My son just started school this year. His teacher was out on marterinty leave until here recently. So when she got back I asked if my son and I could do a sort of show and tell about his diabetes, Mikey got up in front of his class and explained to all of them about the pod he wears and why he gets to use the restroom and get drinks when they cant. He did really well at explaining it in his terms for only being 5. To my surprise the kids where so receptive it and couldnt ask enough questions. I even had some kids come back and tells us they want to have diabetes to so they could were the pod too. I dont know why but the kids thought it made him some kind of superhero. I was wondering if any of you did the show and tell thing and if it has cause a different reaction like them picking on our child or making fun of them. My other son will be in school soon and and I was wonder if I should really have brought it up.
As an adult onset T2 without any children I can only say that this is truly inspiring. Good for your son! When you think about it it is kids like him that will grow up and make a HUGE difference in people’s attitudes towards PWD along with how PWD get treated by insurers and how the government will prioritize research towards a cure. And kudos to you for interacting with the teacher and encouraging your son to do this. Thank you so much for sharing this. You should encourage him to speak to community groups and other classes and he should be nominated as one of the CNN heros by his teacher.
My son is 15 and he is still on the pen but will be on the pod this spring. He tells all his friends. They sympathize with him and watch over him. No one has ever teased him…the girls talk to him more now too. He has a support group of 9 other diabetics in his HighSchool and two are in his classes. He doesn’t hide it and then it doesn’t seem “different”. The HS kids ask him questions too! Just bigger 5 yr. olds. Hope your son keeps the confidence that he has now. That he doesn’t ever feel bad about it. It is just something that makes him unique. I think that a lot of kids…esp the girls…know about Nick Jonas being on the pod…so they think it is cool? This disease can be so overwhelming in so many areas…glad it isn’t that way for him at school.
This is a beautiful story I can only imagine how proud your son made you as he stood in front of his class.
I think it was a great way to bring awareness.
No show & tell for my daughter but she is very open with sharing the cause of her diabetes with others.
Have a great day!!!
Maxie Atkins
We did it when my son was diagnosed in 3rd grade, and we did it again at the beginning of this year in 4th grade. His endo told him in the hospital that his friends would think he was a superhero - so he was very willing for me to come in with him and talk about it. We got the same reaction, and did this year too. One little girl in his class told her mom she had to pack some extra snacks in her backpack in case my son needed them. The other day after school his friends were waiting for him to come play football with him - and he was too low. And of course, he had just run out of glucose tabs. One friend ran over, and said - “hey, will applesauce work?” He had one in his backpack left from lunch. They love to be a part of his whole experience!
Hi Tracy. My daughter was diagnosed shortly after she started Pre-K. She was on shots for the first two years and then got on the pump. Of course by this time many children knew she had diabetes but didn’t quite understand what it was. When she got on her pump that it when all the questions started pouring in. We decided that it would be a great idea to come in and talk to the children about her diabetes and why she did what she did. We did this her 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of school. She is now in 4th grade. It was the best thing we could have done for her and the children. We have had an extremely positive experience by showing and telling. My best to you!
Tracy & Mikey,
My daughter Emma was in grade 2 when she was diagnosed. The children in her class were all very concerned for her and sent wonderful gifts to the hospital. When she returned, it happened to be the annual speech contests… so she did the speech on her diabetes. It was a fantastic way to help the other children understand what was happening with Emma (as well as for Emma herself to understand), and why she had to do certain things (including carrying a cell phone to have direct contact with me regarding her blood sugars, etc.)
In a way, our children our superheros in my opinion… children can see this very easily. It’s an incredible responsibility to carry at such a young age.
Fortunately, Emma has never had to feel like she should hide what she has. Now Emma is in grade 6 and all her incredible friends have lived through her experience at school with her… they watch out for her at recess, and all (including every teacher, principle or secretary), who she encounters, always respect her for her courageous, positive attitude.
It’s my opinion that you did a wonderful thing, and your son will benefit from it a great deal. There are many things that I would love to change since diabetes came into our life, but sharing Emma’s journey with others is not one of them.
In fact I am in the process of writing a book to help bring more awareness of this disease to others, and more importantly, the control we actually have in what seems like uncontrollable circumstances. I also hope to raise money for the cure. You can check out my project at www.acureforemma.com
Keep up the excellent work
Many Blessings,
Julie 
My son was diagnosed last summer just before starting 5th grade. He wasn’t shy or embarassed about it one bit. I did ask the teacher if she though Taking Diabetes to School was appropriate for the grade level and she did. She read it to the class and then kids asked questions for him to answer. The kids in his class are so receptive and so accepting. Lots of them chime in that they have a grandpa (or aunt or someone) with Type 1 and Camden tells them the differences. He has definitely felt like this is his “cool” thing (like breaking a leg and getting to cast) from the start. Being 10 year old boys, a lot of his friends want to test and find out their number, too. He was a little apprehensive about showing his pump to kids at school until he got it. He was so excited when it was hooked up I guess he showed everyone. They all seem to think that’s even cooler than the meter.
Last week he came home with his Valentine’s bag filled with candies and cards, etc. He dumped it out to show me all that he got and one of his friends had even used a heart sticker to tape the nutrtion facts to his lollipop. I love seeing how much the kids around him are learning about the disease!
I was Dx’ed at age 11, going into the 5th grade (I think). I was open about it too, b/c I wanted to be a cross country runner and wanted to keep doing everything I was already doing. I didn’t mind if people asked me questions and I liked being able to educate others about it. For about 8 1/2 yrs after diagnosis I did MDI, and my friends used to want to watch me stick myself (not sure why 
They would also see who could ‘guess the number’…this was actually a good game b/c I played too, and it helped me really try to hone in on my feelings of being higher or lower than where I wanted to be.
It’s fantastic that his classmates have embraced it so whole-heartedly. That’s also a great idea to have the teacher read that and have him be the Q&A guy Awesome. Hopefully with more proactive steps like this, a more educated group of individuals will be fostered and raised (to help dispel some of the inaccuracies about diabetes)!!
I meant Type TWO when I said he tells the kids the differences. oops.
my son is 4 and last xmas I got him the book even superheros get diabetes, sounds like your son would enjoy that book!
My son was diagnosed this school year (4th grade) right after school started. He was out of school for 2 weeks and his teacher didn’t explain to the class why he was out because she didn’t want to violate his privacy. So his first day back (we were terrified to send him) my husband went with him and stayed the day. He got up and did the show and tell for John and said it was a very positive experience. He said the kids all asked lots of questions. John is very open about his diabetes and doesn’t mind talking about it, but at that time it was still very new and John wasn’t sure he knew enough to talk about it.
We will start next year off the same way, but I think most all of the kids know him now. He is never teased and all the kids and school staff look out for him. When I walk in to the school the kids ask me if I’m there because John is too low or too high. Or they will tell me that John was 123 at lunch, or something like that.
Kids are truly amazing. Especially when you compare the comments in this topic to the ones in the topic “To be offended or not to be offended” where we were talking about comments from adults.
My daughter is in 4th grade at an all-girls school, and we did a show and tell right after she was diagnosed, which was over the holidays. The girls were all interested, and it was very valuable. They often watch her prick her finger, and everyone was excited when she got her pump. I don’t think you should hide it. Kids think that stuff they don’t know about (i.e., a pod) is weird, and stuff they know about is cool.