American Diabetes Association’s Safe At School Campaign Helps Students With Diabetes

BTSchoolThe new school year has arrived and families are just settling in to their back to school routine, but for parents of children living with diabetes the back to school routine includes a few extra daily tasks and concerns. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the tender age of 17months, so I know firsthand that in addition to packing the backpack and getting the kids to the bus stop, parents of children with diabetes need to make sure a plan in place to ensure their children are healthy and safe in the classroom and at all school sponsored activities.

I knew that managing my daughter’s diabetes was a 24/7 job so early on, as a parent, it was scary for me to not be with her all of the time.  Just like me, all parents want to be able to trust their child has access to the diabetes care they need at school, but that’s not always easy. To help ease these fears, the American Diabetes Association (Association) is here to help parents by providing the tools and resources they need to feel confident their child is in good hands each day. Our Safe at School campaign works to eliminate problems with access to care and discrimination by assisting families and schools on how to navigate and develop the plans necessary to ensure their child’s medical needs are being met at school and to help fix problems when they occur.

Unfortunately not all schools are the same, and sometimes problems can happen.  The Association offers free expert assistance and guidance from our Legal Advocates when things don’t go according to plan. In addition to one-on-one assistance, the Safe at School campaign fights to change laws and policy across the country to ensure laws and regulations are in place so children with diabetes are fully supported and are medically safe at school.

To learn more about the Safe at School campaign, I encourage you t to check out the recording of our free Back to School Parent Advocacy Webinar by visiting www.diabetes.org/discriminationwebinars.

For more information about the Safe at School campaign and to learn how you can help keep your child with diabetes medically safe, visit http://diabetes.org/safeatschool or call 1-800-DIABETES for help.

 Crystal Jackson is a mother of a daughter living with type 1 diabetes and is the Director of Safe at School at the American Diabetes Association.

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