Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Food allergy case

Great. I was just trying to be supportive and suggest that non-urgent dietary issues from a group standpoint are crowding out the mindshare of those with urgent allergic needs.

LOL. This is the mindset of my friends from Europe... Oh the bashing I hear "Can you Americans do ANYTHING without eating? sweets and snacks?" She said she has never seen so much food in schools before... storytime even needs a "snack."

Although Duncan Hines makes a damn good gluten free easy bake mix - so we are a fan of the company here!

To a certain extent these people actually kind -of help... For example, back when my DH first was diagnosed and had to become gluten-free it wasn't "trendy" - very difficult. Now? Totally trendy! As a result? I popped over to my local grocery store and bought a gluten free cake for my husband's birthday that was great. I think it cost $10 I couldn't have done that years ago.... Years ago I would have gone to a special bakery, 45minutes away and the cake would have at least $35.00. Most restaurants now are fully aware and have a menu or can accommodate gluten-free... Just a few years ago? Not the case at all. So, in a sense, they contribute to society by motivating companies to respond to the demand for more choice.

Exactly, ultramarina. False positives are a huge problem diagnostically.

The other thing that non-allergic families really ought to bear in mind (and WOW, do I wish everyone knew this ONE thing, if they know NOTHING else):

Epinephrine is the ONLY thing that you can do. It's not a get-out-of-death-free card. You can do everything right and STILL die if you anaphylax. That is the thing that even most parents of food allergic kids don't really want to think about. Sure, we carry epinephrine everywhere, practice and plan to use it, and educate ourselves and others about doing so... but the bottom line is that it's kind of Russian Roulette, flirting with allergen exposure. Epinephrine MIGHT help save your life, and it's certainly the best that anyone can do outside of an emergency department, but it's nothing like a guarantee. At all.

Natalie Giorgi's death is highly instructive that way. People (like my DD) who have a history of very severe, very RAPID anaphylaxis, very low eliciting doses, and/or very unusual presentations (cardiovascular symptoms without cutaneous ones, for example) may make their risk of fatal outcomes unspeakably high. So yeah-- we are VERY aggressive about avoidance, because "treatment" doesn't seem so promising in her case in particular. "Recognition" that we're dealing with anaphylaxis (and not another illness, not just anxiety, etc.) is not even all that good in our situation in particular.

There IS no situation in which we can "rule out" an allergic reaction. I say that even though our home has been free of the most potent of those food allergens for the past fourteen years. We estimate that the threshold dose needed for some of her food allergens is likely to be less than 10mg. On an average day.

If I had a nickel for every time I've been asked why I haven't just "taught my kid what she can't eat," though, I'd be a very wealthy woman. {sigh}

I've often been tempted to respond with "Because it was far more valuable for her to learn that other people can't be trusted, but that she shouldn't take it personally-- just don't take food from anyone, no matter what they say."

"The child ... had no history of such a severe reaction. …"

THREE Epi pens

Gives me the shivers.

"We tell people that their last reaction is not an indication of their next reaction. Don't think because you have not had a severe reaction that you can't have one."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/30/5607195/years-of-caution-about-peanut.html#storylink=cpy

This is why I am so annoyed at the "moms are being over-protective" of their child's "mild" allergy. If your child has an allergy, other parents can not have any idea if it's mild one or not and how long it is going to stay mild... other parents just can not know that and making that assumption and using it be resentful of parents seeking to keep their child from getting sick, going onto shock and/or dying is ignorance. Every time my son reacts it is different and it is worse. I was never told the allergy was mild though (after blood and skin testing) - I have been told it is getting worse (after blood and skin testing).

Hi everyone - since this thread isn't really related to gifted education, I will be closing it shortly. Just wanted to give you the opportunity to post any last thoughts on the topic before I do so.

Thank you!
Mark

While with a fussy eater banning foods can be annoying I am usually just grateful that my kids are not allergic to anything strand appear to have avoided my severe asthma. Next time you put on strong perfume think twice.

Hi Mark,

I'm going to politely disagree with you. Although education about allergies isn't the same as education about physics, it's still an important topic that everyone, gifted kids included, need to learn about.

The lack of understanding about allergies also parallels lack of understanding about giftedness --- people can't understand it and so tend to dismiss it.

Just my opinion.

I, too, respectfully must disagree-- the addition of a second E-- and believe me, this one is a DOOZY since you have people who lack any real understanding of the nature of the disability, paired with demonstrations of the disability being life-threatening-- well, this makes finding appropriate educational opportunity for HG+ children with food allergies nearly impossible.


So we can talk about dysgraphia or ADD... but... not medical diagnoses that lead to a 2e status?


That seems rather arbitrary, I must say.

I must also say that it's been inherently "related" to gifted education options, in our experience. This is the reason why summer institutes like THINK have been completely off limits to my child. This is a real condition and it has real impact on gifted children who already have pretty sharply different needs from their peers. Add in additional needs that dovetail with gifted ones, and the challenges rise exponentially, just as they do for anyone else with a 2e child.

THIS is the reason why my child cannot live in a dorm setting for college, as if only being 15 at the time wouldn't be reason enough, I mean... but it also means incredible sacrifices if she were to attend an elite institution-- we WOULD have to set up a household so that she could be a commuting student who "lives at home" with my DH or myself or both of us.


It is also flatly incredible to me what College Board put us through to get accommodations for testing, what public schools have been willing to put us through for quite basic accommodations, and absolutely ASTONISHING in the extreme how accommodating and understanding our local flagship university has been by comparison with that. Blows my mind in a HUGE way to think that my school district thought that my five year old "needed to learn to live in the real world" whereas the university seems to think that those SAME accommodations are completely reasonable and minimal for eighteen year olds.



I'd ask you to reconsider, Mark.

There IS no place to discuss 2e issues, as often as not. Disability communities are not generally places to discuss the kinds of problems that HG+ children have with educational settings.