I am going to be the teacher's aide for a sweet little boy this year. He has a variety of medical and learning issues. The main concern at school will be his Type 1 diabetes. I know the basics about diabetes, but little about Type 1. Does anyone have any first hand info? He does wear an insulin pump.

I'm hoping to get all the info I can before school starts. He also has sensory issues and is basically non-verbal. (he uses some regular sign language signs and some made up signs.) His mom is sending me some information and we are going to get together soon. School starts in about 4 weeks and I am feeling overwhelmed!

Type 1 is the insulin dependent diabetes. He will have check his blood sugar levels and take insulin or take glucose pills based on the blood sugar levels.

What age is he? If he is old enough to read and write, you could try getting a small white board for writing messages on.

I am sure that the mom will provide you with what you need. If the school is organized enough to have an aide for the child, there will probably be an small team of people to help you out (at least this has been my experience with working with schools and kids with special needs).

Take it a day at a time... I am sure that all parties involved will need to have a time of adjustment but within a few weeks or so, it will be running like a well-oiled machine.

Hope it works out for you -- that sounds like a very rewarding job.

Thanks Cuthie. I have been a sub. for 14 years (since getting my teaching degree.) He is in kindergarten and can NOT read (and may not for a long time). His IQ is borderline low (as a non-verbal child). Finding out what he knows is the key!

He is sweet, but I think it will tough. Our school was VERY reluctant to have him in our district and they only an aide because of mom. They are being VERY hard to deal with and are unsure how/who/what, etc., KWIM? They actually seem to want to say they tried it and it didn't work, so send him somewhere else. His teacher, mom and I will work to do our best here.

I think I worry about the diabetes because it is hard for him to communicate and even mom has trouble reading his cues.

Thanks again!