I am working on a senior project for school and am focusing on T1D. I have had d for 10 years so I can relate to the kids and what they are going through on a daily basis. I’m focusing mainly on schools. My main questions are (1) What stands in the way of children taking good care of themselves? (2) What accomodations should schools be forced to make? (3) In what ways do Diabetics need to be their own advocate?
I plan on meeting with a group of t1 kids 1-2x monthly. I want to teach the kids the importance of (1) taking care of themselves (2) speaking up for themselves. I also plan on doing a presentation for grade schoolers to enhance awareness and possibly a presentation at my high school to enhance awareness and understanding.
I’m going to mainly look at elem and middle school children, but would like to hear from parents of highschoolers as well. If you’re willing to answer my questions, you can either post them or pm me. I am also interested in seeing school policies regarding diabetic students (private and public). So if you have this or could get it from your school please pm me.
Here is my first question: What are the 5 most important things that your school can provide/do for your diabetic child(ren)? Please state your child’s age
Thank You so much for your help! I hope we can make a difference through this.
I am T1 and have been since the age of 4. When I started school in 1986, there were no 504 plans. My school just had to work with me on things. It wasn’t such a big deal as it is now days. There were very few people in my school, so we all knew everybody and they all took care of me.
I went into educations and in my training I did deal with a few diabetic students. One problem I saw was the school letting the child run high instead of treating because they feared the lows.
Also, I’ve heard of students not being able to test their own blood sugar.
We didn’t have a school nurse when I was young, so my teacher’s all learned how to use my meter and I tested myself. There was only 1 time when they had to check for me.
I think students should be allowed primary care of their diabetes (with the assistance of nursing and teaching staff) because the child will know what’s going on more often than not and can tell others how to deal with it.
My son is six years old and in the first Grade. The five most important things schools can do is:
Educate ALL the staff in the school about Diabetes and make them aware of the Diabetic child.
Do whatever they can to accomodate the child so they can feel comfortable with testing and safe.
Ensure that they do not allow the child to go low because of rules set out for the other kids.
Educate the kids in the classroom.
Take the child serious when they say they are not feeling well/are low. I have some stories where the teacher thought the child was faking.
With my son, the first thing the principal said to us when we told her that he must be tested by a teacher or staff member was that they are NOT medical personnel and can’t do it. We pushed of course and had the home care nurse set her straight. Now, we just found out that the teachers ARE allowed to do testing in the classroom despite the principal stating that teachers could not. We found a written policy the school board on their website. We are not happy with this principal and will be taking action this week.
I am very angry that all this principal is worried about is liability. My son’s health and his convenience is more important that this principal’s issues. Our little boy is the one who has to live with Diabetes and the least the principal can do is to be accomodating.
