Returning to school after a type 1 diabetes diagnosis
Sending your child back to school after their type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis can feel daunting. With the right tools and support, your child can return to the classroom with confidence.
Contact the school before your child returns
Ideally, you should contact the school before your child comes home from the hospital after diagnosis. Talk with the principal, your child’s teachers, and coaches stating your fears, concerns, and hopes for your child in general and while in school. This will help and provide the school with a deeper sense of what’s going on for you and your child.
Arrange a meeting with school personnel
Try to arrange a general meeting for school personnel where you and someone from your healthcare team present a brief presentation on T1D in school-age children. It should be a brief, basic review of the essentials of what T1D is and how it is generally managed. The end should focus on outlining your child’s specific plan. Assure the school staff that you want to build a partnership between the child’s diabetes care team and their school team.
Prepare a T1D supply kit
Before sending your child (back) to school, make sure that you have prepared a T1D supply kit that stays in the school nurse’s or administrator’s office. Minimally, the kit should include:
- Extra insulin, about a 2–3 day supply in case of emergencies like hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.
- Extra insulin pen needles, syringes, or pump infusion sets.
- Low blood-sugar treatments.
- Snacks, if your child’s management plan calls for them, like crackers, energy bars, etc.
- A form of glucagon, the use of which should be reviewed with school personnel.
- A brief outline of your child’s insulin regimen and meal plan.
- Anything else that you can think of that would be important in the caring of your child by someone else.
Replenishing the kit from time to time gives you, the parent, an opportunity to have face-to-face time with school personnel, checking in with them to see how things are going.
More school resources
The supplies your child needs at school, the information teachers and nurses need to know, and the plans to have in place.
A 504 Plan is a legal, written document specifying what reasonable modifications and accommodations the school must provide for a student with a disability. Children with T1D are protected under this law.
A helpful printable guide about the signs and causes of high blood sugar and how to treat it.
A helpful printable guide about the signs and causes of low blood sugar and how to treat it.
