excluded from end of term party

Dear Zoee
You have done a brilliant job on your school. Many adults coulddn't have managed that. Do you have a "special" teacher who can support you? Form tutor or year head perhaps? You should be able to get a pack from Diabetes Uk which informs the school. ( they're good at that, even if behind the times on dietary advice).
Well done!!

Hanadr,

Thank you. I dont have a 'special' teacher but i can talk to my form teacher or my head of year and they are very supportive. I am also getting a special card from learning support which if my BS is high will let me go to the toilet and do an injection and or reading.

Good luck donnamum

Dabeteschild,
Wow, really well done, you are doing a fantastic job on your school! Keep up the good work .
Diabetesmum

donnamum said:

That should be a start for first week of term especially when parents of bully are on govorners.

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Oh wow, that's a gift, use it for all it's worth. Nothing like a bit of political embarressment to make people suddenly spring into action.

Good luck with it all, don't let them phase you.

Hi, I have only just found this forum, though my 3 year old was diagnosed with Type 1 six months ago.

Grace's nursery had an end of term "teddy bear's picnic". The teacher told me there would be a couple of sandwiches and she'd make sure DD didn't have loads. When I picked her up, on the way home she told me she'd had jam sandwiches, lemonade, a big bun with icing on, and a milky way!!!!!

At least she wasn't excluded but I wish they'd told me about it properly in advance. In the last week of term they also had a treat of a visit from the ice cream van. When it was Easter, in the last 4 days of term they made chocolatey buns, then had a treasure hunt where they all found and ate loads of chocolate, and then were given creme eggs on the last day!

They have had training from the diabetic nurse but never seem to make any provision for my DD - eg when the ice cream van was coming (at 10.30am) I asked what they were planning to do for Grace, and they said "oh I don't know". Same with the treasure hunt. She hadn't long been diagnosed and I wasn't confident to just give her another dose of novorapid, as she was only having mixtard30 in the mornings.

Sorry for the essay! Layla x

You need to make your own provision for her for parties, so she is not left out, but not harmed by what they give her.

I don't cater for children, but I do make special provision for other diabetics.

Jellies can be made from gelatine or Vegegel (Vegegel sets on cooling so doesn't need 24 hours notice.) Sweeten with saccharin, Splenda or other non-sugars, or simply add NAS fruit squash or a little smoothie. No-added-sugar Dream Topping is a useful alternative to ice-cream. Mixing jams with apple sauce reduces the sugar content. (Tescos is 10% sugar.) Cheese triangles are useful snacks & can be eaten like sweets, though opening them will be a challenge. Wheatgerm is only 30% carbohydrate, so is a useful alternative to biscuit crumb for cheese-cakes & trifle. Dried apricots are nicer than sweets imo.

All of these suggestions will be acceptable to the other children. Hope that helps. Give Grace a kiss from me.

Ian

Awww thank you!! That's really helpful for the future.

I would have done *something* to prepare for the party if they'd warned me what they were going to be eating - the teacher said it would be small sandwiches only!

Part of the problem is also that, although Grace knows which things she isn't supposed to have (and why, and that she can have them at other times so won't entirely miss out, etc etc), she will just ignore that and eat nice things if she gets the chance! She is only 3 so it's hard!

Layla xx
ps, when it comes to September, I am going to get the diabetic nurse to come into school with me and speak to them. They have a Healthy Schools policy but it seems to get ditched at the end of every term!

Diabeteschild,
you are wonderful!
but please don't do your injections in the toilets. School toilets are not usually the most hygienic of places. What about the medical room? I don't know any secondary schools that don't have one.

I usuallydo my injections outside with my mates because they are all so interested =].
Thank you

Dear diabeteschild
congratulations on educating your schoolmates!

Thank you. I even did a lesson in science about diabetes

Thats disgusting get onto the head and then the education board....how dare they! totally inconsiderate

Hi, its a difficult situation for you. The poblem is educating the teacher. Its hard enough dealing with the ignorance and prejudice of health staff not involved in diabetes care. How does an educator deal with complex medical problems?

My daughter developed epilepsy last year. 'Luckily' there are two other fitters in her class. The school has been fab. Our local epilepsy nurse offered to go into the school- but she didn't have to, they are brill. Also, my anaethetist's daughter is in the same class who is on insulin. They are quite good with her as well. Being 12, she has lots of highs and lows which are managed well (her mum is also a local GP).

Moving school is drastic and might not be practible. Your local paediatric/community diabetic nurse would be an obvious professional who will have experience in dealing with the kind of anxieties/prejudices your teacher will have. You will have to work with the school, I am sure you feel you do not want to antagonise them.

Good luck

Hi, thanks for your message! For the "healthy school" thing, we were told before Grace started nursery that we weren't to meet them at the gate with sweets, crisps etc as they aren't allowed on school premises!! But at the same time they do loads of activities where they give out chocolate to the kids. Stupid.

I complained about the Easter treasure hunt where the treasure was chocolate. The head (who enforces the healthy school thing) said the nursery teachers should not be giving out chocolate to kids, it should only be given to parents to take home so they can decide when/whether to give it to kids. But then she backtracked and the next day said she was allowing them to do this treasure hunt with chocolate as prizes, to eat there and then. I kept Grace off school as she'd not long been diagnosed and I had no idea how to deal with it using insulin etc....

xx

They have to have fruit all week, lunch boxes must be healthy and treats like birthday cake or sweets from holiday can only be taking in on friday.

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See I hate this nonsense. I agree that kids should be eating this way, but I disagree that the school should have the right or obligation to enforce rules relating to said eating habits. It encourages a nanny-state mindset where we all rely on a higher authority to restrain us from our own impulses, where Big Brother tells us what is and is not good for us.

A dangerous, dangerous path.