Parents of kids with Type 1 diabetes worry as schools reopen amid COVID-19 pandemic

Parents urge sensitisation of teachers towards students with Type 1 diabetes and appointment of a nurse in each school.
Injection Needle
Injection Needle
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Every day, Meena*, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, would remain stressed till it was lunch time. She would then rush to her son’s school to administer him insulin during his lunch break. Her son has Type 1 diabetes and has to take insulin in the noon too before lunch, like everyone who has the condition. Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which cells in the pancreas that make insulin are destroyed and hence the body is unable to make insulin.

“Till I reach him, so many thoughts come to my mind. What if he feels fatigued, what if his sugar level falls…,” Meena says.

Meena’s plight points to how lacking schools are in taking care of students with the disease. With the reopening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of children with Type 1 diabetes have more reasons to worry. In Kerala, government and government aided schools reopened partially on January 1 for Class 10 and 12. The Kerala CBSE School Management Association also followed the government decision to reopen schools for Class 10 and 12 from January 1.

“School buses haven’t resumed services yet. Parents who don’t own a vehicle or can’t drop children at school because of lack of time have a lot more to worry as their children have to take public transport, which increases the risk of contracting COVID-19. Most of us parents are not financially well off, some of us lost jobs owing to the pandemic induced crisis. Those who lost jobs resumed working only around October and hence can’t afford to drop children at school as they have to get to work, while hiring private vehicles is too expensive,” Jaseena*, a resident of Pathanamthitta and parent of a teenage student with Type 1 diabetes, tells TNM.

Students, especially those who study science, do not have the option of skipping classes as it would affect their scores. “Studying from home is not good for their physical and mental health. Attending online classes from home has made them physically inactive, which poses a greater risk for Type 1 patients. Reopening of schools has been refreshing for the children, but we parents are panicking as they have to mingle with other students and travel in public transport,” Jaseena adds.

Lack of awareness among teachers

Parents also raise concerns about the lack of sensitivity among teachers, adding that children with the disease need to be treated fairly. They are also worried about the lack of facilities at schools for their children to take insulin during school hours.

“The teachers lack awareness of such conditions, so they’re not sensitive to the needs of the children,” says Meena, urging that the concerns of parents in general should be addressed.

“Children with the condition get fatigued easily and may even collapse sometimes. But teachers usually question them rudely, asking insensitive questions such as ‘why are you always like this’, ‘why are you putting your head down on the table’, etc. It’s the same whether it is a government or a private school. This makes children with the disease not to reveal their condition, to skip their insulin. They mostly don’t even tell their friends about their disease, so it’s primarily the duty of the teachers to make them feel that they are at par with the other students,” a teacher, who has witnessed the plight of such students, tells TNM.

Demand for a nurse in each school

The parents demand that a nurse be appointed in each school to assist children with their medical needs, such as taking insulin.

“The insulin has to be taken either on the thighs or the stomach as hand muscles are weak to take the injection multiple times a day. In most schools, even those run by the CBSE, there is no service of a nurse nor a separate room where the children can administer themselves the injection. The staff room is meant for both male and female teachers. This might make both girls and boys reluctant to take the insulin in the staff room. This again might prompt them to skip the insulin, which is highly risky as it may even lead to diabetic coma,” Jaseena says. Diabetic coma, caused due to either high or low blood sugar, is a condition that can be life-threatening.

Even in the few schools that have a nurse to assist students with healthcare needs, the nurse is not allotted a separate room. “This is the case of CBSE schools, while there are no nurses appointed in government or government aided schools. Even in schools with a nurse, the children have to use the staff room, which again might make them avoid taking the injection,” Jaseena says.

Meena, adds, “There was even an instance where a child got a swelling on his hand after a teacher administered insulin to him on the same hand at the same place for days. This was to avoid giving the injection on the thighs, but even a teacher couldn’t sense the risk of injecting in the same place for days.”

Shihabudheen, Secretary of the Type 1 Diabetes Foundation, says that their organisation will demand that the government appoint nurses in government schools.

“After schools reopened, parents are even more worried. In its COVID-19 regulations, the government has said that those with chronic illnesses shouldn’t step out during the pandemic. This is applicable to Type 1 diabetes patients too. But children studying in Class 10 and 12 can’t be absent for classes for long as it’d affect their studies. Even during normal times, parents have to go to schools to administer the injection and but now extra care is needed,” he says.

As a result of constant efforts and sensitisation by parents and the platforms they are associated with, the General Education Department issued a circular in February 2019 allowing diabetic children to carry any supportive material or medical apparatus they require to exam centres, including insulin pumps, insulin pens, water, sugar, chocolates, candy, fruits, snacks and other food items.

The Kerala High Court in September 2020 issued a notice to both the Union government and the state seeking response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to consider Type 1 Diabetes in the disability list under the Rights of Person with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016. 

* Name changed

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