DIABETES, STUDENTS, AND LOW BLOOD SUGARS

Several issues ago we told VOICE readers of an incident in which a young diabetic student, ready to take a glucose tablet, was asked "for a taste," by another student. A tablet was shared, a school official observed, and the kid was charged with drug-dealing, and suspended from school. A nasty letter was placed in his permanent file. As of May 14, 1998, the boy's parents, his doctor, their attorney, the American Diabetes Association, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the maker of the tablets, Can-Am Care Corporation, had not yet been able to change the school's misguided policies, or have the document removed.

You know better. You know insulin is not heroin, and glucose tabs are not rock cocaine--but too often the school doesn't! Terrified of the creeping invasion of truly dangerous drugs into the classroom, teachers and school administrators, many tragically ill-informed, will pounce on whatever looks to them like "substance abuse." Mistakes will be made. What should you do, so you, or your child, will not get into such a mess?

First, make sure someone at the top knows. If you have a diabetic child, the principal, the school nurse, and the teachers should be informed. Tell them what your child needs to do, to avoid the risks of hypoglycemia. Tell them about glucose tablets; how they are a food supplement, no more sinister than a cookie or a milkshake (they're SUGAR!) and vital to an active diabetic, child or adult. Show them this article, and a bottle or package of glucose tablets. Invite them to read the label! These adults are part of your child's environment; they need diabetes education too! There may have been a time when such revelation ("My child is a diabetic") risked discrimination, but under the Americans with Disabilities act, that is now illegal. If the authorities already know what your child must consume or inject, any notice by concerned others should be shrugged off. Also, your child should have medical ID, clearly showing that he or she is diabetic, and subject to low blood sugar reactions.

"Glucose is food," says Julie Arel, Marketing Manager at Can-Am Care. "That is what it is classified as, a food [supplement]--not a drug. We make and sell our Dex-4 glucose tablets, fast-acting carbohydrates, so people with diabetes can use them for low blood sugar episodes, but athletes use them for energy... like a lot of sweets, or even Gatorade. We put the carbohydrate into a convenient tablet for people with diabetes..."

You might also caution your child that glucose tabs, like medicine-taking, are "private business." There's no stigma; you just don't do some things in plain sight. A child for whom tabs, pills, and needles are everyday events may not understand that others may see these tools differently. Recognize that most children want to "fit in," to feel "normal," and counsel your child that his/her glucose tabs are for his/her own needs, not for sharing, regardless how harmless they may be.

Talk to your school. Be prepared to explain and educate. Do it before confusion happens. You, and the school, might find the American Diabetes Association's information pamphlet "Children With Diabetes: Information for Teachers and Child Care Providers" helpful (obtain this publication by calling 1-800-342- 2383). With a modicum of preparation, you should be able to keep this diabetes complication at bay.