I am brand new to this site, but already can tell I will learn so much from it! My daughter, Jillian, is 5 and was diagnosed with t1 on Nov. 16th, 2010. It has been very hard. We live in a small town, with very little resources and travel 3 hrs to Philadelphia, PA to get her care. I want her to have the best possible care right now.
My first post on here is about Kindergarten. RIght now she is in pre-k for 2.5 hrs in the morning. Other than being trained on lows, glucagon, and her snacks; there is little to be done away from me.
I wanted to know what tips other parents have for me about going into Kindergarten. She has her orientation coming up and I want to be prepared. What about a 504? How do I go about doing one? Who do I need to contact in the school system?
Any tips are very much appreciated! Thank you so much!
Kudos to you for being proactive! I'm glad you found this site... my little man was diagnosed at the end of August and I wish I found these boards a bit sooner than I did. You are sure to get some great answers! Jonas is only 4 and has to wait until fall '12 to go to Kindy so we still have a while before we have to worry about this, but I'm keeping watch on all these posts. I'm already used to dealing with IEPS and the school because of my son with Autism, but haven't dealt with a 504 yet so I'm looking fwd to the replies as well :)
My Grandson was newly diagnosed also. Spend Christmas in the hospital. He is in the first grade. Been pretty tough getting adjusted to school!! However, I am not familiar with 504??
I started kingergarten just a few months after being diagnosed. This was back in the 70's, so I know a lot has changed. But some simple suggestions:
My mom taught me how to treat a low myself and to never be shy about stopping whatever I was doing to treat it/test. (I was actually in 2nd grade before glucose meters were available, so testing wasn't an issue in Kindergarten.)
At the beginning of the school year my mom met with my classroom teacher, PE teacher, and school nurse to give them an instructions on treating a low blood sugar. Also any issues where my mom should be called immediately.
Despite attending school before glucose meters, 504 plans, or cell phones existed, I never had a scary blood sugar problem at school. With all the great technology we have now, I'm sure your daughter will be fine in school.
-Jenna
P.S. Isn't it amazing how kids grow up in Pre-K and Kindergarten? My son is in Pre-K this year and I can hardly believe how different he is. We live in a small town too and I'm thankful for our little school where people watch out for each other. Take care.
My mom said when I was in preschool (and leading up to 7th grade), she would meet with the teachers and administators a week or so before school started and give them a brown paper bag of snacks (2 at the most) to keep in their classroom for me. She usually had a step-by-step outline (typed out by my pediatric endo) to give to each teacher and the school nurse.
This worked out well, for the most part. I wore a watch that would beep at certain times of the day, reminding myself and my teachers to check my blood sugar. I had to go to the nurse's office to do injections and the school nutritionist watched me like a hawk in the cafeteria during lunch.
Good luck! Sending lots of positivity your way so you won't endure any problems!
My son Jesse was diagnosed last year, 1 month into kindergarten. like meghann said the schools cafateria teacher has to keep an eye on your daughter, jesse ate his lunch at morning snack and was pretty high at lunch, where was the super, we're not sure, but really thats the only concern we've come across 1 1/2 later
you need to call the nurse and the kindergarten teacher and set up a meeting. In the meeting discuss her diabetes care and what you need them to do. Then you need to find a 504 plan. You can look online or in the Pink Panther books on diabetes but basically its just saying that your daughter needs to have access to the bathroom, water, juice, insulin (pump or syringe) at all times and that she will not be prohibited from participating in any sports/activities due to her disease. This is basically what mine says but i have a section on standardized testing!
Go to the orientation and ask about it there. You will want to have a 504 (even if they tell you that they can work without one. Do it anyway.) But that won't need to be agreed to until she actually starts in the fall (or should be put in place a few weeks before).
We are also going thru this, though my son is in a wonderful childcare and preschool where they have been absolutely wonderful with his care. He is on a pump so I think that makes it a little easier for them. But now we have to decide if we keep him in the private school or transfer to the public school.
I would talk with your drs and nurses at your appts between now and the start of school, they will help write the plans for what needs to be done at school and will be familiar with the processes.
One thing I made sure my son could do when he started pre-K was to do his own BG checks. This way the teachers only have to tell him to check and supervise to see the number.
Thank you to EVERYONE for all of the wonderful tips. They really help. It even just helps to talk with other parents that have gone/will go through the same thing as me.
This site really helps to make me not feel so alone. Thank you to everyone!!