Thank you for participating in my study about the emotional and social impact of having an autoimmune disease and how patients attempt to cope with their disease.  My name is Scott Weitman and I am a 16 year old high school student living with an autoimmune disease called Alopecia. Alopecia causes me to lose my hair which makes it devastating for me as a high school student.  

The goal of my survey based project is to find effective coping strategies for people living with an autoimmune disease, especially those that impact their appearance.  

Important information to know before beginning the survey:
-The purpose of this study is to:
        -gain insight into the emotional and social impact of autoimmune diseases.
        -gain insight into how people attempt to cope with their autoimmune disease.
        -share effective coping strategies with people struggling with an autoimmune disease that affect their appearance.
-The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
-The survey is for anyone above the age of 7 years old.
-If the participant is below 18 years old they have to have parental consent.
-An asterisk* means that the question is required.

-Your responses will be kept completely confidential and anonymous.
-You are allowed to stop your participation in the survey at any time.
-Your answers to the survey questions will not be able to be linked back to you.
If you are completing the survey on a phone you will have to scroll to the right to see the other response options.
-If you have any questions regarding the survey, you can reach out to me at scott.weitman@yorktown.org or my science research teacher, Mr. Blueglass, at yorktownhusker@gmail.com.