Letting teachers know?

I’m a college professor and been a T1 diabetic for 24 years. I always tell my students on the first day of class (especially if the class is right before lunch, when I typically go low) just to let them know the situation.

I have a couple of students who are on the pump (I’ll be starting the pump this summer) and they tell me and I appreciate it. I have a very relaxed classroom (if students want to eat and drink, it is fine with me - I tell them I’m not the food police). I let them know I’m diabetic because some days I might be having a snack or needing some juice (which I either have in my office just down the hall or carry in my bag to class each day).

I think my students are glad that I’m sharing something personal with them and I also look at it as part of their “education” to know there are diabetics all around them throughout life and we can be successful people. I teach communication classes, so we tend to get to know one another pretty well before the semester is over.

My advice: let your teachers and fellow students (those in your major) know!

Greetings! As a college professor and a mother of a T1…I would advise you to share this important information with your professors/graduate student instructors/advisors/close classmates/roommates etc. Chances are some of the TAs won’t know what diabetes is or how it effects brain function when you have lows or extreme highs. I’ve read reports of your brain needing 24-hour recovery from an extreme low. Every one wants you to succeed in school and your life opportunities…let people know so they can help if needed.

Here’s my back to college…going to college advise for grades (sometimes hard to follow).

  1. Tell those in a position of power over your grades.
  2. Don’t procrastinate with your own studies…if you get ill before a test/project/paper, you will be prepared if you don’t put it off and wait to the last minute. We just never know…even for non-diabetics.
  3. If you do have a problem because of diabetic complications/lows/highs, email, phone, send a message/the homework/the report in anyway. Ask for a small extension…one that fits a reasonable time frame. Professors only raise eyebrows if it a chronic request…for every test, paper, assignment.
  4. Hang tough! You can do it!

Protocol, experience requires I let them know… but with some every once in a while I have kept it to myself. Never kept it secret with any exercise instructors though. By in large never needed anything my peers did not…

A preference, a choice…

Stuart

This may be bad… but I definitely let them know during the first week of class. That way if I miss class, I can use it as an excuse.

This term two of my teachers know. Though one of them teaches two of my classes and is my advisor for Graphic Design. The other one knows because I had to call her about not being at class. The only other people that know is the Director of the Campus and the Registar. He also deals with Student Services. Kind of a switch from not telling to telling my teachers. Though now with my laptop computer with all the applications I need and the internet at home, it makes it a lot easier.

i actually went to my school’s healthy and disability office. they set me up with this doctor who i explained to what my systems and side effects could be, what medicine i need to take, etc. after that he printed out a few notes to give to my teacher and all my teachers were open to accept what i needed to do.
in all honest i was afraid to tell my teachers myself but hey, teachers are professionals and people too they understand.

Have you ever had any problems telling your students about your type 1? When I was an adjunct at a community college and told my students about my dm, I had a few complain to the dean about it. My dean, in turn, told me to not talk about my dm to my students again. It’s a shame to have to hide diabetes from students; it could be used as a “teachable moment”, if handled right!

I did talk to my professors about it, letting them know about my dm, but I think it went in one ear and out the other for most of them. I was actually in grad school when I was diagnosed, and the responses I got from the professors at that time ranged from “There are a lot of others who have worse problems” to “Don’t cry in my office!” (said within hours of my dx), all of which really made me want to open up about my new diagnosis. The next group of profs I dealt with were not much better. My diabetes was spinning out of control, I was getting sicker and sicker, and all they could say was that diabetes wasn’t really a matter of life and death. Their research, OTOH…

Regardless of professor attitudes, I still recommend telling them about your diabetes, even if they really don’t understand anything about it. Then if something happens during class, they should be able to speak for you.

That sucks! Profs. can be such arrogant egotistical jerks sometimes!!

I tell all my high school students. I frequently have to treat lows, highs, or stop beeping devices during my lessons, so I have to be pretty open about it. No one has ever told me not to discuss it.

That’s great, Melissa! I was asked to not say anything to my students about 10 years ago, and at that time, a painter with AIDS had a showing of his art at a local college. He would use a little of his blood in certain paintings to make it unique and to make a statement about AIDS. The people in the community wanted the school to force the artist to leave and to have those paintings destroyed. Really, these people were scared that they could catch AIDS from the paintings! I suppose that attitude transfered to other areas, including bg testing, and I got caught in the middle. I am glad that over the years, fewer people have hassled me about testing and injecting.

I agree; the attitudes these professors showed was really sucky. The two comments that really stuck with me were the “Don’t cry in my office” that was said within hours of my dx, and the “diabetes isn’t a matter of life and death” comment. The irony about the “don’t cry” comment is that the person who said it had recently suffered a tremendous loss of his own – his wife miscarried – so you’d think he would have been a bit more sensitive and compassionate toward someone else going through a major life change. Just goes to show you…

The “diabetes isn’t a matter of life and death” comment came when I was arguing for direct instruction for diabetes education as opposed to using more discovery-based learning. He thought that it was totally OK for, say, a diabetic to learn how to inject insulin by stumbling around and making errors, that it wouldn’t hurt the person. He refused to believe that quickly learning how to manage your dm is extremely important, no matter the issue I brought up. He’s got a couple of young kids, both pre-teens, and I hope they don’t develop diabetes, since their dad doesn’t believe in actually telling them the mechanics of testing and injecting!

I let my professors know, usually because of food and testing. Till know I never had a big problem with my diabetes in class, testing can be done under the table and usually nobody notices anyways and I talked to my profs about eating during class and exams and they were really understandable…

I let professors know upfront. I didn’t tell one prof and when I grabbed a snack in the middle of an exam, she pulled me aside, I told her I was diabetic and she asked to see my state medical card! I told her that if she wanted me to pass out in class and cause an even bigger scene, I could do that too, and that I would call the paramedicas in advance next time so they would know to come give me a boost…

safe to say, she lets me eat whenever I need to.
Other than that, I’ve yet to come up against any trouble…

Ive also come to notice that if I tell my professors, They make a point to get to know me and since they know me and look out for me, If im starting to struggle they kinda question me to make sure Im ok.

I don’t tell them. But I’m starting to think that it is a good idea the farther I go along. Too many times where I have lows and some highs in classes and have to leave. I’m sure they think that I’m just leaving instead of handling my health.

I let my instructors know. I just finished my first semester of college and most my instruction thanked me for letting them know because if something goes wrong say your having a low blood sugar and you pass out or something it's important for them to know you have diabetes and they asked me for permission to go into my purse and get me something to eat if that ever where to happen. I think it's important I always let them know.

As a retired college professor, a point of law is shared with all college professors in the USA, whether they remember it or not. The USA - Americans with Disabilities Act educational component says students must declare their disability to the school’s disability support services or not be eligible for accommodation. For example, if a college has a rule about “no eating in a classroom” and a diabetic starts hypo in the middle of a quiz and needs to eat, if they are not on the school’s disability list, then they must leave the quiz to treat their “undeclared” hypo. If they have declared to the school’s disability office, then they can eat at their seat and continue on the quiz. This is NOT FAIR in my eyes but it is the way many schools look at disabilities - declared = real, undeclared = does not exist.



So, my two cents worth is - if you are a student, declare your diabetes to your disability office and review the accommodations your are seeking like: eat in class when no eating rules apply, testing BG during class - step into hall or perform at seat, have pump that beeps and not be “penalized” for not silencing a communications device, and similar events.



Bottom line, always discuss so you have as much protection to defend from college faculty who may be so far into their subject matter they forget how to be human and compassionate.

A lot of time when other kids voice their disabilities, everyone else doesnt think its fair they get special treatment. The only time teachers knew was was when i was diagnosed in middle school. after i graduated i kept it to myself and few friends. i think it was good practice for college b/c i know how to handle unexpected situations w/o making a scene.

I’m newly diagnosed and finishing up a PhD now. I was actually in the hospital on the first day of one of my classes (that I teach) this semester, which meant that unfortunately, more people ended up finding out about it than I would’ve told otherwise. I had to arrange for a substitute, and the reason got around to many of the higher-ups in my department.

As far as students informing me of diabetes (or any other medical condition), I think it can be helpful. Of course, I’ve never minded snacks or such in classes, and the only reason a gadget would bother me was if it was someone talking or texting on the phone. But one thing that I have encountered one time to many is the student who takes advantage of me for making allowances (especially regarding attendance policies).