My six year old son takes three injections daily. He checks his sugar at least five times a day. He attends a private school with no nurse. I have to sit by the phone all school year long in case the school has to get a hold of me. I have to go every day at lunch to administer his shot. I will do whatever it takes to take care of my child, but isn’t there something the school should be doing? I had to educate his teacher last year with the little knowledge I had, as he was just diagnosed in October 2003. Are federally funded schools the only schools that have to “help” out parents? Last year, his teacher called me at least once a day! I love summer break because I’m not trapped in my house.

Assuming that this child is enrolled in a school not operated by a religious entity, then this child is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That is, the school is considered a place of public accommodation that must provide needed services and related aids, provided that the required accommodations do not pose a “fundamental alteration” to the school’s programs. I recommend working with the school administration to arrange for training school personnel who have primary custodial care and responsibility of the student and document needed care in a written plan. Your local chapter of the ADA (American Diabetes Association) and/or local pediatric endocrinology practice should be able to provide assistance with training.

CJ
Additional comments from Dr. Philip Ledereich:

Given that times have changed, you need not live by the phone all day. You could invest in a beeper or a cell phone. With a beeper, the school could send you your child’s blood sugar. You could then determine if you need to call the school to tell them what course of action to take, i.e. have your child drink water if he is high or drink juice/eat glucose tablets, etc. if he is low. With a cell phone, you can maintain contact with the school as needed. These days, some people are using cell phones only, even at home.

If you are a single parent, you could have a friend help you. You could teach the friend, possibly another parent of a child with diabetes, what to tell the school if it were to call.

PSL