I agree with pro differentiation. If we don't tell people what type we are they aren't going to learn anything. I always call myself a type 1 diabetic. I was diagnosed at 26, so not as a child, but that in itself helps improve peoples knowledge of it. It bugs me when on TV they refer to 'diabetes' instead of specifying the type. There is no wonder there are so many misconceptions about it. The more awareness of different types, causes, treatments etc the better in my eyes.
My sister works for an out of hours doctors surgery helpline. It really does amaze me by how many people ring up and say they are diabetic and having problems, she'll ask them what type they are and they don't even know. I've lost count of how many people she has told me about that have given her this answer. Some of them have been diabetic for 10+ years, some for not very long. Now this wasn't because they were in-between types etc, they just genuinely didn't know there was more than one type. All they knew was they had diabetes. Now that is scary to me. :?
My sister works for an out of hours doctors surgery helpline. It really does amaze me by how many people ring up and say they are diabetic and having problems, she'll ask them what type they are and they don't even know. I've lost count of how many people she has told me about that have given her this answer. Some of them have been diabetic for 10+ years, some for not very long. Now this wasn't because they were in-between types etc, they just genuinely didn't know there was more than one type. All they knew was they had diabetes. Now that is scary to me. :?