My Aide Glutened 1 Of My Students!

[maximoo]

I work at an after school/summer camp program for disabled kids. I have a few autistic kids in my class & 1 boy (age 10 non-verbal) has just gone gluten-free. (he was gluten-free in the past but went back to gluten--not sure of the reasons) In any event I was told he's back to gluten-free & he has been bringing nice home cooked meals & fruits for dessert/snacks. Anyway it was snack time & the aide got out the snacks (which are provided by the gov't) It was a little debbie s'more. So I said to the aide I believe he has some fruit in his bag. I really don't remember what happened next but I turned around and the boy was eating the s'more. She had given it to him. I then said to her: he's back to eating gluten free, and she said yes. Well I said you just gave him gluten! She looked at me but said nothing. She was probably thinking "oh s$#&!" It was too late the boy had gobbled the thing down.

So you see ladies & gentlemen you cannot even trust the aides to abide by your requests to keep your kid gluten-free. She didn't do it on purpose. There was a lot going on in the room. I chalk it up to her having a "brain fart" This aide does try her best to feed the kids properly but she still glutened a kid.

As I was leaving I met the dad in the parking lot and told him that his son accidently had gluten. He didn't seem too upset but told me the boy has a hard time digesting. I told him to remind the aides that his son can only eat the food from home. I didn't tell him which aide glutened him as I have to work with and she's in my face everyday.

So parents accidents happen @ school/camp & if you have a non verbal child you may nvr know how it happened & if it happened .

[sariesue]

I'm not sure what your position in the program is, but you could at least suggest that snacks brought from home should be taken out prior to beginning snack time. That might help some of the confusion and accidents. Because if the child already has their snack in front of them, they would not be given the "normal" snack. Rather than passing out the provided snack skipping the children who usually bring food then giving them their snack. I know sometimes or most of the time snack time can be chaotic and sometimes people aren't paying excellent attention to who exactly they are giving the snack to instead making sure that everybody has a snack. Or, if you have prep time prior to when the children arrive, you could go over the allergens in today's snack and which if any students cannot have it. That way everyone has been made aware to make sure that the children get the appropriate snack. Another thing to consider is food stealing with students with special needs. I have worked with some individuals that had behaviors that were related to food. One stole food from others which was even more dangerous because they had severe food allergies. We had to really monitor that individual during snack time. Just some thoughts...

[maximoo]

I'm the p/t teacher but its a peculiar situation. I am responsible for instruction but everything else is delegated to the aides by their supervisor. So I can't tell them anything that's not related to instruction.

Luckily we don't have food stealing in this class with the exception of a sneaky 17 yo girl but we watch her like a hawk.

That's a good idea to get his snack out first b4 the general snacks are handed out. That probably would've prevented the incident but hindsight is 20/20. From now on when I am there I'll be sure his food is taken out first. Thx for that.

Our class is very small & the aides know who can have what. It was crazy that it even happened especially since I said to that aide that the boy has fruit in his bag. And she is normally very careful.

I would speak to my boss who would speak to the aides boss, but it was an accident & I gotta be careful & not look like Im brown nosing or sucking up. But I'm sure I can suggest that this boy's food is placed in front of him b4 the others.