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Local Celiac parents?

Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free

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Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free Newbie
Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free
Posted

Is there a way to find out if any members here are in my area? Stroudsburg, PA, Lehigh valley, Blairstown NJ?  My 7 year old doesn't know any other kids who have celiac and he feels pretty alone.

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StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

I would start with your GI Dr. who diagnosed your kiddo or your local children's hospital. They usually know what support groups there are around. You can also try checking out Facebook for local groups.

 

We're in Ohio and there is one called ROCKS here (Raising Our Celiac Kids) but I don't know if they are just local or part of a national group.

notme Experienced
notme
Posted

lolz - i got married in blairstown ('where hope is only one exit away', lolz)  are you in pa or nj?  close to hackettstown nj?  there is an awesome restaurant called 'mama's baci' that offers an EXTENSIVE gluten free menu and they have a dedicated kitchen.  you can even get sauces, bread, pasta, etc to go if you're in a hurry.  never have gotten sick there.  nice people - they might could steer you in the right direction.  or you could contact the hospital there and see if there's a support group - i know they teach classes for safe food handling there at hackettstown hospital.  i have a few friends who live in stroudsburg (east) i can ask, too, if you are on the pa side of the delaware :)

africanqueen99 Contributor
africanqueen99
Posted

You can also ask your child's school nurse.  That's how I found my first mom of a celiac child.  The nurse had to get her permission and then put us in contact.  Same nurse also offered to ask the entire district (it's really large) through the nurses.

anyana Apprentice
anyana
Posted

Wow, small world. I went to Blair for high school!  I still know lots of people (faculty) there and would be happy to ask around to see if they have any teens with celiac. Let me know if you'd like me to do that.

Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free Newbie
Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free
Posted
  • Author
15 hours ago, notme! said:

lolz - i got married in blairstown ('where hope is only one exit away', lolz)  are you in pa or nj?  close to hackettstown nj?  there is an awesome restaurant called 'mama's baci' that offers an EXTENSIVE gluten free menu and they have a dedicated kitchen.  you can even get sauces, bread, pasta, etc to go if you're in a hurry.  never have gotten sick there.  nice people - they might could steer you in the right direction.  or you could contact the hospital there and see if there's a support group - i know they teach classes for safe food handling there at hackettstown hospital.  i have a few friends who live in stroudsburg (east) i can ask, too, if you are on the pa side of the delaware :)

Thanks, yes we've been to Mama's. It's a little far away, we are on the PA side. Yes please ask your friends in stroudsburg, that's really close to us.  Thanks again!

Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free Newbie
Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free
Posted
  • Author
11 hours ago, africanqueen99 said:

You can also ask your child's school nurse.  That's how I found my first mom of a celiac child.  The nurse had to get her permission and then put us in contact.  Same nurse also offered to ask the entire district (it's really large) through the nurses.

I will try that. I had to get permission from the principle for the teacher to give me the first names of the kids in his class so I could send out invites for his birthday.  So, they're a bit weird about that stuff.

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StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

It's not about being weird, it's a privacy thing. Schools aren't allowed to disclose personal information about other students esp. if it's in relation to a disability (which Celiac is coved by).  I would look at other areas before I would ask the school for that info. Seems yours takes students personal information seriously so I would doubt they would agree to the above it sounds. 

 

A quick google search turned this up. No idea where it is in relation to you but I'm sure you can turn up something similar in your area.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free Newbie
Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free
Posted
  • Author
16 hours ago, StephanieL said:

I would start with your GI Dr. who diagnosed your kiddo or your local children's hospital. They usually know what support groups there are around. You can also try checking out Facebook for local groups.

 

We're in Ohio and there is one called ROCKS here (Raising Our Celiac Kids) but I don't know if they are just local or part of a national group.

Thanks, I was able to find a ROCKS in Blairstown. Not sure if they're still active but I will contact them today.  That would be great if they are! Thank you!

notme Experienced
notme
Posted
19 hours ago, anyana said:

Wow, small world. I went to Blair for high school!  I still know lots of people (faculty) there and would be happy to ask around to see if they have any teens with celiac. Let me know if you'd like me to do that.

my dad used to threaten to send me to blair academy when i skipped school, lolz - i had a friend who actually went there and she got into waaaayy more mischief than i did in west milford ;)

notme Experienced
notme
Posted

lizzy, my stroudsburg friend is out of town on business, but when he gets back he is going to contact someone who he thinks has a kids' group.  he and his wife have 7 or so kids (stopped counting at 5 lolz) and they are vegan, so he might have some other local resources for your son.   i learned of some other celiacs/ncgi people just randomly (church, lions club,  grandson's little league, etc) by attending local functions.  if i know someone with a gluten problem is going to attend and there will be food served, i make something 'safe' to share with my gluten-free buddies :)  glad you found that blairstown group and when i find anything further, i'll post it.  give your kid a ((hug )))  from me.  it's tough enough to manage being an adult, poor guy!  

Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free Newbie
Lizzy-B-Gluten-Free
Posted
  • Author
14 hours ago, notme! said:

lizzy, my stroudsburg friend is out of town on business, but when he gets back he is going to contact someone who he thinks has a kids' group.  he and his wife have 7 or so kids (stopped counting at 5 lolz) and they are vegan, so he might have some other local resources for your son.   i learned of some other celiacs/ncgi people just randomly (church, lions club,  grandson's little league, etc) by attending local functions.  if i know someone with a gluten problem is going to attend and there will be food served, i make something 'safe' to share with my gluten-free buddies :)  glad you found that blairstown group and when i find anything further, i'll post it.  give your kid a ((hug )))  from me.  it's tough enough to manage being an adult, poor guy!  

Thank you. I didn't hear back from the Blairstown group yet.  It was a 7 year old post I found about them, so they might not be active.  

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