<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Today I left my 7-year old Celiac son with a new teacher.  Along with all
his school supplies I included information for the teacher on Celiac
disease.  This information included photocopies pages from the Canadian
Celiac Association Handbook which describes Celiac Disease - what it is, the
symptoms and the diet.  It also includes a 2-page description of Michaels
and his experience with CD.  I give a little background first, describing
when he was diagnosed and his experience at the Children's Hospital, the
consequences of his illness (speech development problems) and his current
status (everything okay but the letter 's' sound).  The second section of
this describes the gluten-free diet and lists all the major suspect
ingredients.  However, I essentially tell them that Michael is to be trusted
to determine what foods are safe and what aren't.  The last section
identifies what to expect and our expectations of the teacher, including the
point that Michael must be allowed to go to the bathroom when he asks, that
he shouldn't be fed anything that either he or a parent have not okayed,
that he might have cranky times due to accidental ingestion of gluten, etc.
 This customized info gives us a chance to leave the teacher with info that
is specific to Michael.  We will also spend some time discussing the infor
with the teacher after she's had time to review it thoroughly.

So far we've had wonderful co-operation from our local school.  Whenever the
teachers have been getting treats for the class they've called to see what
Michael could have so he wouldn't feel different from the others.  They've
kept g-f muffins and cookies in the school freezer to zap in the micro-wave
for Michael when parents have brought the class unexpected treats.  The
teachers have asked if Michael minded talking about CD and when we said not
at all, they've had him talk to the class about it during Celiac Awareness
Week.

If I had to identify the most important thing it would be to talk to the
teacher regularly and develop a good partnership with her/him.  This will
make life for your Celiac so much easier.

Janet Thomas
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