I am so sorry to hear that. You are nowhere near overreacting. I would be beyond upset! Talk to the school board. They must put a better plan in place. If they do not, go to the press.
i am so sorry to hear about your daughters troubles! I hope that her teachers start to pay much closer attention to her. It is dangerous for a diabetic to be alone for so long especially if her sugars have been in the 20's and 30's. I hope she improves. We are all standing behind you.
Please know that diabetics are now covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Check the American Diabetes Association website for this information. This entitles your daughter to an IEP (individualized educational plan) if the teacher cannot meet her needs. Ask the administrators about this.
It is the job of the parent to determine what is best for the child. The teacher/instructor is there to enforce those determinations. If the parent has not expressed their expectations about a specific subject, then the teacher can make an informed decision about what is best. Please provide a written guideline to the instructor, and email it to administration. Your doctor should have something already written up.
As far as Destiny's tears are concerned, they are completely understandable. When my blood sugar drops, I am often embarrased about how confused I can become. Ask if she thinks she may have been low, bring this to the attention of the administration, and keep a snack on her/in her pack (not just with the teacher). I hope everything works out for you all.
you should get a lawyer and demand rights for your daughter the dissablities act and human rights to get accomtions to stay safe in school maby u should meet with the school with a lawyer that will get their attion i hope you get this situation under control because everybody deseves to be safe at school and the disabilties act and this is also discrimnation so you can tell a lawyer about that
that is CRAZY! I am in 8th grade and have had diabetes since 2 grade and in my school you HAVE to have a 504 plan. You should get one and also what my Mom did (because I was only the second kid in my school to have diabetes) is she trained the teacher's about symptoms of highs and lows, taught them my meal plans, and told them that anytime I needed to go to the office, I needed to be escorted by a student just in case I was very low and passed out. I feel really bad for your daughter. Also, they have kits for schools to learn about diabetes.
Hopefully something will work.
I feel really bad.
Rebecca
Kathie - you are doing the right thing. How a teacher could lose any child, but esp. one with epilepsy AND diabetes is unbelievable. Anyway, I don't have anything to add beyond what others have said, so I thought I'd comment on the Cheetos. Don't let it bother you. SImply say that your child is on a very special diet because of her medical concerns and that Cheetos are healthy FOR HER. And say that since the school is doing such a bang up job of taking care of your daughter's other health concerns that you really appreciate their insightful comments on her diet. Make sure that last part is DRIPPING with sarcasm. ;p
UPDATE:
I went to the school yesterday and I had a meeting with the principal and the school nurse. I had a list of things to talk to them about and I told them all the things I was upset about. The principal seemed genuinely upset. He appologized and asked what we could do to fix it. We made a plan for her extra diabetes testing and help, we made a plan for substitue teachers, we made a plan for her bathroom schedule, and then he promised me that the teacher would face disciplinary action for leaving my daughter alone. He also said he would call a staff meeting and talk to all the teachers about the importance of knowing where their students are. He said he would make it mandatory to count their class when they leave.
However, I do not believe anything has changed. I am sending an e-mail to the principal and if Destiny comes home with 1 more problem I am going to call an attorney.
Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and advice. It is good to know I was not over reacting and that you were all as concerned as I was.
JDVs Mom, that is great advice about the Cheetos. Thank you!! I am definatly going to do that!
What makes you think nothing has changed? Would you be willing to give it a week to try out the new plans and see how they go? Implementing this many changes all at once may take a day or two to fix. I would give the school an opportunity to right the things they did wrong before contacting an attorney. From what you said, it sounds like the principal is willing to work hard to fix things.
I am wishing you and Destiny all the best - sound like you handled the situation very well :-)
I'm so glad the principal was understanding and listened to you. But, could you still push to set up a 504 plan? That way it's all legally in writing.
The reason I think things have not changed is because my daughter is on a STRICT bathroom plan. She is on meds for a slow colon and overactive bladder. Her body does not tell her she needs to go to the bathroom. She is 7 years old and still in pull-ups. Her urologist sent a letter to the school saying my daughter should be using the bathroom before each recess and before lunch. Today she did not send her at all. My daughter is special needs and will not go on her own so she has to be told. I made this clear yesterday at the meeting and he assured me it would be addressed immediatly. I dont know what more I can do. It is pointless to put her on meds if she is not on a regular bathroom schedule.
I'm sorry if I offended you. I was just curious.
I am not at all offended. I am just overwhelmed and frustrated. I want to fix everything because I am the mom. I hate to see her sad and miserable. I am meeting with all of her Drs to get letters to the school from all of them. She is seeing 4 different doctors and they all have different expectations. It is very hard to balance all of it.
Definetly not an overreaction. I have diabetes aswell, and my teacher actually had to give me the shots herself! (I have the punp now, though, and I really do think it's an improvement.) Now, if one teacher can give shots, why can't another jkeep track of the children in her class, especially if she knows she should be paying attention to her? I say deffinetly switch teachers if that's the best way to resolve the problem!