How Paranoid Should I Be About School?

[elocin71]

today was my daughter's first day of kindergarten. her teacher is very allergy-friendly as her son has a peanut allergy. she brought up points that i'd never considered. i knew to check the supplies for wheat. they don't have snacks in the classroom. they wash their hands before and after lunch. but her teacher asked me if she needed to have her own set of supplies in case someone doesn't wash their hands and touches all the common area supplies. how far do i need to take it? so far i don't notice any big reactions from my daughter when she gets glutened so i would say she is not very sensitive. how do you handle it?

[Grace'smom]

today was my daughter's first day of kindergarten. her teacher is very allergy-friendly as her son has a peanut allergy. she brought up points that i'd never considered. i knew to check the supplies for wheat. they don't have snacks in the classroom. they wash their hands before and after lunch. but her teacher asked me if she needed to have her own set of supplies in case someone doesn't wash their hands and touches all the common area supplies. how far do i need to take it? so far i don't notice any big reactions from my daughter when she gets glutened so i would say she is not very sensitive. how do you handle it?

I had a meeting w/the school last week to go over accomodations that mirrored a 504 plan. Because my child's at a private school, the plan couldn't be "forced" upon the school, but I did put in for accomodations. They were incredibly supportive and receptive. They included: my daughter using her own gluten-free art supplies (most every child in this school needs to supply their own anyhow); notifying me days ahead of time for any activities involving flour (paper mache, science experiments, cooking)or pasta play (I'd provide gluten-free)or so that I can provide the class w/gluten free flour; no fingerpainting; I sent in my own Crayola Model Magic which is similar to play doh; they will have her wash hands thoroughly after all arts and crafts; before snack and before lunch. She has Purell in her desk (gluten-free); the nurse has gluten-free medication on hand for headaches and gluten-free band-aid brand bandages; I asked them to not allow her to lick stamps, envelopes or any stickers (most contain gluten); arranged for an emergency snack box in the class in case she forgot a snack or there was a bday party. It includes both healthy and candy snacks. Lunchroom accomodations had to be made and bathroom accomodations in case they questioned the need to go...I think those were the major things. The guidance counselor also attended and is forming a friendship w/my 6 yr old so that if she's having a bad day or feeling upset over anythign that may go on, she's a familiar face (thinking of bday parties and/or things kids may say that unintentionally hurt feelings). Hope this helps. I don't think "paranoid" is the right word...you're being cautious and w/celiac kids, we need to be. Good luck mom!! Emily

[bakermom]

My daughter just started first grade, so I've got a year under my belt. Last year I was very concerned and watched everything, working with the teacher. I did not worry about art supplies as much. I did, however, go in for all the class parties, even though I work, and took appropriate substitutes for the things she couldn't eat. I left extra snacks and treats with the teacher, like the other suggestion that was made. I've talked with my daughter a lot about not accepting any food from anyone else, and being very careful not to put her hands in her mouth when she's doing art projects or anything else in the classroom, and to wash regularly. The best thing I did was provide the schools with a summary of celiac disease in the form of frequently asked questions. Each person who interacts with my daughter, from her teacher to the principal, to the lunch supervisors, have seen it. At times I've needed to emphasize pieces, such as letting her go to the bathroom when needed because of her tendency to constipation. I've found people willing to work with us, and I never hesitate to remind a less-willing person that she is protected under Americans with Disabilities Act. I meet with each teacher at the start of the school year.

I also prepared extra birthday cupcakes, and froze them. They're easy to send in when the other kids have a birthday! For my daughter's birthday last year, I took in ice cream cups, so everyone could have the same thing. She's comfortable with who she is, and she protects herself well. I don't know how high her sensitivity is, but school is going well and her health is great!

I was really concerned too, but with the extra precautions I found it easier than I thought. I wish you well, and I applaud you for being such a great advocate for your child!

[elocin71]

you're right, paranoid is the wrong word altho i suppose it's more a reflection of how i think i might be perceived by someone with no allergy experience. her teacher has first-hand experience so she's very aware.

does hand sanitizer kill gluten molecules? even after reading several books on celiac disease, i have yet to find out if you can 'kill' them or only wash them down the drain. i suppose if your daughter is using it and is not reacting, it must be doing something. her teacher has the kids wash their hands frequently and there are no snacks in the class. the hard part will definitely be when they have birthdays.

what kind of lunchroom accommodations were made? at our school, kindergarteners only eat lunch every other wednesday so we won't have to deal with that too often.

thank you all for your information and kind support

[Grace'smom]

you're right, paranoid is the wrong word altho i suppose it's more a reflection of how i think i might be perceived by someone with no allergy experience. her teacher has first-hand experience so she's very aware.

does hand sanitizer kill gluten molecules? even after reading several books on celiac disease, i have yet to find out if you can 'kill' them or only wash them down the drain. i suppose if your daughter is using it and is not reacting, it must be doing something. her teacher has the kids wash their hands frequently and there are no snacks in the class. the hard part will definitely be when they have birthdays.

what kind of lunchroom accommodations were made? at our school, kindergarteners only eat lunch every other wednesday so we won't have to deal with that too often.

thank you all for your information and kind support

Hi there,

As far as the Purell goes, our school has the kids use antibiotic hand wipes pre snack and lunch, but I asked them to have Grace use her own as I got a gluten free school supply link sent to me a while back and it mentioned Purell was gluten-free. I do want her to handwash after arts and crafts or anything messy like that. Maybe I rushed in my earlier post? Forget. As far as lunch: I have a meeting coming up with the Dir of Food Svcs at the school's cafeteria becz she's in first grade and we would like to know if there are any gluten free options. Beyond that, for now, she is keeping a bottle of handi wipes in the cafeteria labeled with her name. At lunch, she wipes down her spot at the lunch table, then cleans her hands, and eats out of the lunchbox. Sounds like a little thing but I asked the teacher to help make sure that Grace will do those things as her diagnosis is new. So they agreed to walk her through it. She's done a great job and is proud of herself for remembering to wash, use Purell, etc. all day long and reports home to me about it. The funny thing is, I thought other kids in the class would think it all strange, and turns out they're all begging her to use her Purell becz they think it's cool. So funny how first graders are. I don't know if your teacher is familiar w/celiac in particular so maybe bring in some materials to familiarize her as it's definitely more far-reaching than a food allergy. Hope kindergarten goes great for your little one!! Emily

[elocin71]

that's a great idea having the wipes stay at the cafeteria. sending a wipe every day in her lunchbox didn't seem as appetizing.

thanks!

[T.H.]

Sadly, Purell is not good at getting rid of gluten. It's good at sterilizing, but that's killing living cells rather than denaturing a protein. you've gotta wash those molecules down the drain. The last info. I heard on destroying gluten molecules (it was quoted from some one here at celiac.com, if I remember right, so I'm afraid I don't have a link confirming this somewhere else) was that you'd have to heat a gluten molecule at 650 F for about 30 minutes to destroy it. Tough little sucker, eh?

They don't have any studies on cleaning away gluten that I've heard of, but they do have some on trying to get rid of peanut molecules, which are another stable food molecule, so I figure it's probably a good one to look at. The results were that soap and water washed away the allergen. Hand sanitizer left allergen residue in twice as many cases as simply rinsing with plain water would have. It did get rid of the peanut allergen in some cases, but it simply sounds like it's a real crap shoot. Best they can tell, hand sanitizers often smear the food molecule around on the hands rather than getting rid of it.

(the article on this can be found here: Open Original Shared Link )

Before we knew this, my daughter was always sanitizing her hands at a friend's house rather than washing them, and she was getting a gluten reaction almost every time she ate food over there, even though we had packed it all ourselves and she'd 'wash' her hands before she ate every time. We couldn't figure it out, and then I came across this study and suddenly it made sense.

[elocin71]

Best they can tell, hand sanitizers often smear the food molecule around on the hands rather than getting rid of it.

(the article on this can be found here: Open Original Shared Link )

that's kinda what i thought so it's nice to have it confirmed (tho i'd rather the sanitizier work )

thank you

[weluvgators]

My kids use placemats when eating in shared environments. We use cloth ones that fold up in their lunch bags. They also bring their own napkins and silverware so that they can feed themselves independently. I also pack a backup set of silverware in case they drop one.

[missingtortillas]

The place-mat is such a good idea! My daughter is in 4th grade, was just diagnosed with Celiac's and I'm freaking out. How will I'll give her good tasting food in a "cold lunch" and have her not be hungry?

[weluvgators]

You can heat up leftovers in the morning and pack it into a small thermos for a warm lunch if that is her preference. There are lots of wonderful things to still pack in her lunch! Both of my girls request very different things, but they figure out what works well for them. Good luck to you and your daughter. I totally understand freaking out about it too! There is a lot to learn, and it helps that there are so many wonderful resources for finding others with similar challenges.

[elocin71]

excellent idea about a backup utensils. do they put their placemat in its own bag inside their lunchbag? i guess i am treating gluten molecules like the plague and i'm imagining the crumbs from the bottom of the placemat getting into the lunch bag.

[Takala]

excellent idea about a backup utensils. do they put their placemat in its own bag inside their lunchbag? i guess i am treating gluten molecules like the plague and i'm imagining the crumbs from the bottom of the placemat getting into the lunch bag.

_________

Have her lay down a paper towel or two, that you've folded up and put in her lunchbox. Then it can be disposed of afterwards. Otherwise you're dragging table detritus back into your lunch kit.