When Your Child Is Diagnosed with DIABETES: PARENTS’ QUESTIONS for the Health Care Team
Parents of children with diabetes often have concerns about the disease, its impact on their family, and how to keep their children safe and healthy. Use these questions to talk with your child’s health care team and learn about your child’s diabetes care needs… at diagnosis and later on as well.
What are the different types of diabetes?
- Which type of diabetes does our child have?
- Will it ever go away?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
What does this mean for other members of our family?
- Does it mean our other children will get diabetes too?
- What about other family members?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
What are my child’s treatment goals?
- How can we help our child meet these goals?
- How often will our child need to visit you each year?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
(See Treatment Goals and Family Support)4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life
NDEP Teen page
(See Tip Sheets for Kids with Type 2 Diabetes)
What other health care team members can help care for our child’s diabetes?
- How do we contact them?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Visiting the Health Care Team)
How can we work together as a family to help our child?
- How can we help our child check blood glucose, take insulin, eat healthy foods, be more active, and learn about diabetes?
- Who can help us work together as a family?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Helping Children Manage Diabetes)
What emotional issues might our child and family face?
- Will diabetes affect the way our child behaves?
- When do we start letting our child manage his/her own diabetes care?
- Who can help us cope with these issues?
Tips for Teens with type 2 Diabetes: Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Transition to Independence )
Learn about age-related issues and diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website
Learn about reactions to being diagnosed with diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website
Should we tell friends and family about our child’s diabetes?
Who can help us if we don’t have medical insurance?
Insure Kids Now! A national initiative to linking families to low-cost insurance programs
What resources are there to help our child in school?
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Diabetes at School)
What research is going on?
Three large nation-wide studies are under way.
The TODAY study wants to find the best ways to care for type 2 diabetes in children and teens and has begun in 13 medical sites. To find out if you can join go to www.TODAYstudy.org.
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet is a group of studies looking at ways to prevent or to treat type 1 diabetes early. To find out if you can join go to www.diabetestrialnet.org/public.html or call1- 800- HALT- DM1(1-800-425-8361).
The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study will help us learn about how type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ, what medical problems arise, the health care children receive, and how diabetes shapes their daily lives. www.searchfordiabetes.org
A lot of other research is going on. To find studies in your area, talk to your health care team and visit the JDRF and ADA (links below).
Additional Resources for Parents and Children
National Diabetes Education Program
www.ndep.nih.gov or call 1-800-438-5383
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
www.jdrf.org or call 1-800-223-1138
Children with Diabetes
www.childrenwithdiabetes.com
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)
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