mY son is 6 years old and a first grader,He is attending the same school as last year only because i thought it would be easier for him as well as for the staff since we were their last year.Well today was his first day back the principal was suppose to set up a meeting with my self as well as all his new teachers so that everyone would be aware of his needs and she never did,they also have a new nurse that has never work with a diabetic kid or with an insulin pump and im just learning of this today,I left a message with the secretary asking that the principal call me so that we could get everything settled for school today and she never returned my call.So from today till probably the next couple of weeks im going to have to be in the school 3 to 4 times training the new nurse as well as making sure everyone is in the same page with what to do if my son shows any signs of a low.Can someone please share their opinion on this matter with me as well as any experiences any one has had in their kids school.And please Please feel free to give me some advice.
Liza,
Do you have a 504 in place? If not, you need one. My son has been out since he was diagnosed a little over a week ago because the school doesn't want him there until everyone is on the same page. I don't know where you live, but we are in Phoenix and Children's Hospital will send an educator to train every staff member that comes in contact with my son. If you have time and live close by your school, that is great. But most of us don't have time to be there and the school, by law, has to make accommodations for your child. Juvenile Diabetes is a legal disability and they are responsible for your child while they are at school. They have to provide a nurse for your child to check their blood sugar and give their insulin and react to any crisis. And don't sign the 504 until you are happy with it. Google search. There are some really good samples online. And jdrf.org has a really good article on laws protecting children with diabetes.
Hang in there!
Cathy
My daughter started kindergarten today and although there have been other kids there with T1, she is the first with the pump. She has a Medtronic and I contacted them directly and had them send a Certified Nurse Trainer into her school just last week to set up training. I of course sat in but it takes the burden off of you. And a 504 plan is a must and the trainer looked over mine and helped me with that. You may want to look into it. Not sure what pump your son has but I think most of the company's would do this. And it was all at no charge to me, which was great.
After that, I would march into the school and demand to be seen immediately by the principal. Be calm, but tell them that this needs to be addressed NOW. Training cannot wait for any of them. I was lucky, we live in a very small town so the school administrator actually called me in June to talk about training. It just happened I had contacted Medtronic the day before and knew that someone would be coming in to train them. Show then that you are willing to help them all learn, but you can't be there every day. The whole school, or staff involved needs to be on the same page as soon as possible. Of course they will always have questions as situations arise, but that is bound to happen. Another thing i did was contact the County Health office in our area and they too sat in on the training. They may have idea's for you as well. Good luck and let us know what happens.
I dont have a 504 in place because he also has a submus cleft palate which enables him to speak clearly and there for has an iep .We live in Massachusetts, Ive been going through these changes since he was in preschool his endocrin is aware of this and hasnt offered any help and surely has never mentioned anything on nurse training of any kind for the school.Weve so far been through 4 nurses that i myself has had to train,I pretty much spent his entire kindergarden year in the school.
He has a medtronic 522 pump,Do you think they would offer the same training for my sons school nurse?How do you or did you manage your daughters lunch and snack?do you pack her lunch or does she eat school lunch?do you count the carbs so that the nurse doesnt have to?Im asking these questions because I pack my sons lunch because its easier for me to know the carbs then to guess,Hes school doesnt really know how many carbs are in their lunches, this is another issue I have to deal with.These are just the tip of the iceburg things that ive been going through with the school and staff.
she eats school lunch and they give me a copy of the menu the week before and I attempt to figure out the carbs. I tried packing her lunch and she always wanted hot lunch at daycare. i gave her the choice and she wants hot so we make it work. We don't even have a school nurse. A county nurse shows up about twice a month. Her teacher handles the pump, but Courtney does most of the work. Courtney insists she push the buttons so her teacher tells her what numbers to push in, the teacher watches to make sure Courtney enters it correctly and then watches to make sure she goes all the way thru. We let her do that at home too.
I would bet Medtronic would send someone. They told me that is very common for them to do. I called their customer service number and explained what I wanted. they then forwarded me to the local nurse and she contacted me. I know the local childrens hospital would have given me the same information sooner had I known to ask. Try calling them or calling your endo office. I am sure there is someone in the area, or willing to travel to your area for this type of thing. i would call ASAP and get the training going. Keep me posted please and good luck.