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    and just to add ... after we pulled DS out, the class went back to very lax attitude when it comes to food and allergens (cupcakes, ice cream and pizza parties, donuts, candy) even though there was another boy with the same severe allergies as DS has (plus this little boy has even more!) but his emergency care plan was nowhere near what we requested and his parents didn't find it necessary to ask for more. Even the "egg free classroom" sign disappeared from the door to the classroom after DS was pulled out. It's a "nut free school" but unfortunately not much is done for kids with other allergies.

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    Irena, a standard accommodation (though, as you can probably see, it is really more of an accommodation that PARENTS make than schools) is that parents of kids who have life-threatening food allergies are ALWAYS permitted/required to accompany their children on field trips. Oh-- and that no, you are NOT responsible for other kids. I'm basically there as an Aide for my child. To the school that hasn't thought that one through-- You're welcome, by the way. It's me or a trained para/nurse. You choose. The child HAS to be with a person that s/he knows and trusts, and that person has to be trained to respond to anaphylaxis.

    Honestly, the places where things break down the fastest are in any breaks from regular routine.

    Those are places to focus on failsafes upon failsafes when you write an IEP/504.


    DD has never been given over to the school's duty of care. Even for state testing, she has me nearby-- and is tested one-on-one. Our reasoning there is that ANY instance in which she WOULD be in the school's care is effectively out of the ordinary, and that she lacks the assertiveness with people she doesn't know well-- and that she is so rapidly incapacitated...

    Well, here:

    This plain-language chart describes what we're up against. I used to put in red any symptoms that we'd actually SEEN in our DD during reactions, but eventually quit doing that when there was much more red on that chart than black.

    DD may never be completely able to count on herself to self-administer rescue meds. The problem is that her blood pressure crashes and she is cognitively impaired first.


    SO mostly, we see symptoms on the right side of that chart, and have since she was three or four. Even physicians (and we) have trouble telling what's what in a timeline that matters. Someone who doesn't know DD very well (well enough to know what "normal" affect looks like, and perceptive and intelligent enough to see 'something is off') pretty much stands NO chance of making any difference in treating a reaction in a timely manner.

    I love that chart, btw. It's SUCH a useful tool-- symptoms from any two columns, > grade 1 = epinephrine and emergency room.

    Anything bold = epi and ER.

    It's great. Takes a lot of guesswork out of things. At least until you get into the far right-hand column. {sigh} Welcome to my life, incidentally. whistle


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    Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
    Irena, a standard accommodation (though, as you can probably see, it is really more of an accommodation that PARENTS make than schools) is that parents of kids who have life-threatening food allergies are ALWAYS permitted/required to accompany their children on field trips. Oh-- and that no, you are NOT responsible for other kids. I'm basically there as an Aide for

    HK ... except when our child has a younger sibling and we have nobody to watch the younger sibling and the school policy says NO siblings allowed. Therefore my son was excluded from the trips because I, his mother couldn't accompany him because they wouldn't let me take the younger child with us. :(((

    Mk13 #193778 06/07/14 11:47 AM
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    Originally Posted by Mk13
    HK ... except when our child has a younger sibling and we have nobody to watch the younger sibling and the school policy says NO siblings allowed. Therefore my son was excluded from the trips because I, his mother couldn't accompany him because they wouldn't let me take the younger child with us. :(((


    I realize that this is a solution that costs money, but - babysitter for the younger? Does the school have a childcare for younger kids? Maybe the accommodation that you need written in is that the school will accept your younger child into childcare on a drop-in basis as needed so that you can accompany the older on field trips.

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    Originally Posted by ElizabethN
    Originally Posted by Mk13
    HK ... except when our child has a younger sibling and we have nobody to watch the younger sibling and the school policy says NO siblings allowed. Therefore my son was excluded from the trips because I, his mother couldn't accompany him because they wouldn't let me take the younger child with us. :(((


    I realize that this is a solution that costs money, but - babysitter for the younger? Does the school have a childcare for younger kids? Maybe the accommodation that you need written in is that the school will accept your younger child into childcare on a drop-in basis as needed so that you can accompany the older on field trips.

    He's Autistic and needs a one on one care. So we don't really have a babysitter or childcare option for him unless my stepson would take a day off from work or it was on a day when my husband isn't working. It would be so easy to just let us (including the younger one) drive in our car and just join the rest of the class at the final destination! But nope, it's against the policy. In which case the SCHOOL is actually supposed to supply an aid / person to supervise my allergic son and carry his meds and be in charge of him, but that was never offered. ... yet another reason why we ended up homeschooling. Now we go on any trip we want and don't have to worry anymore.

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    just to add, I know the NO siblings policy is so the siblings wouldn't be a distraction, but in our case the younger one would just sit in a stroller quietly and observe what's going on. So not much disruption or distraction at all.

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    Right, and in that case, it's an ideal target for an INDIVIDUAL line-item in a 504 plan. Because it's a disability issue, it has to be what is actually workable and most inclusive. In this case, including the sibling.

    This is why "policy" is no substitute for individual accommodations in a legally binding document, by the way. Policy can change. Accommodations are about what an individual student HAS to have, whether it's "policy" or not.

    smile

    It's a nightmare to not be able to (ever) use a sitter. I know several people in that particular boat. {sigh}

    Last edited by HowlerKarma; 06/07/14 12:45 PM.

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    Irena, I'm in a hurry as usual, but fwiw, when we were dealing with our dd's first school and having issues, we found talking to the legal advice person at FAAN and getting his advice was very helpful (and very free!). I don't know if they still offer that service - it was probably 8 years ago when we were working through 504 etc issues for our dd, but I'd definitely give them a call and ask your question re field trips etc.

    polarbear

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    Thanks for those links, HK.

    I'll go on a record as a parent of children without (so far--there's a bit of a question in process with DS) food allergies who would be completely happy to have food out of the classroom. Absolutely don't see a need.

    Mk13 #193789 06/07/14 01:52 PM
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    Originally Posted by Mk13
    He's Autistic and needs a one on one care. So we don't really have a babysitter or childcare option for him unless my stepson would take a day off from work or it was on a day when my husband isn't working.

    Mk, this is a little off topic, but it might be worth while considering finding an adult friend or a college student who's willing to train as a sitter for you. We have long hired bright, able young adults as sitters-- yes, they are more expensive than regular sitters, but we train them to deal with all the Things that our household deals with (including food allergies and autism).

    We have found that it's actually important for safety to have someone around in the community who can take over for you if need be. I.e. if you ever had to take your spouse to the emergency room. Or whatever. Well worth the time and trouble.


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