What school staff should know about diabetes

Pedeiatrician Jamie Wood, MD Clinical Diabestes, shares advice for parents on the most important things to inform your child's school staff about diabetes and helping to keep your child safe
What School Staff Should Know About Your Child's Diabetes
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What school staff should know about diabetes

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The most important thing for teachers and schools to know about diabetes is that these are, otherwise, healthy, strong, resilient kids. We do not want them to be seen as weak or fragile or sick. After that, it's really knowing about how to take care of them. The most important thing during the school day is to recognize symptoms of low blood sugar, so that child can be treated and go about their day. We spend a lot of time educating teachers about the signs and the symptoms of low blood sugars and high blood sugars so they can help the child recognize and treat them. Children with Type I diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar a couple of times a day or when they are not feeling well. If they feel like they are having a low blood sugar or high blood sugar, they will have to check additional times. Occasionally, they will have to receive insulin, for example, if there's a school snack and during lunch, they need to have insulin for all of the carbohydrates they consume. They may need injections of insulin for episodes of high blood sugar. They will need somebody at the school to help them check their blood sugars, and treat low and high blood sugars with insulin.

Pedeiatrician Jamie Wood, MD Clinical Diabestes, shares advice for parents on the most important things to inform your child's school staff about diabetes and helping to keep your child safe

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Jamie R. Wood, MD

Pediatrician, Clinical Diabetes, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Dr. Jamie Wood was born and raised in Vermont, where she also attended medical school. She completed her pediatric residency at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and her endocrine fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston and the Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard University. She moved to the Los Angeles area in 2008 and is now the Director of Clinical Diabetes Programs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Wood’s specialty is the care of youth with type 1 and type 2 diabetes—a field she fell in love with during a medical student rotation at a summer camp for youth with diabetes.  She also enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, and playing with her husband and two children, Jackson and Olivia.

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Transcription: 
The most important thing for teachers and schools to know about diabetes is that these are, otherwise, healthy, strong, resilient kids. We do not want them to be seen as weak or fragile or sick. After that, it's really knowing about how to take care of them. The most important thing during the school day is to recognize symptoms of low blood sugar, so that child can be treated and go about their day. We spend a lot of time educating teachers about the signs and the symptoms of low blood sugars and high blood sugars so they can help the child recognize and treat them. Children with Type I diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar a couple of times a day or when they are not feeling well. If they feel like they are having a low blood sugar or high blood sugar, they will have to check additional times. Occasionally, they will have to receive insulin, for example, if there's a school snack and during lunch, they need to have insulin for all of the carbohydrates they consume. They may need injections of insulin for episodes of high blood sugar. They will need somebody at the school to help them check their blood sugars, and treat low and high blood sugars with insulin.