School, daycare, and type 1 diabetes
Many children spend most of their waking hours in the care of adults other than their parents. Parents of children living with diabetes need to make sure their child is safe and not treated differently than other children.
In order to make this happen, parents need to spend time educating school and daycare staff. Parents are the best people to teach others about their child’s diabetes and what needs to be done to care for their child. School staff should be educated each school year.
It is very important that teachers, coaches, and all caretakers know the signs of low blood sugar and how to treat it.
The Diabetes Medical Management Plan (DMMP) is a document that your child’s diabetes nurses, school health staff, parents, and child should fill out each school year. After the DMMP is filled out, it will have specific information about how to safely care for your child at school and during school activities. A blank DMMP can be found with the American Diabetes Association.
Your parents must sign a release of information form in order for the diabetes education team members to talk to your school staff about your diabetes. The nurses will give this to you.
Resources
To help parents teach caretakers, there is good, up-to-date information available.
- American Diabetes Association (ADA)
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
- Talk to your diabetes nurses and doctors.
- Your diabetes nurse educator will give you all the paperwork needed to inform the school staff about diabetes. They will communicate with school staff throughout the school year, if needed.