Hey all, just thought I would pop in here for advice. I am sure that there will be info given to me next week when we have our Teacher only days, but I thought I would get your wisdom anyway.

I teach year 3 (so 7ish). I have been told that one of my students in diabetic. Apparently she goes to the office during the day for meds (guessing insulin?) Anyway, just wanting to know if there is anything any of you would like a teacher of a diabetic child to know, or consider or be aware of, so that I can support her as positively as possible.

TIA!

Hmm.. I cant offer advice as another teacher or a parent but a one thing I reckon would be a good thing to do first off is ask her parents what her hypo symptoms are. They may include things like confusion, profuse sweating, shakey hands, paleness. IM sure others will come with other stuff too

Ah good, thanks!

Yeah. The hypo signs are important, but some kids don't show any. DS usually doesn't to us, but can tell himself.

Ask if they want her tested during the day, and when. What they want you to do with certain numbers, like high numbers. They should tell you what they treat with for lows. If there's anything they do for exercise.

I'll try and remember what we did when DS was that age.

I think any D child attending school should have a Careplan drawn up between the parents, the school and the Diabetes Educator they attend. You can get advice from Special Ed (they may have changed their name?).

thanks everyone, I will talk to school on Tuesday and find out for sure if the child is diabetic (wondering now if the person who informed me is mistaken as it wasn't in the other sensitive info I received last week).

Wise move, because from personal experience i know that often parents omit information.

At Cubs one night i heard a funny rolling noise an found a Cub head down ,bum up under a stool, he got something off the floor and popped it in his mouth before i could get other there.Turns out that he had a glass eye and it had popped out of the socket during a vigorous game, lol.

Oh no Bryan! Funny,but also not, lol.

I was somewhat gobsmacked when he popped this artifcial eye out of his mouth and into his vacant eye socket.

Contacted the guy i took the Pack over from and he had had this kid in his care for over two and a half years and noticed nothing about his appearance.

Every enrolment form i received was scrutinised meticlously from then on.I had a great anecdote to relate on Courses i attended where fellow Leaders did not feel proper record keeping important.

Ok, so my girl is diabetic and has her BS tested prior to lunch.

Does anyone know if there is any link between learning disabilities of any sort and Type 1 diabetes in children (she has a bit going on, I can see this after 4 days with her, but would like to know if there are things i can rule in or out). I think some has been put down to her being English as second language, but I personally feel there is more to it than that.

There are no known links between Diabetes and learning disabilities BUT there is an absolute certainty that children with diabetes do not learn well when their BG is out of range. Have you had any instruction on what to do if the child says she feels low in class, if she collapses, if she is terribly thirsty and needing to go to the toilet often?

Not yet, haven't even met mum (whh is odd, have met most of my other kids parents). Must see if I can get her to come in. When I say not yet, I mean beyond having been made aware of those indicators and informing the office - they have the stuff all there in her personal health kit. Her action plan is based around warning signs like that then informing the office where staff who are trained in what to do do whatever happens next.

That said, although her levels were apparently all over the place when she first started, they haven't had any issues over the last year or so.

Felicis, What a lovely teacher you are. Can you get a DN to come to your school and give the class a talk on Diabetes and what to expect, also can you get her/him to give you some pamphlets.

I will chat to the school about that possibility, thanks Annie, and if they aren't keen on that might see if I can have a chat myslef with one

Might be a good idea to have some sort of sugar source in your classroom Fel. Something like jelly beans or some other type of lolly. If she has a really bad low and is really shaky she won't be able to get to the office.

Don't have to tell me twice to keep lollies, Sugarmonkey

Just ensure that they are colour and artificial flavour free though, Felicis in case pupil is alllergic to f and C like me.

Cool, so something like natural confectionary company stuff?

Yes their stuff is good.

Belly Jeans are no good for me except the white ones and the black ones if i can find any.

Oh! you can buy bags of just the black ones now! (black are my fave).

ok, have a few questions, more of an interest sake now.

What is considered a good range for a child to have their levels at, prior to eating lunch (they would have eaten morning tea).

WOuld you be surprised for a child to not be tested prior to every eating time (as in not tested before morning tea)?

Thanks! Just trying to get some understanding around things that i have really only read a lttle about previously.