My 10 year old niece was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about two months ago. My mother (who lives in another state) and I are hoping to learn about giving her insulin injections and the day-to-day diet issues. Do you have any suggestions as to where we can go to educate ourselves?

It’s great that you want to learn, but please first ask your niece’s parents if they want you to do this. Then you can contact your local chapters of the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for information about diabetes programs near you and your mother.

A few things to keep in mind:

This website has a wealth of information. You should review the material we have posted in the Diabetes Basics and Ask the Diabetes Team sections especially.
You will want to be sure that the education sessions are geared toward treatment of diabetes in children since it can be very different from treatment of adults.
Treatment plans are very individualized. So, if you really want to learn, the best thing for you to do is to spend time with your niece and her parents and learn from them.

SS