Our spring break/college tour is coming to end this week and I have to say that we’ve been VERY pleased! This is uncharted territory for us as our family enters another plain of development with food allergies. The college tour will pick back up again in the summer, but until then, we’ll refine our questions.
First round of lessons learned while touring colleges…
- Wear comfy shoes and carry safe snacks.
- Contact the admission officer for your state and explain you need to speak to the Disability Office regarding your child’s food allergy disability. NOTE: I made the first call and Cyrus is now handling it.
- Life threatening food allergies is a family affair for my tribe. I attended all meetings and explained that health and safety is a family matter since we are part of my son’s planning of his educational investment. Everyone was welcoming.
- We asked only about three areas: dining, housing and emergency response.
- In the spirit of establishing credibility, we mentioned Food Allergy Research and Education’s (FARE), Food Allergy Pilot Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Higher Education program. Every school was impressed to learn that this issue is being addressed and solutions are being explored.
- None of the schools had written food policy in place and were happy to discuss suggestions and needs, but they all did have disability protocol in place. They explained how they address each student’s health need upon acceptance and the steps involved, departments and activities to be addressed, etc.
- Each school understood that invisible disabilities were a challenge and that they will follow physician instruction while creating a safe learning environment.
- We’re still exploring the various emergency response systems for each school that my son will choose to apply and what is legally acceptable (i.e., can the dorm Residential Assistant give EPI, etc).
We’ve learned quite a bit from our friend Zac Chellini, who spoke at the FAACT teen conference and is our local food allergy mentor for the kids in our community. He and his mom Dori, have been invaluable to us! Thanks guys!!!
What we are learning from Zac is that if you really want something, then you need to plan ahead, work hard, establish your boundaries (medically supported of course) and be prepared for things to absolutely fall apart!
We are happy this college tour has ended on a good note and are looking forward to the next trip.
Hope your day is grand! Now, we get to play with our 10 month old cousin–nothing is better than playing with a happy baby.
Allergies/Asthma: The Honest Spectator
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
I find this very hopeful and comforting. Just five years away for us…..
It is going to come faster than you think! I’ve been working on college skills since Cyrus started high school! When I say skills, I’m talking about having laundry nailed down, managing the grocery store, eating out, making doctor appointments, etc.