Preschool

[Nantzie]

I'm pretty much just worrying and obsessing here, because I'm still waiting for my DD's enterolab results. My husband and I have decided to fly below the radar and not talk to her pediatrician about it to get an official diagnosis if her results come back positive. We'd be a little worried about insurance. My husband's in the mortgage industry and who knows how that's going to turn out in the next few years... If he gets laid off or the company closes its doors, getting insurance may become a problem. There are some other concerns I have too, but that's a top one right now.

I was just wondering if anyone has had problems with preschools, or any schools for that matter, requiring a doctor's note? Or do they tend to just take the parent's word for it?

Thanks,

Nancy

[celiacgirls]

One of my daughters was gluten-free off and on during preschool. We were just experimenting and didn't have an official dx. None of her preschools or Kindergarten ever gave us any trouble. On the other hand, I never asked them to do anything special like change the play dough, etc. I just told them she couldn't eat gluten and I would send all of her food.

If anyone ever required a dr's note, I would give them a copy of Dr. Fine's letter.

[Guest nini]

my daughter's pediatrician was more than happy to compose a "blanket" letter for me to take to school... initially in preschool when we were trying the diet, it was helpful to have a letter on file, but they also took my word for it because they could see how sick my daughter was and the difference once she was gluten-free.

[wonkabar]

My son's preschool has been absolutely wonderful about following the gluten-free diet; we've never submitted anything from the doctor. He had neg. labs and we wouldn't put him through biopsy due to his age. BUT, he had an amazing dietary response so the proof was in the gluten-free pudding! My pediatrician agreed to call Zachary's obvious issue with gluten a "gluten sensitivity".

His teacher is very mindful of his dietary needs (foods, arts/crafts materials, etc.) and will not give him anything that we haven't sent in or given permission for. His teacher wouldn't let him have an ice pop last week b/c she wasn't sure if it were safe...this certainly makes preschool much less stressful. I've given her lots of information about gluten-sensitivity and Celiac which definately helps.

Enterolab does not Dx Celiac. It indicates gluten sensitivity, auto-immune response and fecal fat absorption. I did share my son's labs with the ped. In fact, we have a sick appt. this morning so I'll talk to him about the lab results then. I understand your concern about a Dx and insurance. I don't think you'd have to worry about that with Enterolab though b/c it doesn't Dx Celiac, but I can't say for sure. Someone else may know that answer.

--Kristy

[mcsteffi]

I was just wondering if anyone has had problems with preschools, or any schools for that matter, requiring a doctor's note? Or do they tend to just take the parent's word for it?

I would not think any school would need a note. My sons school had seen how sick he was though and was thrilled the first time they saw him run! When they saw what a difference a diet could make they did not question me. But also I take most of his food. I take his rice and chicken or pasta and he eats the side dishes there. He also has a bin in the class room that has his cracker and cookie snacks... he eats their fruit. There has been a few goofs here and there but I still goof too so I cant place blame. But even at 2 1/2 he is learning that if a food looks different from what mommy usually gives him he wont eat it most of the time. His teachers are amazed by this....lol. If they say they need a dr's note to feed a child correctly I would think twice about that school.

Stephanie

[Guest nini]

I forgot to mention the reason why my daughter's preschool felt it was helpful to have a note on file, they recieve state funding for "no child left behind" and all kids are supposed to eat the same thing, (specifically they had special funding for menus and had a cook on staff preparing breakfast lunch and snacks) so in case they got inspected and had to explain why she was eating something different from the other kids there was documentation on file. Turns out though that when they got inspected, no one even questioned it. The staff at the preschool made a point of showing the inspector that they had a separate area in the kitchen for kids with food allergies and that they also had a list of kids and their specific allergies in the kitchen and in the office so that the staff could be extra careful. The state didn't seem to be bothered at all by that. No reason they should have been. Recognizing that food allergies and intolerances are a very real concern is something that all preschools and schools should be aware of, and should be willing to accomodate. If they aren't willing to accomodate then find another preschool. And I would think that a note on file from the PARENT should be sufficient enough if it were to become an issue. But since I had a Dr.s note provided for me, we used that.

[Nantzie]

Yea, I was thinking that if her test results come back positive I might pull her out of preschool for a few weeks or a month anyway just to get her eating under control. She's a very picky eater anyway, and the change to gluten-free might be a struggle. There are already things that are gluten-free that she loves, so I'm halfway there. But it might be easier if she stayed home for a couple weeks at first. That way I can make sure she's not getting any gluten too. If she went to preschool, they would be more likely to make a mistake than I would.

Since gluten-reactions tend to be pretty dramatic, anyone who accidentally gives her gluten will understand pretty immediately that it's serious.

As far as classroom supplies, I think I'd see if we could offer to buy gluten-free supplies for her classroom. I saw in the archives, Nini, that you made a bunch of gluten-free playdough for your child's class. I think I could do that. And then I could make a bunch of additional colors (or how 'bout some sparkles in some of it?) so their playdough was better than the rest of the school's.

I was looking through the archives and someone posted that their child's preschool had a no food sharing policy, and everyone had to provide all the food for their child. I'll have to call around and check the schools and see what the different policies are.

I feel silly worrying about this when her results aren't in, but I'm pretty sure she's got something going on. Things have changed with her in the last couple months. She's more tired, dark circles under her eyes, says her tummy hurts and isn't eating as much. She had a couple of rounds of antibiotics pretty close together this spring, and that's when things started being not so good for her. So I'm expecting a positive test. But antibiotics can also cause candida overgrowth, so it might be that too.

I just ordered the gluten sensitivity stool test kit for my son too. I have been spacing out the tests so we could afford it easier, but it's better to know for both of them ASAP.

Nancy

[Guest nini]

you mention that your daughter is a picky eater? mine was too UNTIL she went gluten-free! It was only because her tummy hurt everytime she ate that she had become picky. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized the things she preferred to eat were naturally gluten-free.

[Nantzie]

You know, I saw someone else mention that too!! I wasn't getting my hopes up, but I've got my fingers crossed that she ends up doing that too. It really makes sense.