Today I am visiting my son’s school to meet the new counselor who is in charge of 504 plans. So far, I’ve done all my homework regarding visiting our physician, obtaining updated prescriptions based on weights and health conditions, etc. I have my Emergency Action Plans typed up–I just need to take updated photos this week for each plan. I have enough Epi Pens® and Inhalers ready for each Emergency Kit and the plan for medications to be carried to and from school too. Lunch boxes are ready, my beloved Tupperware in place and clothing ready too. Now remains my third step: do I actually trust all parties involved to actually execute our finely laid out plans and strategies for avoidance and responding to an emergency?
Sounds paranoid, vicious and un-trusting? You bet. Absolutely. I have witnessed first hand friends sharing stories of school clinicians and teachers panicking leaving the student to self administer. Just because something is policy doesn’t mean all parties involved are actually capable. Let’s think about it: how do you or I even know how we’ll respond in an emergency unless we’ve been in one?? A niece of ours, who lives overseas had an incident of her baby choking, she fainted while her husband panicked. Thankfully, grandma was there and took care of the situation and saved the baby. Good information for me to have: don’t let niece babysit my food allergic children.
Once all my plans are in place, I visit each teacher, clinician, etc. simply to observe and feel out how competent I believe they will be. Being a great math teacher doesn’t necessarily translate into a great responder. Just through conversation I try to get a feel if they understood my requests and are they following them. For example: after I presented a 1.5 hour food allergy education, I waited a few days and visited by child’s future classrooms. I saw one teacher with a bag of pistachios on her desk in the computer lab. Clearly, I didn’t get my message across well, or this person made a conscious choice. Either way, they were added to my “nice person, but do not trust list”. I then knew I needed to give some specific education to this person.
I am always prepared and expecting that I will need to come back through with additional education and support. I make sure I am patient since often enough, these folks have never taught a student with food allergies and absorbing and executing all this new information can be overwhelming and challenging. I just take a nice deep breath and visit with a huge amount of safe muffins for the entire staff and teachers.
Nothing says love like vegan egg, dairy, nut and seed free Vegan banana muffins.
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!..