Hello everyone my name is Jennifer and my son Da ' Sean was diagnosed 12/08/09 when he was about 6 1/2. We have been having problems with his teacher since the beginning of the school year and I didn't know anything about a 504 plan until I recently went to a JDRF retreat in St. Louis last month. My question to all the parents is there anything you could suggest that I make sure we have in our plan that your child has or something you wish you had wrote in your 504 plan. I recently contacted our school and they have agreed to do one but I would welcome any suggestions from anyone that might make it helpful. Thanks Jennifer
We found the JDRF web site very helpful when drafting our daughter's 504. If you go to www.JDRF.org and then click on the "Life with Diabetes" tab at the top you will see a list on the left. Click on "Type 1 Diabetes in School" and you will find lots of helpful information. We weren't having any problems with my daughter's school but I decided it was best to get a 504 in place for "just in case". Just this week my daughter's school is doing our state assessment tests and when I mentioned to our principal that my daughter's blood sugars had been running crazy lately, she immediately asked me what accomidations they could make for her. She admitted that she didn't even think about my daughter's 504 until I reminded her of my daughter's diabetes. So, even when you get a 504 in place, don't be afraid to remind the school of it! Another thing that was helpful to us was having our school nurse very involved in writing the 504. She was actually the one who wrote it and will review it each year along with my input. She had dealt with T1 kids many times before and put things in the 504 I never would have thought of. Good luck and I hope the 504 helps your son at school!
Thank you. I went to the school just the other day to get his 504 done and they were very nice about everything I wanted in his 504. I said it and they wrote it down. Yeah since it was an educational thing they werent going to have the nurse there and I said that she knew more about my sons diagnosis than anyone else in the school. The main issue that I have with them his getting his teacher to understand that when he his high it is hard for him to concentrate and it does affect his ability to do his school work. I hope that we have a more understanding teacher next year. His school will be doing there state testing here before long. Thanks for the advice!
Sorry to hear you are having problems at school. If you get along w/the nurse, try having her speak w/the teacher about the issues w/diabetes. Maybe the teacher will accept this better coming from the nurse. I think some teachers think the parents are just giving excuses for their children. We have been fortunate to have a great nurse and the teacher is great to work with also, however we are only in K, so we will see what the future holds for us. I also feel as though the nurse should have been at your meeting for the 504 plan, really I would push for that next year also, everyone needs to work as a team. If they havn't had a type 1 diabetic in their system before than I could see some growing pains on the schools end, but it's something they have to do.
I hope your troubles get easier for you and your son.