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Hello,

I would like to thank everyone who emailed me with advice on my son's school
situation. Here is an update on what happened:

We emailed materials on celiac disease and DH to the principal before our
meeting. At the meeting, the principal acknowledged that she understood that
gluten exposure could harm our son, but the principal insisted that our
son's teacher was not at fault, despite the numerous cooking projects that
were part of the classroom curriculum, the teacher's not using the
gluten-free art supplies we purchased, the lack of attention to hand
washing, etc. Essentially, the principal insisted that our son must be
overly-sensitive. The principal claimed that our son's teacher was wonderful
and refused to move our son into another teacher's classroom. We withdrew
our son from that school.

Fortunately, we found another private school that admitted our son. The
school has only been open in Chicago for a few years and we had not know
about it when we had originally investigated schools. Before our son started
at his new school, we met with the headmaster and our son's teacher,
discussed celiac disease, and provided them with written materials from
www.csaceliacs.org

Our son has been attending his new school for two weeks. It is a full-day
program and he has a snack and lunch at school (we provide his snacks and
lunches). He has not been ill! No diarrhea and his skin is healing--the rash
is almost gone. The teachers at his new school are terrific and they have
not done a single cooking project. The curriculum is rigorous, but the
teaching-style is nurturing and parents are given regular feedback. Our son
is very happy with his new school. It is expensive but well-worth the
investment. Needless to say, we are thrilled that we've found a place that
provides a great educational experience combined with a safe environment.

Alicia in Chicago

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