JA Summer Camps
• Arthritis Foundation National Juvenile Arthritis Conferences
• About Juvenile Arthritis