Type 1 diabetic son starting middle school ?s

[welovedisneyx4]

My DS who has type 1 diabetes is starting middle school next week. He was diagnosed 5 years ago, so we had everything figured out for elementary school. The nurse was very hands on and being an elementary school, he was under much closer supervision than he will be at MS. We will go talk to the MS nurse this week, but I was just looking for any advice from someone who has been there/done that. How did they go about checking BS, could the child do it, or did the nurse have to do it? What about snacks? He has an early lunch and PE last class of the day, so I worry about his sugar being low before gym.

I will also talk to each individual teacher this week as well. I just want to make sure he will not be overlooked. He knows to go for help when he feels hi or low and I am very comfortable w/ the school and it's personnel. We know many of the administrators and some teachers, but I just want to make sure he is taken care of. This is a new situation for us in dealing w/ his diabetes and I would like to have a smooth transitition as he is growing up as well.

Has anyone else been through this before?

 

[hobie]

When my DD was diagnosed the summer before starting 6th grade we met with the school nurses. The nurses then arranged for a group meeting with all of the staff at the school that would have any interaction with her during the school year. This included the principles, lunch room staff, library staff, PE, art, music teachers, etc. They were very interested in learning as much as they could about DD diagnosis, what to look for in her behavior, etc. We also provided each of them with a Profile sheet on my DD along with a picture, for any substitutes. The sheet included symptoms of Hypo/Hyper and procedures on what to do if something happens. My DD also set up a SIGNAL that she could use that the teachers would notice and wouldn't draw attention to her. The teachers would check on her to see if she needed assistance.

Along with the meetings we also provided the school with a 504 plan. The plan layed out all procedures for testing (they still want her to go to the nurse before lunch to test), possible testing and snacks before PE depending on the schedule. We made sure that the plan also included what she can have for a snack, that she can carry and drink water or juice at anytime she feels the need for it and that she can leave the classroom at ANYTIME to use the bathroom or go to the nurse. It also included that she was allowed to carry all of her testing supplies, pump supplies, insulin, etc.

I meet with the nurses before the start of each school year and repeat the process. Her first year was easy as the teachers were just as concerned as we were with her new diagnosis. One teacher took her under his wing and made sure that all of the staff kept an eye on her.

It helped that our school is pre-k thru 8th and the nurses already new her and the rest of the family. This is her last year in middle school. I already know the nurses from the high school so I am hoping that next year will go just as smoothly.

Remember to stand your ground on how you want the school to handle your child's diagnosis. They may already have procedures in place but this is your child and you know what is best.
Good luck!

 

[momto2js]

It has been a long time since I was a middle school student with T1IDDM. I'm sure that things have changed. What is your sons recommended testing frequency? Is he MDI or using a pump. Does he have access to CGM? As a person with diabetes, I think it is time that he need to be managing his disease more and more from the classroom and away from the nurses office. I sort of understand if injections are needed, but a pump makes that unlikly the nures is a good resource if he isn't sure what to do but most days he should be able to handle it.

It is an illness he will have all of his life. Someday he will need to test and correct in the middle of a business meeting and those skills will need to start now. I would push for a plan that allows him to test in class as much as possible or even between classes.

I know not all kids do it, but being low got me out of a lot of exams that I wasn't prepared for , as a parent you need to establish that this is not an excuse! I missed all of 4 and 5th grade spelling because I was in the nurses office waiting for a snack. To this day I am an awful speller!! Advocate for the most reasonable approach you can think of.

Good luck with the teen years. I am alive by mostly luck and if I can make it, I'm pretty sure anyone can.

 

[buffettgirl]

Your son has been at this a long time - in kid years. Have your son make a plan for what he wants to do. There should be no reason why he can't carry his own supplies and check and dose where he needs to (unless he needs shot help). Make sure you find your state law regarding testing in the classroom as there are still some archaic nurses out there who will demand a child go to the health office. If you let me know what state, I can let you know what I find.

But, let your son make up the plan, and let your son present it as "this is what I am doing". You don't need permission - he just needs to come up with a plan and show that he's capable of carrying it out.

Good luck! Every transition is hard. We've got 6 years under our belt and one year left in grammar school so this is our transition year where he's being required to handle his own stuff with the safety net of having the nurses still there. Much like yours, we won't have a nurse present much of the time in Middle School.

edit: I see you're from Virginia. Here is a whole page on school laws in VA regarding Diabetes
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with...state-laws-and-policies-display.html?state=VA

 

[daneenm]

Your son has been at this a long time - in kid years. Have your son make a plan for what he wants to do. There should be no reason why he can't carry his own supplies and check and dose where he needs to (unless he needs shot help). Make sure you find your state law regarding testing in the classroom as there are still some archaic nurses out there who will demand a child go to the health office. If you let me know what state, I can let you know what I find.

But, let your son make up the plan, and let your son present it as "this is what I am doing". You don't need permission - he just needs to come up with a plan and show that he's capable of carrying it out.

Good luck! Every transition is hard. We've got 6 years under our belt and one year left in grammar school so this is our transition year where he's being required to handle his own stuff with the safety net of having the nurses still there. Much like yours, we won't have a nurse present much of the time in Middle School.

We are in the same boat...dx. 9 years ago and last year of Elementary school this year. I agree with the comments on independence and having this be your son's plan. Our son took over laying out the plan to the administration during his 504 meeting last year and he found it very empowering.

One things i did not see mentioned that I will be placing in my son's504 plan for Middle School is the ability to carry a cell phone and call or text me at any time for consultation on his T1D care. So, if he is extra high and won't come down, low and won't come up, eats something he doesn't know the carb count for, etc, i expect him to be able to reach me as needed. Of course he needs to be responsible enough to not cause a distraction and not use the phone for other purposes, but that comes with taking responsibility for his care.

Hope the year goes well for him!

 

[welovedisneyx4]

Thanks for your replies! We have a meeting w/ the nurse tomorrow and I will meet w/ each of his teachers as well either w/ or w/out the nurse, however she wants to do it. You have given me some good advice to go in with. He does need more responsiblitly for bolusing and we have started to crack down on that at home as well. I will talk w/ him and see what he thinks he will need. They had a 2 day orientation last week, so he is somewhat familar w/ what his day will be like.

momto2js, at your story. DS tried to blame not finishing his English work on having to go to the nurse for a sugar check this past year, but we saw way too many holes in that story and he found out that it wouldn't work. Hopefully, he won't try it too much more. We have always been big on not letting him get out of things he didn't like b/c of diabetes.

DS is on a pump, so he won't have to worry about shots for the most part. I'm not too worried about the cell phone yet. There are phones in each classroom and the office and I know when DD was in MS, the teachers were very reasonable about letting students call parents from the classroom for minor things, so I would assume DS shouldn't have a problem w/ it.

Thanks again for the advice and stories. I will post how the meeting goes tomorrow. I'll try to check back tonight, but our home computer is soooooooooooo slow, I don't know if I will be able to.

 

[buffettgirl]

good luck!

(fwiw, my son has a secret crush on the nurse, and loves the occasional before lunch low when he is allowed to eat in her office. I swear he thinks they're on a date. so I have no clue how this independence thing will work. ROFL fOr all I know he's going to hand me his plan which will say "visit the nurse 10 times a day" hahha)

 

[disneyfaninaz]

My DD started middle school 2 weeks ago. Last year she had to go to the nurse everytime she needed to test. She was diagnosed 12/09 at 9 years of age. She wears a pump. Before school started we had a meeting with the nurse and all of DD's teachers. I gave them copies of her Diabetes action plan and 504. I also gave emergency snacks/juice boxes to each teacher. DD does all of her own testing in class and before lunch. She carries a cell phone and is allowed to call/text me for any diabetes related issues or questions. So far, we have done really well, with just a few lows at the beginning of school that a few basal adjustments took care of.

Good luck.