Just curious about how other teens manage diabetes in school. In the classroom or nurse?
I do both!!!! I'm a pumper so a lot of it falls on me, but I am still able to check in with my nurse if I need to. She also keeps emergency supplies (food, infusion site, glucose tabs, etc..) so its great to rely on someone else!!!!
I am no longer a teenager, but I was diagnosed when I was three so I'll give you my 2 cents. My high school didn't have a nurse... actually none of the schools I went to had a nurse I think since I clearly remember my middle school's "clinic" was some bed where the student assistants would sleep in and there was one drawer with a first aid kit. Therefore, if I needed a snack or whatnot, I would do what I had to in the classroom. Of course, I always made sure on the first day of school that my teachers knew i was diabetic.
unfortunately I have to go to the health room every day, where all the sick kids go. I'd much rather just do my thing in class but the school system policy says no blood in the classroom, and testing in class would violate that.
Hey Pam,
Have you heard about the 504 plan? It's useful for people in school with diabetes because, for example, if you were low during a quiz you really would need to stop taking the quiz and get some sugar, wait for your blood sugar to get back to normal and then finish your quiz later on. If your teacher doesn't know much about diabetes yet they might not understand this and your grades could really suffer, you know?
Check out these about:
and
Talking to your teachers about your diabetes
Ginger
Actually, we did fight the school district when my son went into 5th grade(middle school) and again when he started in high school. We did win the right for him to test in the classroom. I know the nurse still isn't comfortable with it. She doesn't like not having control. My 8th grader, Stephen, currently goes to the nurse in the middle school to check. I did that this year because he was not showing me that he could be responsible. That has since changed. He has done great. I have to start working toward getting him permission to check in the classroom so that he can do it next year in the high school as well. Andrew has an IEP and his diabetes needs are in that rather than the 504, same with Stephen. I guess what I am wondering is if other teens check blood sugar before tests, etc. throughout the day or if they rely on knowing how they feel.
They don't let him check in the classroom? I went to a very small school so it didn't prove to be too much of a problem, but it's so essentially to making it through the school-day healthfully and safely, they've got to! I checked my blood sugar often during school. I was in junior high at the time so we had much more freedom than in an elementary school. I once met with a group of second graders with diabetes and they would usually go to the nurse's office to check, with her overlooking everything, but they also made sure to sit down with their homeroom teachers (with the nurse and parent) and set it up so everyone was comfortable with the student checking during the school day in the classroom, too. Even as someone whose had this disease for 9 + years and am 23, just relying on how I feel isn't enough.
Hey Pam,
My daughter is in 6th grade. Her school didn't allow testing in the classroom. She always went to the nurse. Now that she has gone on the continuous glucose monitor, it has helped her not have to test her blood sugar before tests, etc (and miss valuable class time) but still be aware of what her blood sugar is at that moment. Since her school has been working with Paige's diabetes for almost 5 years, this year they let her take care of it mostly herself (since she is in middle school and has shown herself to be very responsible), but still know that they are always there to help her. The pump has definitely made that possible since she can bolus while walking down the hall if necessary! :-)
I have been thinking a CGM might be part of the solution. He doesn't want to check at school 3 times a day. I just got test results back from a biology exam that he did not do well on. I don't want him making excuses because I know he might not have studied well for it, but I also want to know that it wasn't related to his blood sugar. I think our insurance co. is covering them so it is on my list of things to work on. The nurse at the high school is so dated in her theory of d management. It's scarey. He is better off just handling things himself. He has done so since 5th grade. They still want to send him home right away if he goes to the nurse for just about anything.
hello,
i have a 504 plan for school, but i also have to go to the nurses office at least once a day, if i don't feel good i have to go there, but over the years i have actually been allowed to do my blood test in the classroom, i use to be not allowed to even do that, but some of my teachers just look at me and tell me to go to the nurse, but if i wanted to give insulin i can do that anywhere, but the other students do look at me weird whenever i need to do anything that has to do with diabetes, so i mostly just go to the nurses office, so the other students don't bother me or look at me weird.
I also have a 504 plan. I can test whenever, where ever. All my teachers are fine and sometimes if I need to test, they make someone go with me just in case. I never go to the nurse. She thinks she knows a lot about diabetes, but she really doesn't. What she does know if more of the type 2 stuff. She doesn't really understand the pump or any of that. I also have a teacher with diabetes, so she understands if I need to go test. I have a pump so that makes things easier. When I didn't have a pump, I went to the office a few minutes before lunch to do a shot. I just went in one of the sick rooms.
yeah, my nurse is an idiot.
she has this ancient meter from like the eighties that's like a brick
and she's all if you ever need to use it just come into my office.
I just test in the classroom though cause its a small town so no one really cares.
Ande: talk about a trip down memory lane! My first meter was an Accu-Check that's about six inches long and was indeed quite heavy. Lets just say that you had to apply the blood to the test pads, wait 60 seconds to hear a beep to then wipe the test strip with a cotton ball in order to insert it inside the chamber of the machine. Then wait two minutes to get your results. (This is what i remember, but then again I was diagnosed when I was three). Now you just take seconds to get everything done! I used that machine for several years and still have it with me just for the memories :)
If I were you, I would completely try out that machine just to get a glimpse of what it used to be like although I highly doubt she has the one that I initially used.
Pam,
It has been a long time but I wanted to share why I would test/push for testing in the classroom. If not on a pump, shots can be handled in the nurse's area and it is a good area to store supplies. Anytime we can have our supplies with us, I think it is helpful.
I don't think anyone who doesn't have to should navigate stairs alone (toddler, teenager or old-ager) when they think their sugar is low or is dropping. As a teen, there were times where my symptoms were almost non-existent and the blood sugare drops were both fast and severe. If your teen is not allowed to test in class I would demand that they have an adult escort to the nurse's office. I know I may sound a little strong but it doesn't take a lot of falls down a flight of steps to be a problem - sometiems, only one - and I would make sure the school understood that they will be considered liable... I would also recommend that you be considerate and have a plan for how to store sharps and blood product items (strips) so they will not have anything to argue about on that front...
Best of luck!
A-D
Pam: A-D's point about having an escort to the nurse's office is very important. Throughout junior high and high school, the teachers would always send me with one of the male students (a friend), who was a fair bit larger than I, just in case of convulsions. It was very important because, otherwise, it would be convulsions on the hall floor. (Not much fun.) My friends always liked to go because they got out of class, and we could be unobtrusive. One of the teachers was very good at spotting a low because her husband had been type I.
Storing needs either in the nurse's office or in a teacher's desk is also important because, otherwise, you get into the accusations of drug use or possible theft. (I had needles through high school.) Also, I always carried a couple of small juice cans in my backpack as a JIC measure.
One of my friends is in several of my classes, so she always goes with me. She doesn't mind missing class either!
i have a school nurse that we check in with if we need to!!!
I get to check my blood sugar in my classroom.The only time i see the nurse is when she comes by for lunch.Why do you have to go there.
I did both. I was able to check my sugars in the classroom if I needed to, but when I had to take my insulin I would have to go to the nurse(basically the office, because our nurse is there one day a week, for about an hour in the morning!) but the school was horrible about me makin up the days i missed from being in the hospital and wasn't going to let me catch up at all.
I did both. I was able to check my sugars in the classroom if I needed to, but when I had to take my insulin I would have to go to the nurse(basically the office, because our nurse is there one day a week, for about an hour in the morning!) but the school was horrible about me makin up the days i missed from being in the hospital and wasn't going to let me catch up at all.