As a parent who is raising a diabetic child, one of your biggest concerns is not knowing how your child will handle going to school and dealing with the other children. Since your child is very young and is facing a setting during the first years of his schooling where he will want to fit in, this can prove to be a very difficult time for him to learn how to handle his diabetic needs.
Unfortunately, your child will always have treatments throughout the day that will interfere with his school activities as well as his socialization with the other children. While worrying about these issues is hard on you, you must understand that it is a hundred times worse for your son or daughter due to the fact that it creates high levels of insecurities.
In addition to these unfortunate circumstances, the possibility that your child's school may not cater to your son or daughter's diabetic needs does exist. Although very rare, there are some schools that are not versed or knowledgeable on the laws that they must adhere to if they have a youth with diabetes that must undergo insulin treatments during the day.
Fortunately for families that have children with diabetes, there is a federal law called the “Diabetes Education Act of 1991” that specifically states that it is unlawful for any school or institution to discriminate against a child that is suffering from diabetes. This law labels diabetes as a disability and it pertains to any school that is open to the public and/or receives federal funding. These schools must accommodate the needs of any children that have diabetes.
Another part of this law states that these schools must also create what is called a “Section 504 Plan” which is designed to meet the special needs of any child with diabetes. Such a plan is designed to educate all faculty that is associated with the school system and comes into contact with your child. In other words, from the moment your diabetic child is picked up by a school bus driver until the end of the school day when you have arrived, every single faculty member must trained to handle basic situations that may arise from a child with diabetes.
Although the diabetes education act of 1991 does not pertain to private schools, you can still request that a private school initiate a section 504 plan. Most quality private schools do in fact have such contingencies in place for the care of diabetic children, but if the school of your choice does not then you may request such a plan. However, you must know that the institution is not forced by law to accommodate you and you may want to seek out a different private school that offers a 504 plan.
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