Why i have to stop the diet and what are signs of casein infraction
I have been asking opinions about stopping the diet in the last week. Ialmost can’t see the point of going on because the infractions at school aremaking it pointless. We had another today. They were having an ice cream partyin Paul’s class. The teacher forgot to tell me yesterday or I would havebrought in an icepop for him. They gave him his fruit cup and he reached overandtook ice cream from the kid next to him who didn’t even care,and pushed hiscup over and Paul ate a whole scoop of ice cream before anyone notice. Theteacher apologized then one of the aid asked what was going on.. Yet anotherfill in in our class. I told her and she said “oh, no one told me that. He hadseveral Whales (like goldfish) at circle time yesterday.”
SEE??? No matter how many times I tell them or explain how important isthey cannot handle having him on this diet and be responsible/helpful. I knowthey can’t hawk over him at snack time but the handing him Whales wasavoidable!!! So why I am putting him through this at home if he’s just gettinghis”drug” at school?? Its not in his IEP and even if it were I don’t think itwould make a difference. They just can’t seem to keep things straight in hisroom
So now that he’s had ice cream, what are classic signs of bad reaction. He’scranky and miserable anyway because he’s under the weather so I can’t go bymood or temper. They stink lately anyway. anything else I can look for?
This post tagged as: infractions
Lyle Farrington said,
Wrote on February 21, 2007 @ 11:08 pm
Even in a private school, the staff and teachers do have an obligation tohawk over him. They have an obligation to keep him safe and meet his needs,whatever they might be. If he is in a public school, you can bring a notefrom the doctor to the effect that your son is allergic to casein and glutenand that he is to be kept away from dairy and baked goods that are notgluten and dairy-free. Then, if he is eligible to receive lunch at schoolthrough the USDA program, he is entitled to receive a GF/CF meal at theircost. The regulations are very clear when it comes to meeting the dietaryneeds of students in school for health or other reasons. You should printout this document from the US Department of Agriculture, and refer them tothe pages that deal with special diets. By law, they are obliged to provideyour children lunch that complies with their dietary needs.
Maxwell Tow said,
Wrote on February 22, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
My son’s school keeps treats I have provided for him in thefreezer. That way if someone has birthday cupcakes…he has acupcake too. If they get candy, they have safe candy for him too.I try to provide really GOOD treats. I don’t love him having thesugar, but I figure if I don’t want him to resent the diet I’ll haveto provide something he really likes. The freezer thing works greatfor me so that I’m not running around last minute trying to come upwith something.
Flora Casley said,
Wrote on February 22, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
I am so sorry for your frustration at your child’s school, I amfrustrated for you when I read of the situation. If you want to giveit another try, here are a few ideas that have helped our family.
My daughter receives her special therapy in a strictly controlledenvironment in the afternoons (with added protection from her IEPwhich deals with her dietary issues), but we have enrolled her ina “mainstream” preschool at a local church (where she has no IEP) inthe morning for some much needed social opportunities. I sent aletter home with every student (because parents volunteer in theclassroom regularly)in the classroom introducing ourselves andexplaining why she gets a special snack and sometimes special schoolsupplies. I didn’t feel like I gave them too much personalinformation, but I explained it in a friendly way that she hasserious food allergies (that seems to be the only word people willtake seriously) with dire results. I don’t expect them to rememberevery detail when they enter the classroom but it has certainlyhelped to lay a foundation of awareness and parents always stop toask more information when I drop her off at the classroom door.
There is also a note posted at the doorway of the class that sayssomething to this effect: “WELCOME TO OUR CLASS! PLEASE BE AWARETHAT WE HAVE STUDENTS WITH SEVERE ALLERGIES. CHECK WITH MRS.HEADTEACHER BEFORE BRINGING ANY FOOD PRODUCTS INTO THE CLASSROOM”.There is a child with a severe peanut allergy in the room so it isa “peanut free” zone, but the teacher also takes the opportunity toinstruct any new people in the room of our daughters GF/CF issues.
DD has a special place at the end of the table to eat her snack witha smiley face laminated on the surface. Not only does this organizeher a bit but it also serves as a reminder to the snack distributerthat a special snack goes down at this spot (and also to wash thesurface area carefully and avoid exposure to regular playdoh etc.)Last but not least I printed off a big stack of mailing-label sizestickers with a brightly colored piece of clip art of snack foodsand the words “SEVERE ALLERGIES!! Special snacks only please”. Iput one of the stickers on her back everyday as a physical reminderto not feed her anything but the foods I send from home.
I ask weekly if there are any special food treats/recipe projectsetc that I need to being a substitute for or help figure out a wayto make it “legal”. I also offer regularly to bring up a big bag ofrice/beans etc. for the class sensory table. They have yet to takeme up on it, but I feel it is a subtle reminder that she can’t havea big table full of oatmeal or wheat pasta to play in, and they havekept it GF/CF this whole year because of it.
I also take every opportunity I find to communicate with all theteachers/staff/management/parents how grateful we are for thediscovery of the diet and the tremendous blessing it has been in ourfamily and how brightly our little girl shines now that much ofthe “fog” has lifted… how excited we are everyday to see her smileand interact with others etc etc. I find that sharing a bit of ourfamily’s emotional journey has made others not only more empatheticto our situation but also excited to help alongside us. I thankthem regularly and tell how much their attention to her issuesbenefits our whole family. I really think that they feel moreinvested in her well-being and would hate to disappoint us or causeher distress by messing up the hard work invested.
These are a few of the things we have done to keep our daughter on astrict diet despite being amongst the “dangers” of gluten and caseineveryday. I hope you find a solution to your situation also…