Sixth grade, about three years after I was diagnosed and my first school that had more than one classroom, my English teacher pulls me out of class on the first day and asks me, "Is diabetes contaigous?"
She was completely serious, and now that I look back on it, I wish I had coughed on her and said, "yes."
It can be suprising sometimes how people are more concerned about themselves (or maybe their class) that they would put that kind of weight on a 10 or 11 year-old.
It can be hard sometimes to take these people seriously, but what you have to remember is that they just don't know.
There's actually a better word: ignorant. Stupid tends to mean 'not smart', whereas ignorant means 'mis-informed' or 'uneducated'.
Even my close relatives, who we've talked through this whole thing several times, have trouble with grasping some of this stuff. When you live with it everyday, when you rely on your knowledge to keep yourself alive it puts you in a whole different world of understanding.
As frustrating as it may be you have to be patient with those people. You might need them to be pumping CakeMate in your cheek someday!
Keep your chin up and your patience high, annasophia!
cheers.
Hi, I am a Mom of an 11 year old with type 1 diabetes. I just found this site this morning.
My daughter just told me that her teacher asked her in front of the entire class if she could "hold it" (her need to urinate) during FCAT testing on the next day because she would not be allowed to leave during testing. She also told her to bring a snack because if she felt low she would not be allowed to leave. I am very upset and am waiting for the school to open to call the principal but I thought I would vent here. (Thanks) It is bad enough that the teacher made such a request but the topper is she said it in front of the entire class! My daughter was horrified.
When I was in secondary school my photography teacher would not let me treat my low BG!! he told me that he didnt believe there was anything wrong with me and that I was just trying to leave class. But despite him threatening me with detention I just left anyways. With all the argueing I did with him my low just got worse and I am surprised that I was still able to treat it without the paramedics. It was a really bad situation and I find it to be ridiculous that 5 years later and it still happens to type 1 diabetics. People just think because you dont look any different from other people that you arent.
When I was diganosed in grade 1, my mom came in and taught the class about it, and explained why I hadn't been to school for two weeks.
My teacher, who is hated by 99% of her students(both people I grew up with, and random I have met who had her), put an egg timer on my desk every morning set to go off for 10am so I "wouldn't forget my snack". She refused to let me wear a watch with an alarm on it because she didn't want to hear it beep..but thought that it was better to have a ticking timer on my desk instead..which the kids teased me about.
One day at recess, she took my cookies away from me because they were "oeros and they have too much sugar". Had my older brother not been going to same school still I would've gone without a snack that morning(everything she did that made me cry..I would actually run out of the room and go to my brother's class..I was a "brother's girl"), and my mom flipped out. She had to have a meeting with the principal, the school nurse, and my teacher to explain that my snacks(like a juice box and two oero cookies) had been approved by the diabetic team ahead of time and how taking away my food instead of calling her at work, was one of the worst things my teacher could've done.
Just because they are teachers, doesn't mean they are they suppose to be the smartest people in the world and know everything.
[quote user="firecracker"]
Hi, I am a Mom of an 11 year old with type 1 diabetes. I just found this site this morning.
My daughter just told me that her teacher asked her in front of the entire class if she could "hold it" (her need to urinate) during FCAT testing on the next day because she would not be allowed to leave during testing. She also told her to bring a snack because if she felt low she would not be allowed to leave. I am very upset and am waiting for the school to open to call the principal but I thought I would vent here. (Thanks) It is bad enough that the teacher made such a request but the topper is she said it in front of the entire class! My daughter was horrified.
[/quote]
While I don't agree with what the teacher did..she did point out something vaild: bring a snack. A lot of people wouldn't think of this, and assume since they can get out of class to grab a snack its the same for tests. It isn't. When I took my provincals in highschool, I was allowed to bring food with me and place it on the desk(couldn't have it in my bag) incase I needed it, and the time I took to treat any low that might occur, would be added on at the end so I did not miss out on having 3hours.
You should still complain about what the teacher did, and that she should have talked to your daughter after class..but the snack thing is REALLY valid and not such a bad thing for her to have discussed in class. When my teachers gave us tests where we were not allowed to leave for whatever reason, after they told us they would turn to me(in front of the class) or when they passed by me, stop at my desk for a moment, to remind me to bring a snack(that would not be noisy) as I couldn't leave if I go low.
Hey anna,
I was a 21 yr old playing football at the Naval Academy when I was diagnosed, and I was asked the same thing by the head trainer. Sometimes it is hard to understand the ignorance there is about diabetes, but I use humor in those cases also. The coughing and 'yes' is similar to what I did to make myself laugh about his ignorance. I like to say that if I don't laugh I'll cry...Glad to know I wasn't the only one that happened to!
-Adam
[quote user="firecracker"]
Hi, I am a Mom of an 11 year old with type 1 diabetes. I just found this site this morning.
My daughter just told me that her teacher asked her in front of the entire class if she could "hold it" (her need to urinate) during FCAT testing on the next day because she would not be allowed to leave during testing. She also told her to bring a snack because if she felt low she would not be allowed to leave. I am very upset and am waiting for the school to open to call the principal but I thought I would vent here. (Thanks) It is bad enough that the teacher made such a request but the topper is she said it in front of the entire class! My daughter was horrified.
[/quote]Teachers don't really have the authority to keep a diabetic from leaving the classroom, whether it's because they have to go to the restroom or the clinic, they don't have the right. I have a 504 in place that allows me to leave the classroom in any circumstance, if it's a high or low blood sugar, and I cannot get punished for it.
i know everyone is talking about low bloodsugars, but i have something to say about high ones haha. everytime i ask to leave the classroom because i feel high, i go up to my teacher, fill out a pass, and they ask me why i'm leaving to go to the nurse's office. once i walked up to my chemestry teacher and said "i feel high" he looked at me and said "shouldn't you go to the guidance coucelor for that?" it was hilarious, but at the same time very offending. i'm deffinatly not that kind of person, and it's obvious. haha i porbably shouldn't be making a big deal out if it like this, but it kinda bothered me that he though that of me!
Testing is really hard to deal with, especially if its formal, like MCAS. In seventh grade, I remember taking the long composition test, and I tested in the middle of it, not being able to think at all, and I was 45. My teacher had to take me to the nurse because everyone else was writing, but at least I could leave. If you can't leave during a test though, snacks are definitely a good idea. [quote user="Carrie"]
i know everyone is talking about low bloodsugars, but i have something to say about high ones haha. everytime i ask to leave the classroom because i feel high, i go up to my teacher, fill out a pass, and they ask me why i'm leaving to go to the nurse's office. once i walked up to my chemestry teacher and said "i feel high" he looked at me and said "shouldn't you go to the guidance coucelor for that?" it was hilarious, but at the same time very offending. i'm deffinatly not that kind of person, and it's obvious. haha i porbably shouldn't be making a big deal out if it like this, but it kinda bothered me that he though that of me!
[/quote]
I said the same thing to my history teacher in 6th grade and everyone looked at me like I was crazy! i didn't figure out why for a while...That is really offending though, that he would even consider it. Teachers and everyone else can be really ignorant or unaware, and though it's not always their fault, it's so aggravating!!
Testing is really hard to deal with, especially if its formal, like MCAS. In seventh grade, I remember taking the long composition test, and I tested in the middle of it, not being able to think at all, and I was 45. My teacher had to take me to the nurse because everyone else was writing, but at least I could leave. If you can't leave during a test though, snacks are definitely a good idea. [quote user="Carrie"]
i know everyone is talking about low bloodsugars, but i have something to say about high ones haha. everytime i ask to leave the classroom because i feel high, i go up to my teacher, fill out a pass, and they ask me why i'm leaving to go to the nurse's office. once i walked up to my chemestry teacher and said "i feel high" he looked at me and said "shouldn't you go to the guidance coucelor for that?" it was hilarious, but at the same time very offending. i'm deffinatly not that kind of person, and it's obvious. haha i porbably shouldn't be making a big deal out if it like this, but it kinda bothered me that he though that of me!
[/quote]
I said the same thing to my history teacher in 6th grade and everyone looked at me like I was crazy! i didn't figure out why for a while...That is really offending though, that he would even consider it. Teachers and everyone else can be really ignorant or unaware, and though it's not always their fault, it's so aggravating!!
[quote user="Carrie"]
i know everyone is talking about low bloodsugars, but i have something to say about high ones haha. everytime i ask to leave the classroom because i feel high, i go up to my teacher, fill out a pass, and they ask me why i'm leaving to go to the nurse's office. once i walked up to my chemestry teacher and said "i feel high" he looked at me and said "shouldn't you go to the guidance coucelor for that?" it was hilarious, but at the same time very offending. i'm deffinatly not that kind of person, and it's obvious. haha i porbably shouldn't be making a big deal out if it like this, but it kinda bothered me that he though that of me!
[/quote]
What's so offensive about a teacher thinking you meant you were high on drugs? It's highschool..a LOT of kids come to school high. We used to go and toke between classes sometimes. I used to watch kids come into class high on acid. One kid in my grade 10 socials class came in with a 2L of coke and rum and drank it during class..even though he'd already finished half of it in his previous classes with a buddy. The teacher assumed he was stoned(like he was 90% of the time) and told him to stop coming to class stoned or to not come at all and fail the course. It's highschool, it's not that uncommon to be high.
And I'm sorry to bust your bubble...but a LOT of people would assume that if you said "I'm high" you're on drugs whether or not you are "not that kind of person, and it's obvious".
It's not just teachers.
I said that once when I was 6years old in the mall. I started whining cuz I was thirsty and I went "But moooooooooooom! I'm thirsty! I'm high!" and the people around us flipped out.
I see people everyday walking around my office building who look
normal, well put together professionals. I know at least 1/10th of them
do coke on a regular bases but you wouldn't know it unless you talked
to them about it or saw them out one night on the town. Normal looking
people do drugs. Hell, I know a lot of normal looking people who don't look like "that kind of person" who do coke, e, acid, shrooms, roxys, etc regularly.
You shouldn't take offense to it. Unless someone has a close relative or is diabetic, they usually assume that you're on drugs but they don't know any better.
[quote user="Katie"]
Testing is really hard to deal with, especially if its formal, like MCAS. In seventh grade, I remember taking the long composition test, and I tested in the middle of it, not being able to think at all, and I was 45. My teacher had to take me to the nurse because everyone else was writing, but at least I could leave. If you can't leave during a test though, snacks are definitely a good idea. [quote user="Carrie"]
i know everyone is talking about low bloodsugars, but i have something to say about high ones haha. everytime i ask to leave the classroom because i feel high, i go up to my teacher, fill out a pass, and they ask me why i'm leaving to go to the nurse's office. once i walked up to my chemestry teacher and said "i feel high" he looked at me and said "shouldn't you go to the guidance coucelor for that?" it was hilarious, but at the same time very offending. i'm deffinatly not that kind of person, and it's obvious. haha i porbably shouldn't be making a big deal out if it like this, but it kinda bothered me that he though that of me!
[/quote]
I said the same thing to my history teacher in 6th grade and everyone looked at me like I was crazy! i didn't figure out why for a while...That is really offending though, that he would even consider it. Teachers and everyone else can be really ignorant or unaware, and though it's not always their fault, it's so aggravating!!
[/quote]
I said that too to one of my friends once. I was testing, he walked in and asked "you ok?" i was like "yeah. Im high right now.." He started cracking up, lol. I cracked up alongside, i thought it was funny and now we kinda use it as a joke once in a while. I dont take it the hard way because i know they dont mean it like THAT...
In my history, I recall one teacher in specific that did a very uneducated thing. Back when I was in the primary grades, way back in Grade 1, I think, my mom would give me chocolate bars to have as a supplement in class. Unfortunately, the teacher outright informed my mother that I was not allowed to have chocolate bars as it was 'unfair to the other students'. Brilliant. Fortunately everything was worked out for the best.
That said, I should probably speak to those addressing exam and testing practices. I don't treat myself as special in the slightest. Running out of the middle of a test that other people are restricted from doing to handle a low blood sugar? Not cool (for me). The only circumstance I'd feel comfortable in doing so is if I'd lost control. I don't believe that having a low blood sugar indicates that I'm out of control, merely that I made a miscalculation. Snacks are carried on me all the time, especially during exams, and can be snacked upon during the test (of course, I let the teachers or professors know why I have snack food with me). Even now in my place of work, I've got the top drawer of my desk stocked with juice boxes and other snacks Just In Case. The challenges I feel that I need to set up for myself are questions of preparedness, not questions of perception, but that's just me.
[quote user="Trevor"]That said, I should probably speak to those addressing exam and testing practices. I don't treat myself as special in the slightest. Running out of the middle of a test that other people are restricted from doing to handle a low blood sugar? Not cool (for me). The only circumstance I'd feel comfortable in doing so is if I'd lost control. I don't believe that having a low blood sugar indicates that I'm out of control, merely that I made a miscalculation. Snacks are carried on me all the time, especially during exams, and can be snacked upon during the test (of course, I let the teachers or professors know why I have snack food with me). Even now in my place of work, I've got the top drawer of my desk stocked with juice boxes and other snacks Just In Case. The challenges I feel that I need to set up for myself are questions of preparedness, not questions of perception, but that's just me.
[/quote]
That's how it was for me in highschool as well, I only left when I had already eaten my snack but wasn't getting better. It only happened once, and I had to get up to get a can of coke from the machine down the hall. Leaving class to treat a minor low isn't really a good reason to leave. Teachers will remind you to bring a snack for that very reason.
And it's the same at my office. I keep a small jar of peanut butter(keep forgetting to bring in crackers haha), honey, suckers and ringpops for quick sugar when I feel my level dropping in my desk cabinet.
You have to keep in mind though that everyone is affected differently from their low blood sugars. Some people can concentrate and go by hardly noticing a difference in themselves but for others that low blood sugar can feel pretty debilitating. It really just depends on the person and the type of symptoms that they recieve.
[quote user="annasophia"]
I have a 504 in place that allows me to leave the classroom in any circumstance, if it's a high or low blood sugar, and I cannot get punished for it.
[/quote]I have a 504 plan also. It basically says that on any standardized test (High school assessments, AP Exams, SATs, SAT2s, etc.) I can have "extra breaks as needed". I don't lose any testing time if I need to bring up my bg or do a correction to bring it down. I actually just took the SATs today (again) and I got to sit in the counseling center, just me and the test administrator, which is a lot nicer than being in a classroom (comfy chair, big table, peace and quiet). I tested at one of the breaks to make sure my bg was okay. Other than that I didn't have any problems. However if I had then the, say. fifteen minutes to bring up my bg if I was low wouldn't be subtracted from the time I had to complete the section of the exam.
Long story short, if anyone doesn't have a 504 plan in place, you should look into it.
[quote user="Amanda"]
[quote user="annasophia"]
I have a 504 in place that allows me to leave the classroom in any circumstance, if it's a high or low blood sugar, and I cannot get punished for it.
[/quote]
I have a 504 plan also. It basically says that on any standardized test (High school assessments, AP Exams, SATs, SAT2s, etc.) I can have "extra breaks as needed". I don't lose any testing time if I need to bring up my bg or do a correction to bring it down. I actually just took the SATs today (again) and I got to sit in the counseling center, just me and the test administrator, which is a lot nicer than being in a classroom (comfy chair, big table, peace and quiet). I tested at one of the breaks to make sure my bg was okay. Other than that I didn't have any problems. However if I had then the, say. fifteen minutes to bring up my bg if I was low wouldn't be subtracted from the time I had to complete the section of the exam.
Long story short, if anyone doesn't have a 504 plan in place, you should look into it.
[/quote]
What does 504 mean?
wow. my math teacher in the beginning of the year not let t=me go to the nurse when i had to test my blood sugar. i was like "i need to go now!" and after arguing with her for like 5 minutes she finally let me go. i was so angry! sometimes people really don't understand.
I have a question... Why do you guys go to the nurse when you're high or low or need to test?
maybe it's cuz we never had a full-time nurse at our school(but we did have at least one teacher who did the first aid even when the nurse wasn't around)...but i have never gone to the nurse when i was high or low or needed to test. i always deal with my lows either in class, if i had some food in my bag, or outside the classroom..or at my locker if it was on the same floor as my class. and highs, i just dealt with during the break between classes..and when it came to testing, i pretty much did it anywhere...