
September 10, 2008
Behavior, School and Daycare
Question from Columbia, South Carolina, USA:
I am a school psychologist with a student who refuses to follow her diet. Mom sends inappropriate snacks to school, but the student (12 years old) also sneaks food and eats the wrong foods at lunch. Are there any behavioral intervention plans or suggestions you could provide to help us here at school? Blood sugars have ranged from 275 mg/dl [15.3 mmol/L] to 1200 mg/dl [66.7 mmol/L]. Mom has refused further counseling/training from outside agencies.
Answer:
The best thing you can do to help this child is to obtain permission from the parents to contact the child’s diabetes team. Then, work with this child’s nurse educator and dietitian to coordinate a reasonable approach to nutrition as well as insulin administration and blood sugar checking in the school. If your school has a nurse, I’d encourage the two of you to work with the diabetes team.
JWB