Teaching teachers about diabetes

New school year means new teachers to train about your child's diabetic condition

CORPUS CHRISTI — A new school year is beginning. But for parents of diabetic students, it may mean a new teacher or school nurse to train about their child’s diabetes.

Proper diabetes management at school is one of the top concerns of any parent. Multiple insulin injection therapies, frequent blood sugar checks and insulin pumps place a greater demand on the diabetes knowledge and skills of school personnel.

The parent of the diabetic student must be patient with new teachers and nurses and not expect them to be experts in diabetes care. A calm and methodical approach by parents is the best strategy.

Each diabetic student should have an individual care plan that is written down by the parents and signed off by the student’s diabetes doctor. Parents should get school order forms from their diabetes doctor before school starts.

Federal and state laws protect the rights of diabetic students today. There is a school bill of rights for the student with diabetes that every parent should know. The school is obligated to respect and support these rights. Most schools strive to do the best job possible.

I suggest parents meet with the school staff to open a positive line of communication. I always suggest a face-to-face meeting early in the school year to answer questions from both sides.

Good diabetes care requires the student to perform certain duties and tasks daily. This includes having the right to perform blood sugar monitoring in the school whenever it’s necessary, even in the classroom. The student must be allowed to take bathroom breaks and have access to drinking water whenever needed. If extra insulin is needed, the student should be allowed the ability to administer the insulin without delay and should not be restricted to a designated area.

If a diabetic student’s blood sugar is low, he or she should not be sent to the nurse’s office unattended. The sugar level could worsen and result in a loss of consciousness or seizure. Teachers should keep fast acting sugar in their desk as an emergency treatment.

The school lunchroom must provide adequate time for the student to eat their designated meal plan. Morning or afternoon snacks also should never be denied if they are part of the student’s care plan. Food or snacks should never be denied based on high blood sugars.

Coaches may not realize that the diabetic student can participate in any activity he or she is physically fit and able to qualify for. Every professional sport from baseball to soccer can boast of diabetics with significant accomplishments.

Field trips are also not to be withheld simply because of diabetes. Snacks and other medical supplies will be needed, plus a knowledgeable school staff member (or parent) should be in attendance.

One common problem I still see is sending a student home for a low or high blood sugar reading in the absence of an illness. Swings in blood sugar are part of the condition. School staff must know proper management of these events and avoid overreacting.

Dr. Stephen Ponder, who has type 1 diabetes, has been a pediatric endocrinologist for 20 years. He is director of the Children’s Diabetes and Endocrine Center of South Texas at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Contact him at 694-4864 or stephen.ponder@dchstx.org or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/dr_steve_ponder