2013 Food Allergy Bloggers Conference - School Video

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Tweeted by @woodrumlaw

"2013 Video – Food Allergies in Education with Allergy Home's Dr. Mike Pistiner and Lynda Mitchell of KFA"

http://fablogcon.com/2014/07/2013-video-food-allergies-in-education-with-allergy-homes-dr-mike-pistiner-and-lynda-mitchell-of-kfa/


A lot of good school tips.  Interesting to hear Lynda's thoughts on patient communities / internet.

One difference of approach ... at FAS - a lot of us feel that even if good school policy, better to also have it in a 504 .... Dr. Pistiner seemed ok with just good policy sometimes.

There was one more thing that I was going to comment on which I've now forgotten.   

[guess]

It's actually the law, not simply a lay opinion of one group of parents. Any medical professional absent the legal knowledge of civil rights/disability compliance should always begin with the statement that his or her lay opinion does not constitute legal advice on FAPE, 504/ADA. This is OCR's finding in Virginia Beach when it relied upon LAMPS, their version of an IHP and general policies.

Worse, any medical professional advising schools even indirectly in a blanket statement that policies obviate them from the responsibility of evaluating students for 504 eligibility could be setting them up for a huge compliance violation at a later date.

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Another thing that I feel slightly different about is how I view school nurses.

Let me start off by saying that I love our school nurse ... she's great and has been so helpful ... and I know she has worked so hard to keep my dd safe.  Also, I wish every school did have a nurse as I feel this protects the kids and can save lives.

At the same time, coming from a pure patient/caregiver perspective, I have heard of situations where school nurses were not good advocates for FA families, where they sided with school admins in denying accommodations that seemed necessary.

I guess I view the situation as being complex.  There is cooperation, but also often a kind of push & pull between the different interests of those involved:  FA parents, non-FA parents, nurses, teachers, admins, docs, etc.  The more cooperation & agreement - generally the better, but I look at it as a formal situation, kind of a negotiation.

Also, individual parent/student input is very important in addressing the specific needs of the specific child.  Guidelines/policies are very important, but "necessary & appropriate" must be tailored to the individual.

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I was thinking more about this topic ... I think that this is sometimes relevant to the school 504 process ....


Docs helping patients to surf the internet

Tweeted by @hhask

"Nursing professor's studies suggest ethics problem"
http://koin.com/2014/07/31/nursing-professors-studies-suggests-ethics-problem/

In Krautscheid's view, her students were putting their relationships with doctors and senior nurses ahead of their responsibilities to their patients.

"How do we teach courage?" Krautscheid asks. "How do we teach backbone?"

"It's easier just to go along and get along, and when you drill down on that through one-on-one interviews, what they tell you is, 'I have to keep working with these people, and it seems to be part of the culture that this is OK,'" Krautscheid says.

School nurses can often be our (FA families) best advocates ... but at the same time, they work at the school and that is sometimes going to be a factor.

My opinion is that there is no group in the 504 process that should be put on a pedestal & that includes food allergy parents (ex - we can go overboard asking for things that aren't necessary, we do not always approach things in the best way, etc.)

No doubt that there are so many nurses that deserve      , but not all.



ETA this link that shows how bad school attitudes can get:
Children with Food Allergies Should Be Shot?