Question from Gore Bay, Ontario, Canada:

I currently have a male student in my grade 4 class who was diagnosed with diabetes as an infant. He quite often has behavioral problems that interfere with his academic success, e.g., off task, temper tantrums, unfocused, out of his seat, unable to complete work in given time, trouble keeping work area organized, disorganized work/messy work, scribbly handwriting/printing, loud, talks out of turn, etc. just to name a few. When I talk to his parents about these behaviors,they always have an excuse, e.g., he is tired, his blood sugars are too high, his blood sugars are too low, he didn’t sleep well last night, etc. It has been the opinion of his previous teachers and myself that there are factors other than his diabetes that are causing some of these behavior issues, such as Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I do not feel that this child’s parents would entertain this thought based on the number of excuses they currently offer for the child’s behavior. Are these behaviors typical of children with diabetes? What types of behaviors should I be able to expect from a “normal” diabetic child? Could these behaviors actually be reflective of a co-existing problem like ADD/ADHD?