We do! Actually, our plan was established for my daughter mid-year and I love it! I like to check in mid-year anyway to review food allergy policies and procedures. It is so easy to become lax when everything is running smoothly. A nice midway fresher can help discover procedures that are not being followed. Not long ago I saw some teachers using Purell on student’s hands thinking they were removing allergens! Monday morning my husband and I will meet with my daughter’s teacher, counselor, principal and any other teacher that interacts with my daughter at her elementary school to review and consider any updates to her 504 plan. Therefore, this weekend we’ll break out the ink and paper and write up our list of concerns and kudos.
We are big supporters of kudos for folks who truly understand and embrace managing food allergies and asthma for our children. We always comment on what is working well at these types of meetings! Even thought the law guarantees our children an education, the law can not mandate that a teacher will be calm, in control and be capable of managing food allergies and asthma. As parents, how many times have we seen a very well meaning people (including ourselves) make bad decisions or narrowly make a grave error? Yup, we’re all human. So a little encouragement and gratitude go a long way.
Side bar: Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based on disability. The Great Schools website states: Section 504 states that: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 706(8) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” [29 U.S.C. §794(a), 34 C.F.R. §104.4(a)].
Here is what our list looks like as of Friday, of course, I have two more to remember what I forgot!
I want to make sure these items are specifically reviewed (in addition to reviewing the entire plan)…
[unordered_list style=”tick”]
- lunch time policy: Is sitting at the allergy table working from a social aspect? Who has been in charge of cleaning off the table? Is the table used after school as a snack table?
- hand-washing…are we still doing it?
- my daughter is allowed to purchase from the snack bar, are there nut products being sold? In the past no, but I think I should ask and never assume.
- teacher communication: the emails sent two weeks prior to a planned event are working great!!! I appreciate the heads up on projects that might involve allergens and the teacher’s support of allowing me to purchase safe items. I also appreciate being invited on field trips and outings to help be an extra set of eyes for safety.
- emergency medications: does the teacher feel they are still easily accessible and within her reach? I will confirm that I do not wanting my daughter carrying her Epi Pen® yet. I’ve seen her soccer playing with other kids and I still fear an accident. Also, I am concerned about her fellow students and feel that her specific group of peers would not be capable of NOT touching her rescue medications.
- Does her PE teacher take her rescue medications in the park if they head out there for PE?
- I would like to add to our 504 plan that we offer the faculty a 20 minute food allergy and asthma refresher in February.
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!..
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