Page 14 | To ‘EDUCATE’ this teacher?

Misinformation · 2023-09-05T15:03:33+00:00

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!

chaosmaker · 08/09/2023 09:14

I was only speaking as a type 2 with no family history at all

JennyJenny8675309 · 08/09/2023 10:00

I think you are overreacting and you don’t need to “EDUCATE this teacher”.

charabang · 08/09/2023 10:11

I wouldn't be that mother. Teach your son to advocate for himself. He'll have a lifetime of explaining to do. As you can see from the replies on this thread there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there. You can't step in every time.

BooneyBeautiful · 08/09/2023 12:22

Sidslaw · 05/09/2023 16:53

It is inherited though, that is how most people get it

Mostly, it's not genetic:

Is type 1 diabetes genetic? While 90 per cent of people who develop type 1 diabetes have no family connection with the condition, genetic factors can pre-dispose people to developing type 1 diabetes. Certain genes are associated with type 1 diabetes risk.

Boredombeckons · 08/09/2023 12:53

basically had something inherently wrong with him

You are so odd for a parent, OP. You're clearly deeply ashamed of your own child's biological makeup, and taking it out on the teacher. I can feel the shame and defensiveness oozing from all your posts.

The reality is that there are children in your son's class who have a very low to nil chance of getting it. But your son clearly had the genetic makeup for it.

Most people wouldn't even bat an eyelid at the fact that someone was genetically predisposed to an illness (diabetes, Alzheimer's, etc). There's probably no one on earth who isn't predisposed to some sort of illness – the only difference is which one. You're fighting this weird imaginary battle in which you think stating a scientific fact is shameful and discriminatory.

I think you need to get rid of your own prejudice. Seriously, your child will sense that you think he should deny and be ashamed of the fact that he has certain genes.

Boredombeckons · 08/09/2023 13:01

By the way, my own child has a condition that is highly heritable too, and most likely inherited, but no sign of it in earlier generations – known to us at least. I don't think us or her potentially carrying those genes makes any of us inferior though! That would be eugenics.

bobcat2424 · 09/09/2023 02:27

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Baconisdelicious · 09/09/2023 08:54

I think Diabetes (Type 1, Type2.. inherited or not..) is the least of this child's problems unfortunately

Please don't dumb down the seriousness of Type 1 as a means by which to have a go at the OP. It's a fucking serious, relentless condition largely misunderstood by people in general. We experience our children being picked at, picked on, bullied, abused, mis-represented, misinterpreted and frequently ignored. We have teachers who have been trained trying to adminster insulin when a child is hypo - that's enough to kill a child. We have GPs removing insulin from their prescriptions because 'do they really need it?' when without it, they'll die. Our children are subject to ridiculous 'don't eat sugar, you'll get diabetes' campaigns which are never properly clarified as to which type. They have 'helpful' adults scream at them across dining halls that they 'should not be eating that, you're diabetic!' without either regard for the confidentiality of their medical condition, nor even stopping to think that the lunch was packed and pre-carbed by their parent. Fuck me, we even have children referred to Social Services because of the contents of their lunch box or them going through a few days of highs/lows and an assumption that this means the parents are feeding them incorrectly or not giving them insulin.

None of this is about the OP's personality or some kind of reflection of the type of person she is. It's a frustration with the day to day shite she - and the person she loves the most - is living with. Before you make such unpleasant comments, maybe have a think about what it is to live with such a chronic condition that takes over every aspect of your life.

paddyclampofthethirdkind · 09/09/2023 09:10

Baconisdelicious · 09/09/2023 08:54

I think Diabetes (Type 1, Type2.. inherited or not..) is the least of this child's problems unfortunately

Please don't dumb down the seriousness of Type 1 as a means by which to have a go at the OP. It's a fucking serious, relentless condition largely misunderstood by people in general. We experience our children being picked at, picked on, bullied, abused, mis-represented, misinterpreted and frequently ignored. We have teachers who have been trained trying to adminster insulin when a child is hypo - that's enough to kill a child. We have GPs removing insulin from their prescriptions because 'do they really need it?' when without it, they'll die. Our children are subject to ridiculous 'don't eat sugar, you'll get diabetes' campaigns which are never properly clarified as to which type. They have 'helpful' adults scream at them across dining halls that they 'should not be eating that, you're diabetic!' without either regard for the confidentiality of their medical condition, nor even stopping to think that the lunch was packed and pre-carbed by their parent. Fuck me, we even have children referred to Social Services because of the contents of their lunch box or them going through a few days of highs/lows and an assumption that this means the parents are feeding them incorrectly or not giving them insulin.

None of this is about the OP's personality or some kind of reflection of the type of person she is. It's a frustration with the day to day shite she - and the person she loves the most - is living with. Before you make such unpleasant comments, maybe have a think about what it is to live with such a chronic condition that takes over every aspect of your life.

I’ve had T1 since I was 10 and thankfully my experience is nowhere near as negative as this!

It’s worse being an adult with T1 in as much as people try and convince you that you must be T2 because “T1 is for children”

Baconisdelicious · 09/09/2023 09:25

I’ve had T1 since I was 10 and thankfully my experience is nowhere near as negative as this!

So come at it as a parent? What did your parents go through? What were their experiences? Worries? Concerns? What might of gone on behind the scenes that you were shielded from?

paddyclampofthethirdkind · 09/09/2023 09:38

Baconisdelicious · 09/09/2023 09:25

I’ve had T1 since I was 10 and thankfully my experience is nowhere near as negative as this!

So come at it as a parent? What did your parents go through? What were their experiences? Worries? Concerns? What might of gone on behind the scenes that you were shielded from?

They never stopped me doing anything, encouraged me never to let it hold me back and didn’t helicopter parent me or my condition.

I was never bullied nor abused, in fact my friends and colleagues have been nothing but supportive. Not everyone is as wankerish as the people you seem to have come across.

Twentyfirstcenturymumma · 09/09/2023 14:47

Well said!

Some of the assumptions re the OP, her parenting even her child, for goodness' sake, are so unkind, so cruel, so baseless, so totally lacking in empathy that I find the whole thread very sad, apart from the poster who somehow has persisted in imparting very good knowledge of the condition, against all the odds

Twentyfirstcenturymumma · 09/09/2023 14:53

Please don't dumb down the seriousness of Type 1 as a means by which to have a go at the OP. It's a fucking serious, relentless condition largely misunderstood by people in general. We experience our children being picked at, picked on, bullied, abused, mis-represented, misinterpreted and frequently ignored. We have teachers who have been trained trying to adminster insulin when a child is hypo - that's enough to kill a child. We have GPs removing insulin from their prescriptions because 'do they really need it?' when without it, they'll die. Our children are subject to ridiculous 'don't eat sugar, you'll get diabetes' campaigns which are never properly clarified as to which type. They have 'helpful' adults scream at them across dining halls that they 'should not be eating that, you're diabetic!' without either regard for the confidentiality of their medical condition, nor even stopping to think that the lunch was packed and pre-carbed by their parent. Fuck me, we even have children referred to Social Services because of the contents of their lunch box or them going through a few days of highs/lows and an assumption that this means the parents are feeding them incorrectly or not giving them insulin.

None of this is about the OP's personality or some kind of reflection of the type of person she is. It's a frustration with the day to day shite she - and the person she loves the most - is living with. Before you make such unpleasant comments, maybe have a think about what it is to live with such a chronic condition that takes over every aspect of your life.
Thanks
Sorry, to be clear, my well said was in response to @Baconisdelicious supportive of OP and her child comment

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T1Dmama · 27/09/2023 21:54

Sidslaw · 05/09/2023 16:53

It is inherited though, that is how most people get it

No diabetes in my family or husbands… daughter diagnosed 2 years ago.
my best friend - no diabetes in either family… her daughter was diagnosed aged 3, her other DS diagnosed at 10…. Lots of children die of diabetes because families know nothing about it, and it goes undiagnosed! So no it doesn’t always run in families.

T1Dmama · 27/09/2023 22:03

Sidslaw · 05/09/2023 17:14

It is an inherited autoimmune disease - I teach it!

Show quote history

You are teaching wrong then!
no diabetes in any of the families I know who have children with type 1’s… including my own. Yet my DD has type 1 and vitiligo (neither of which has ever been in her family history!)
type one diagnosis usually increases by about 4% a year.. since covid this has increased to 23%….. so there is MICH more are play here than merely inheriting it. You are more likely to get it if it’s in the family, but literally anyone could develop it if the right trigger in their body causes their immune system to over react to an illness or stressful situation.

T1Dmama · 27/09/2023 22:20

Twentyfirstcenturymumma · 09/09/2023 14:53

Please don't dumb down the seriousness of Type 1 as a means by which to have a go at the OP. It's a fucking serious, relentless condition largely misunderstood by people in general. We experience our children being picked at, picked on, bullied, abused, mis-represented, misinterpreted and frequently ignored. We have teachers who have been trained trying to adminster insulin when a child is hypo - that's enough to kill a child. We have GPs removing insulin from their prescriptions because 'do they really need it?' when without it, they'll die. Our children are subject to ridiculous 'don't eat sugar, you'll get diabetes' campaigns which are never properly clarified as to which type. They have 'helpful' adults scream at them across dining halls that they 'should not be eating that, you're diabetic!' without either regard for the confidentiality of their medical condition, nor even stopping to think that the lunch was packed and pre-carbed by their parent. Fuck me, we even have children referred to Social Services because of the contents of their lunch box or them going through a few days of highs/lows and an assumption that this means the parents are feeding them incorrectly or not giving them insulin.

None of this is about the OP's personality or some kind of reflection of the type of person she is. It's a frustration with the day to day shite she - and the person she loves the most - is living with. Before you make such unpleasant comments, maybe have a think about what it is to live with such a chronic condition that takes over every aspect of your life.
Thanks
Sorry, to be clear, my well said was in response to @Baconisdelicious supportive of OP and her child comment

100% this

we’ve had things removed off prescription too… I actually put in an official complaint to the surgery in the end. They don’t even seem to use common sense! Removing items like needles and insulin.. makes you wonder where they qualified!

People do dumb it down and people saying ‘oh I’m type 1 and nothing bad has ever happened to me’ just makes me think they’re trolling…. My daughters only been diagnosed 2.5 years and already it’s been a fight… kids aren’t horrible (yet) but school has been hard (mainly due to teachers commenting!)… and people in general are so uneducated that they either stare at her dexcom so much that she now wears it somewhere hidden… and teachers comment on her life saving alarms going off so she now silenced them and won’t eat breakfast so that she doesn’t have to worry about going high. Even family members and friends ask ‘should you have that/are you allowed to eat that etc…. It’s hard work both physically and emotionally on these kids, I’m thrilled if there are people out there who have NEVER had anyone make an ignorant comment…. However I find it very hard to believe

bruffin · 28/09/2023 09:05

T1Dmama · 27/09/2023 22:03

You are teaching wrong then!
no diabetes in any of the families I know who have children with type 1’s… including my own. Yet my DD has type 1 and vitiligo (neither of which has ever been in her family history!)
type one diagnosis usually increases by about 4% a year.. since covid this has increased to 23%….. so there is MICH more are play here than merely inheriting it. You are more likely to get it if it’s in the family, but literally anyone could develop it if the right trigger in their body causes their immune system to over react to an illness or stressful situation.

Show quote history

You need the right genetics plus the right situation ie covid or in the past something like Mumps or other viruses.
My consultatant wanted to know my family history of autoimmune disease to rule out type 1.
I got type 2 within weeks of getting covid