To ‘EDUCATE’ this teacher?

[Misinformation]

DS has Type 1 diabetes. He has to put up with stupid comments like ‘did you eat too much sugar’ regularly.

At school today, a boy asked him this. Teacher nearby started telling him what Type 1 is and he asked if anyone could get it and could you get it randomly.

Teacher said No which DS was quite pissed of about as it seems to imply he’s done something to get it or it’s in his genes (it’s not). He’s not the type to correct a teacher so I think I should?

Quite annoyed as if you’re going to educate someone, do it correctly!

I thought they had identified several genes which can increase the likelihood of someone developing type 1?
From Diabetes.org.U.K.:
"there are a number of genes involved in Type 1 diabetes. These genes don’t ‘give’ you Type 1 diabetes, but increase the chances of you developing it."
Pretty sure that a virus triggered mine, but I interpret the quote above as meaning that it's possible that I was more genetically susceptible to developing type 1 than others.

www.diabetes.org.uk/research/research-round-up/research-spotlight/research-spotlight-what-causes-type-1-diabetes#:~:text=The%20genetics%20of%20Type%201,chances%20of%20you%20developing%20it.

I never once said it had nothing to do with genetics so please don't misquote me.

I said it's not inherited. Which it isn't. A combination of genes which we don't fully understand can lead to a genetic predisposition but that is not the same thing at all. Environmental factors and other triggers play a part. The fact is that the vast majority of people who develop type 1 don't have a family connection to it. My family being one of them.My neighbours child being one of the significant numbers who have gone on to develop it following Covid is another. We just don't know enough.

This is my reading of it too.

@Willyoujustbequiet

Apologies if I misquoted you.

But you are being pedantic in your response by saying T1 is not inherited- yes the disease is not inherited but the multiple genes that have been identified as being a factors in developing T1 are inherited. This is what most people are saying (although admittedly may be unclear) and you must be aware that is clearly what they mean.
Yes scientists do not exactly understand what triggers development of T1 but they do (majority) say there is a high genetic (therefore inheritance) component in the development of T1.

Please don't feel you need to answer the next question- as it's personal. But unless you have had your entire genome sequenced- you cannot possibly know you haven't passed on any of the autoimmune linked genes.

Bloody hell, people are nuts on here! I’ve never posted anything previously complaining about DS’s school.

Anyone would think this wasn’t a global forum and there was only one person with a Type 1 kid on here.

I hope you're not a teacher, as you clearly need to work on your reading comprehension skills. This is what the OP said:

Teacher nearby started telling him what Type 1 is and he asked if anyone could get it and could you get it randomly.

Teacher said No

The teacher was wrong, as you can get it randomly. The 'can anyone get it' needs a complex answer, as per the discussion in this thread.

Am type 1, I was diagnosed at 27 with nobody in my family having it, it’s strange but it does happen and not just genetics. I wouldn’t say I caught it though, not sure of the right wording. Unfortunately you and your son will need to develop a bit of a thicker skin, the joke of eating too many sweets will never go away and you’re wasting time stressing over someone who doesn’t want to learn. It’s hard enough being type 1 but I can’t imagine what it like for a child and having the constant worry as a mother.

Does it really mbest thingsatter - genetic or not - he has it and will learn to live with it and the dickish things people say - you grow a thick skin.

People say the dumbest things - did you eat too many sweets - of course I was 21months old!!
Did your mum give it to you?

The one thing I bloody hate is watching your parents play the genetic blame game - well it is not in my family, we don't have the genes for it - must be yours - aunty betty is fat, uncle tom is fat on your side.
It does not matter how i' got it - I have it. If I have the genes which I obviously do then that is life - no ones fault -do my parents blame their parents and their parents etc etc .

OPs son has it he will get used to the fuckwittery of the less knowledgeable and learn to educate them if he can be arsed. after 50 yrs - i usually say yes "whatever" because I have given up trying to explain things to people who do not listen.

Give the teacher a break - am sure it was nto done to make your son feel bad. My biology teacher called me a mutant for having DM - because my genes were broken -in a genetic lesson. I was know as Mutant for a very long time - people do not alwyas think before they engage their brains but in this scenario I really do not think it was meant with malice

The link I posted stated there may be a genetic predisposition (but they don’t actually know) so again anyone can get it unless scientists manage to isolate a gene, test everyone for it and nobody passes it on!

The link posted doesn’t actually say exactly that OP.
Scientists do know that there is a stong genetic predisposition to T1 diabetes. That is not in doubt.
The fact is, depending on your genes, some people are very/quite/somewhat likely to get it and others are probably vanishing unlikely to do so.
Okay, at the moment we largely don't know which people are which in the general population...but that doesn't mean the condition is a completely random one that anyone can get. It's just that we often don't know if we're susceptible or not.
So when you say 'anyone can get it' I think you mean simply that we don't know who's going to get it - but that doesn't make it a condition that strikes entirely 'randomly'.
I think you and the teacher are using or interpreting the word 'random' a bit differently tbh. I agree that it was a question that needed more than a one word answer really, but I don't know the time or other constraints the teacher was under.

Not at all sure why you’re so angry at the idea of a genetic link. It’s not a defect. It’s not that anyone has done anything wrong. We are all programmed with different susceptibilities. Every single person.

Op you are getting a bit of a hard time and as the wife of a type 1 who's a teacher I understand how hard it is to manage everything. Is your son newly diagnosed? Dh when he was working often supported new type 1 students and had a secret stash of jelly babies and oj for hypos ( only if they tested 1st) but I think what the teacher was trying to say is.that in most cases there is an inherited genetic tendency to develop diabetes. That's also what diabetes UK say. Dh diabetic consultant was clear our kids have an increased risk of type 1 with a type 1 dad as well as other autoimmune diseases DD developed coeliac post covid 2 years ago. Peads said known family history of autoimmune disease made this more likely. Most adult type1s are also tested for coeliac it runs together due to genetics. Your son has done nothing to cause this but his genetic make up put him more at risk. By the time he's 50 belive me he will correct people quite bluntly! (Infact dh has done for the past 30 yrs)

@Sidslaw It's not inherited - what bollocks. You can inherit a genetic predisposition, but current research indicates that some kind of trigger is also required, quite possibly a virus.
DD has T1 diabetes and she's the only one in her extended family, going back as far as anyone knows.

OP - I'd have word with the teacher. There is very, very little understanding of T1 outside those who are directly affected. I include myself in this, until the day DD was diagnosed. I knew so little that I gave her hot chocolate between the GP and hospital (we were sent straight there).

It is genetic. You have just stated in your post it isn't inherited but it is inherited! Your DD has inherited the genes - it doesn't matter if you can or cannot identify other carriers, they will have been there

@Sidslaw t1 diabetes is NOT inherited. It is possible to inherit a genetic predisposition, but not the condition itself. This isn't the same thing.

Genetic predispositions can arise spontaneously, which seems to be the case with DD. No other autoimmune conditions in the wider family either.

AND for the T1 to develop, you also need a trigger - there's no guarantee that you'll end up with T1 just because you carry the predisposition.

Still bollocks 😁

Edited to add a link - Is diabetes genetic? 90% have no family connection.

It is genetic. Your daughter will pass on the genes to any children she has. What don't you get?

@Misinformation, you do you! For some reason, I imagine that you are well known at the school already for being 'that parent!'
It would be lovely to think that you could have something to add to education.. you would probably feel better about yourself too. There are so many grammatical errors in your post that people have been too decent to actually pull you up on.
And if they did, you still probably wouldn't understand. As you clearly don't understand your child's medical condition.
Maybe your child is being picked on because they have an attitude like yours..

But you don't 'catch' it in the way we normally talk about catching a virus.

I would say anyone can develop it. Or say that it happens when the pancreas doesn't work properly / stops working. I'm quite a literal person though.

If the child was trying to wind up your son then he/she might have wanted to close the other child down quickly. A discussion of genetics + viruses = identical twins where only one id type 1, what the pancreas is and what it does takes time, and that is something the teacher probably doesn't have.

The teacher knows the other child better than you do. I'm not going to say don't contact the teacher, but maybe listen to the teacher's side.

The teacher knows the other kid better than you do - she knows whether he'd genuinely be receptive to a five minute discussion about diabetes or whether he was being an arse and just needed shutting down quickly.

She was also present to hear his question. We have all discussed what he meant by the question but she was there to hear it, tone of voice and so on. Was it a genuine question or trying to string out a conversation to delay a lesson. Was he angling for info that he could use against your ds. Was he genuinely worried that he could catch it.

Very few teachers are genuinely unkind, so let's give her the benefit of the doubt - unexpected conversation, probably trying to get back to something else, probably trying to protect your son and shut the conversation down, probably no detailed or personal knowledge of diabetes.

I think it's fine to offer more information but unreasonable to be angry with her when it's clear she responded with good intentions.

For all the people on the thread saying x has T1D and no one else in the family has and this 'proves' xy&z etc etc T1D is an autoimmune disease of which there are many.

There may not be others in the family with T1D but there could be (living and dead) relatives who have/had hypothyroidism, Reynaud's, lupus, pernicious anaemia, MS, coeliac, psoriasis.

They are all part of the same 'family' of autoimmune diseases and means the decedents of those with a certain autoimmune disease are more at risk of developing an autoimmune disease than the general population. I am one of those people, but I have been lucky, so far. My own children weren't so lucky and the genetic predisposition to autoimmunity has passed from me (with a family history, but no auto immunity myself) to them. My son is the first and only person in our family to have T1D but I have no doubt he developed it as a result of his (autoimmune predisposing) genetic makeup.

Also, OP @Misinformation I feel for you, I really do. You sounds stressed and unhappy at your sons diagnosis. I've been there and even though my son was older than yours when diagnosed (late teens) I was devastated for him. For a long time it was the last thing I thought about at night and the first thing I thought about in the morning. I thought life would never be the same again and I came from a good place as an ex staff nurse so I already knew lots about T1D which I assume you don't. Fortunately my son just gets on with it and I am immensely proud of him.

You will get used to it and it will become part of everyday life. Your son will grow up and learn to manage it all by himself. The best you can do is learn how to manage it. I don't mean obsess over every mmol, but fit it round your lives, not the other way round. You have the opportunity to support your son and help him learn how to manage his blood sugar.

In a way it's not relevant how he developed it (although this is something I still think about too much 3 years on) but it helped me to consider that my child could have be diagnosed with something much, much worse and diabetes treatments these days are so much better than when I was nursing.

I also recommend a Libre sensor or Dexcom as the arrows they show are invaluable x

Had to select YABU because it's quite obvious the teacher said no to the suggestion that it's CONTAGIOUS, ie can anyone catch it (from someone). You're getting upset because you misinterpreted the question asked and the answer given.

I think we are arguing over semantics at this point. I said the disease itself wasn't inherited ...which it isn't and which you admit. The rest I have no issue with.

As to your question well no but that is true for everyone the world over and countless conditions. The vast majority of type one (90%?) do not have a family connection to it so I think it's very unhelpful when people insist it's inherited as the vast majority cannot make that link and may be lulled into a false sense of security and dismiss potential symptoms.with potentially disastrous outcomes. I know we/our family GP did.

You are backtracking.

@LostInTheColonies did not say there wasn't a genetic disposition. They specifically said T1 is not inherited. They are correct.

I am not back tracking, it is the same thing