Dear Tracy-Anne McPhee,
The Yukon T1D Support Network is a non-profit organization that aims to help Yukon citizens newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes through advocacy, education, and support. We have offered our services to the Department of Education through promotion of a brief educational component at each K- 12 school’s professional development day. This offer was kindly sent out in a weekly newsletter to schools via then A/ADM Schools Branch Michael Woods. To our disappointment, not one school has contacted us.
I write today to express our concern in the K-12 school administration and faculty understanding of Type 1 Diabetes, as appreciation of the disease would prompt interest in our involvement. Largely known as a childhood disease, Type 1 Diabetes is very serious and grossly misunderstood. The complications that arise from poor management of the disease are serious, and these complications emerge as a direct result of blood glucose levels that are either high or low. High levels of glucose lead to costly long-term complications. Low levels of blood glucose constitute an emergency and must be corrected immediately. Left untreated, low levels can be deadly.
To illustrate the inadequacy of both health care and education’s response to children with Type 1 Diabetes, I bring your attention to the following story:
“When I turned 12 I started feeling sick. I went to the doctor many times. Each time I was told I had the flu and was sent home. After two months I dropped twenty pounds and couldn’t stop drinking water. The doctor encouraged me to eat more. I was so sick that I missed so much school. One morning I woke up and was blind for about an hour. My mother had to tell the doctor in a loud voice that I didn’t have the flu and that something was wrong. I peed in a cup and a few minutes later he told me that it was likely that I had Type 1 Diabetes.” ~child (now age 17) at Yukon Type 1 Summer Camp
This child had difficulty attending school, lost a quarter of her weight, had to drink water and urinate constantly, and had episodic blindness. While the doctor’s mismanagement of his patient is borderline negligent, the fact that a teacher was not aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes is alarming. This child could have been spared a significant time in ketoacidosis (results of which are long-term complications) had teachers been aware of indication of diabetes.
In addition to increased awareness of symptoms, it is necessary that K-12 schools also have comprehensive understanding of how to support children with Type 1. While support needed is broad and often intense, it is workable if teachers and administrators possess even base-level training. This extends from ensuring the child has access to fast-acting sugars (i.e. skittles) to knowing how and when to administer Glucagon to prevent coma or seizures, to understanding the scope of diabetic distress. We request that you review the accompanied recommendations brochure, all of which were garnered through interviews with persons with Type 1 Diabetes and parents of children with Type 1. In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to request the Department of Education adopt a territory-wide policy for the management of Type 1 Diabetes in schools. Please take a moment to examine the Canadian Paediatric Society’s recommendations at: https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/type-1- diabetes-in-school. The Society recognizes Yukon’s policies to support children with Type 1 Diabetes as ‘poor’, and this is something that we would like to see changed within this year, and if possible, prior to the start of the 2018-2019 school year. There exists substantial expertise and documentation to expedite the process of policy development in a manner that ensures due diligence is performed, and we are happy to provide you with whatever input is needed to make this a reality.
Please note that in our attempts to reach service providers, similar letters identifying how health care providers can better help children with Type 1 Diabetes have been delivered to the Department of Health and Social Services, and a summary letter has been sent to the Premier.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Marney Paradis
Chair
Yukon T1D Support Network