My 12 year old son has had diabetes for five years and is on an insulin pump. We are not happy with his school and are interested if there if there are any schools that have just children who have diabetes. He goes to camp every summer, but this is not enough when all year he is alone in his school. He has not adjusted well to diabetes and has seen a psychologist for the past three years. He just switched to a new one, and I hope results will be better. What we really want to know is about a school and also what we can do about these behaviors when he is low.

There are no schools that I know of that have just children with diabetes. I don’t think that would be the best idea for your son as learning to deal with diabetes in a world where most folks don’t have diabetes is important.

Keeping him involved with a counselor who can help him deal with the struggles of diabetes will be beneficial to him. It is as important to keep in touch with friends that have diabetes — maybe from his diabetes camp. This should help him with the feelings of isolation in a school where no one else has diabetes. If you can help to foster one of those relationships, I think you’ll find it helpful to your son.

MSB