After our recent blog post, “Why Do We Need Sweets in School?” several of you asked us for copies of the documents we have in place with our school to care for our child who has life-threatening food allergies. We are glad to share what has worked for us.
Remember, though, that your school might already have guidelines in place for managing the health risks of students with severe food allergies. Start by asking your school what they have done for other students, because it might work for you with some tweaking. We have found that we have the best outcome when we work with the school to create a safe environment for our child as opposed to ordering them to do things the way we want. Build healthy relationships with the people who will be helping keep your child safe at school; please remember to thank them for the extra effort they are putting in.
With any document you choose to use, read it carefully and revise to make it specific to your child’s food allergies.
Document 1: Food Rules for Managing Life-Threatening Allergies at School
Source: Amy Jones Anichini, Founder & CEO, Egg-Free Epicurean LLC
Purpose: To update key school personnel about (1) your requests for how to minimize your child’s risk of accidental exposure to her allergens and (2) the rules she lives by to protect herself. Also serves as a starting point for an Individualized Health Plan.
Distribute to: Principal, Asst Principal, District Nurse, School Nurse, Teacher
Distributed by: Parent
Distributed when: Before the first day of school
Document 2: Emergency Medical Plan
Source: Food Allergy Initiative: Resources and Downloads
Click on “Emergency Medical Plan”
Purpose: (1) List your child’s allergies, (2) describe the symptoms of an allergic reaction, (3) state exactly what to do in the event of an allergic reaction, and (4) give emergency contact info
Distribute to: Principal, Asst Principal, District Nurse, School Nurse, Teacher, and anyone else who is trained to use the Epi-Pen.
Distributed by: School or District Personnel
Distributed when: Spring or summer before the new school year
Document 3: Food Allergy Letter to Classmates and Their Parents
Source: Food Allergy Initiative: Resources and Downloads
Click on “A Sample Food Allergy Letter from a School Principal”
Purpose: Inform classmates and their parents about your child’s allergies and ask for their help in minimizing the risk of accidental exposure
Distribute to: All families in your child’s class
Distributed by: Principal and/or Teacher
Distributed when: First day of school
Document 4: Food Allergy Awareness Letter to all Families at School
Source: Unknown
Purpose: To increase awareness by informing all school families that some students have life-threatening food allergies and ask for their understanding as the school attempts to balance the needs/safety of all children
Distribute to: All families at the school
Distributed by: Principal
Distributed when: First week of school
Copyright: Egg-Free Epicurean LLC, 2011, Amy Jones Anichini, Founder & CEO
GREAT packet! This post is invaluable to all families managing school. My daughter’s 504 meeting comes up every January and I appreciate how you have the major steps laid out for parents.
We appreciate your work in our community.