Back to school tips, from the Tidepool team

Sending your kid to school with diabetes, especially for the first time, can be pretty intimidating. If learning all about managing diabetes has a steep learning curve, sharing the relevant information with the people in charge of keeping your child safe at school can seem overwhelming. The Tidepool team is full of personal experiences with school and diabetes (as caregivers, as CDCES’s, and as people with diabetes) so we decided to pool together their collective tips and insights to share with the larger community:

Dan: “We have found that early communication and empowering the school teacher or nurse can help everyone during the school year. Establishing communication before the first day with the teacher by introducing them to Emmett, going over his diabetes technology and what a typical day looks like can help with the transition. We have had great teachers and nurses that care so much about Emmett and are really eager to learn and take an active role in his care. We have found empowering the caregiver to make decisions is something that is appreciated and is something they take a lot of pride in. It helps us to feel comfortable not having to constantly worry about watching over each CGM update and is a great way we can celebrate successes with his care team.”

Becky: “This may seem like odd advice, but remember that even when newly diagnosed, you know your child’s diabetes better than anyone else. Our elementary school uses a Diabetes Care Plan (I had to fight for a 504) and a month after her diagnosis when working on the care plan, I realized the document they put together was vague about when they would bolus for lunch. After some digging, it turned out they were having all the diabetics in the district bolus for their food after eating. “Not with my kid” was my rather emphatic response. That year they changed how all the kids in the district got their insulin.”

Abby: “Please try to make sure that all medical orders are in before school starts! As a CDCES, I have spent countless hours filling out orders the first few weeks of September every year for schools who forgot to ask and parents who didn't know they needed to.”

Melissa: “We learned to create supply boxes (especially low snacks) that we place in every classroom our son will be in during the school year, that way if there is ever a lockdown or emergency drill, they have everything they need to take care of him.”

Becky: “When kids are young, the nurses may assume that the kids don’t know anything about how to manage diabetes. Deanna was diagnosed the summer before 3rd grade, and she was already a voracious reader. She read everything she could get her hands on about diabetes (including the books I’d bought for myself). In our first meeting with the nurses, I didn’t like the way they were talking over Deanna. I ended up asking Deanna questions about different foods, whether she’d need to bolus for them or not, and different scenarios, like what she should do if her bg was 80 before PE. She just answered all the questions, and then I reminded the nurses that it is her body, and that she can and should be part of this discussion.”

Saira: “Principals, teachers, and school nurses all need summer vacations too, so speaking to them before the end of the previous school year can be helpful.”

Becky: “Probably one of the biggest things that we add into her plan is that Deanna can test her BG or treat anywhere. Sounds simple, and every year the school thinks it’s obvious and should be removed, but that was a hard earned fight with a particularly bad teacher, who wanted my potentially low child to get up and walk across the classroom, weaving through tables (can we say potential head injury), to check her BG at a sink. This caused tears the first day of 4th grade and for two kids to end up on their teacher’s bad side. Deanna and the kid who pointed out that Deanna was just trying to take care of herself and she shouldn’t be yelled at for it.”

Saira: “It can be easy to get caught up in preparing the school for the practical aspect of managing diabetes, but equally as important is the emotional aspect for kids. Preparing classmates that will have questions about diabetes and diabetes devices can be helpful for everyone in the classroom. Some of our favorite books to read to younger elementary students include the Coco series, Just Ask, and Awesomely Emma which all address kids with differences wonderfully.”

Dan: “We found, as hard as it might be, to have compassion for ourselves. The transition back to school can be hard and it can be stressful to teach caregivers and make sure Emmett is in good range all day. It becomes very easy to become your own worst critic when stuff doesn’t go exactly as planned. Acknowledging these feelings and that each day isn’t going to be perfect can go a long way in keeping yourself in a good space along with a happy child.”

Saira: “This is our first year sending our daughter to full time school (because, Covid), and I did not know as much as I would like about what diabetes management would look like before the first day of school. But within a few days, I’m already feeling better. Everybody involved has the same goal: making sure our kids have the best possible experience at school. They may not do it the same way I would, and I am learning to be ok with that.”

If you have any tips that have made your experience with diabetes and school a little easier, we’d love to hear about it!”