Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To understand the experience of children with special health needs at school. METHOD: Qualitative research using Symbolic Interactionism as a theoretical framework and assumptions of Grounded Theory as a methodological framework. Data collected in a pediatric outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in an inland city of the state of São Paulo. The following collection strategies were used: participant observation, drawing, and semi-structured interviews. Twenty-two school-age children with special health needs participated in the research, all of whom attended school. RESULTS: Three categories were constructed representing the experience of children with special health needs at school: Experiencing the school environment, Identifying obstacles, and Finding ways to move forward despite the illness. These children's experiences at school allowed us to understand their difficulties, their need for adaptation and their actions in the face of the process related to their development. CONCLUSION: The need for acceptance, safety, and trust in the school environment and in the people who make it up was identified, which are fundamental factors for the children to be able to continue their development and learning, despite the illness.