Posts Tagged ‘504 plans for food allergies’
Once my son, at the age of 1, was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy, his two vials of Epi Pen Jr. came with us everywhere. The supermarket, short walks around the neighborhood and to the park. I carried it with us religiously. So when I was informed after Kindergarten registration that he would not be able to have his Epi Pens with him when traveling on the school bus I was shocked, worried and concerned about him and others like him. How could a school district, located in the suburbs just outside New York City, which accommodates those with food allergies by having a “peanut allergy class” throw caution to the wind and not allow the only medication that could save him if he came into contact with a peanut allergen on the school bus?
As a School Psychologist I am aware that children share snacks on the bus. I have first handedly been informed of food allergic reactions on the school bus because a child (age 7) tasted another child’s cookie. And, as educated as a 4 year old can be about a peanut allergy, children are still curious and are still void of good judgment from time to time.
Thus, the only way to completely ensure the safety of a student with a food allergy, especially a severe, life threatening one, is to have emergency medication accessible with staff educated to administer it at all times. 504 Plans are meant for just this type of special accommodation, but according to the school nurse my son’s life saving medication would not be allowed on the bus.
In New York City, students with asthma are given special accommodations by being able to carry their nebulizers with them in case of an attack, as well as given small air conditioned buses to prevent the attack from occurring in the first place. There is action taken to prevent an attack, which is exactly what I believe is the right of every child on the school bus. The transportation of students to their school is an extension of the school environment and one that I believe should be covered under the 504 Accommodation Plan. A safe and appropriate environment is part of the school staff’s responsibility to keep our children safe….right?
Note that 504s are not specific to my state (NY) but are part of the federal ADA act signed into law in 1990, which means that ALL states must comply. ALL students who have special needs and those who have needs that may restrict major life activities are entitled to special accommodations under the 504. The written law is that they “cover all programs of a school or college, including academics, extracurricular, and athletics. Also the laws apply to the activities of a school or college that occur off campus”, which should include traveling to and from school. I urge all of those who are denied Epi Pens on school buses to refer their school administrators to the law regarding 504s and to not take no for an answer. We must stay the advocates for our children and the pioneers in situations that have yet to be challenged and changed.
For more information on 504s, you can reference the link below which gives a broad overview of the plan. As the law for each particular state differs slightly, the site also provides links for detailed information on each particular state.(http://specialchildren.about.com/od/504s/f/504faq1.htm)
Debbie at http://www.peanutfreesweettooth.com
Peanut Free Sweet Tooth
Recently, while registering my soon-to-be preschooler, the administrators asked me a question that I struggled to answer: “how severe is your son’s peanut allergy”? This innocent question that I get all the time from my friends and family brought back memorizes of when I first found out that my son had an allergy. It was 2009 and we were at a children’s birthday party. When I had turned for a moment my one year old son started eating a cookie that was on a table. Nothing happened at first but within minutes he started breaking-out in hives and vomiting. In a panic, we rushed him to the emergency room and luckily everything was fine, however the doctor recommended that I make an appointment ASAP to see an allergist.
The next day the first question I asked the allergist was “how severe is my son’s allergy?” I was expecting him to reply with either “severe”, “moderate” or (hopefully) “not too severe”….and was bracing for the bad news. His answer surprised me though as he mentioned that unfortunately there is no “right” answer. As I learned, reactions are completely unpredictable, as someone can have a minor reaction one time but then suffer a severe reaction (like anaphylaxis) the next time. It is true that some people show obvious signs of what is classified as a severe reaction (such as in inhalation exposure), but others just haven’t had that severe reaction yet. Severity of reaction is unfortunately a roll of the dice and is not necessarily dependent upon previous reactions or allergy testing results.
Allergists typically measure an allergy by the CAP-RAST, which tests the IgE antibodies to a particular allergen, the skin prick test and a rating scale, which is based upon previous reactions. According to FAAN, “overall, fewer than half of individuals with a positive skin test to a food will develop allergic symptoms if they eat that food”.
These tests do not need to correlate positively with each other either, actually often they don’t. My son has a high rating scale number of three (based upon a rating scale from 1 to 4), a positive skin prick test, yet his IgE antibodies were very low. His allergist informed us that this doesn’t predict a future reaction’s severity in any size or form, but only that he is allergic to peanuts. These are significant discrepancies that need yet to be explained.
Case in point, reactions are difficult to predict and test results can be confusing and misleading. Precaution, due diligence regarding label reading, and always being prepared with Epi Pen and a medical plan, are the only ways to effectively treat those with a diagnosis of food allergy. Each and every person with a food allergy should be given equal treatment of their food allergy regardless of their food allergy testing results and previous reactions.
So, going back to the question raised by the school administrator….how should I answer? What is the best approach to both educate a person on this topic without coming across as preachy or lecturing? I decided that being honest and direct with them took priority over how I may be perceived. Keeping the conversation light, but still educational, we ended-up having a great talk that ended with the administrator thanking me tremendously (she even invited me to speak in a class on the topic!).
While I’m still learning as each new stage brings its own set of challenges, I feel passionately about the health and well-being of the food allergy community. Everyone deserves the basic feeling of safety and security at home, in school and in any public setting. This is one of the reasons why I have started a site that offers hard-to-find foods, snacks and treats that are peanut-free, nut-free and mostly allergen-free. It has given my family and me the comfort in knowing that foods which often contain peanuts can be found without any and eaten safely and happily. Come and visit us at http://www.peanutfreesweettooth.com and let me know your thoughts and in what other ways this site might be helpful.
peanutfreesweettooth 