Class Will Aid Caregivers for Children with Diabetes

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Taking care of young children with diabetes can be a challenge unless you’ve been educated about its management. Joslin is launching a class aimed at educating caregivers of young children about diabetes and thus reducing their fears and making it easier for them to maintain a safe and normal environment for these children each day.

The “Caring for Children with Diabetes” two-hour evening class will give an introduction to diabetes and how it is managed in children, with an emphasis on young children. Topics include diabetes basics; blood glucose monitoring; the impact of insulin, food and physical activity on diabetes management; and ways to provide the best care for children.

The class format will be lecture, discussion, and Q&A; it will not teach hands-on management techniques. One reason for this approach is that non-medical personnel aren’t permitted to inject insulin or glucagon in Massachusetts, explains Joslin’s Margaret Lawlor, M.S., C.D.E. However, childcare personnel are able to measure a child’s blood glucose levels—and to react properly to that information when needed. “If you educate people about the value of doing a blood glucose check, they will know when to take some action,” she says.

“We want to start a conversation with the early childhood community about diabetes, and also to welcome grandparents or friends of anyone else who would like to come,” Lawlor adds. “Our class will help to normalize diabetes in childhood settings; the first step is to remove fear and educate people so they feel confident in caring for children with diabetes.”

Caring for Children with Diabetes will be offered three times, on April 5, May 12 and June 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. The price is $30 per person. Registration must be done in advance. Click here for more information, or contact Georgia Feuer at 617.309.4530 or georgia.feuer@joslin.harvard.edu.