A Little Bit Can Hurt (18 page)

A:
Yes, the Health Office does stock extra epinephrine each school year.

Q: Are your staff and parents supportive of your food allergy practices? Has any teacher or parent ever expressed a particular concern or complaint regarding your food allergy policy, and as an administrator, how did you handle that situation?

A:
When the food allergy practices were first established in the early part of the prior decade, 2000 to 2005, there was a little anxiety expressed by parents of children with food allergies and parents who were accustomed to peanut butter as a protein for their child. We planned parent education programs that focused upon current research related to children with food allergies. The school nurse and I often met with parents to discuss questions and concerns. We also invited experts from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins to speak with the faculty.

Q: What food allergy training does your staff receive? How frequently are food allergy protocols reviewed to keep skills current?

A:
All training and policies related to food allergies are reviewed annually at the beginning of each school year. Faculty members learn the symptoms that may indicate a child is experiencing a life-threatening reaction, and they learn how to quickly respond with action steps.

Q: Has any student ever had an allergic reaction in the school? If so, please share what happened and what your school community learned from the experience.

A:
I have been an administrator at the Key School for thirteen years, and thankfully we have not had any young children who have had an allergic reaction. I remember though, when I arrived in 2000, I learned about a Pre-K student who had a reaction at home while eating a nut-based product from a party goody bag. This frightening incident propelled the Key community to learn more and take some action steps to ensure each student's safety.

Q: Can you think of an example where a food allergy has had a negative effect on a child? Is teasing a problem?

A:
Teasing is not a problem at the preschool level. Teachers are vigilant about listening to conversation and intervening when necessary to help students play and learn effectively together. Often young children just need help with the language to use when expressing thoughts or ideas.

Q: Please share how your students with food allergies and their classmates who do not have food allergies have benefited from having to deal with food allergies in preschool.

A: Preschool students learn their school friends are diverse in many ways. Respect for individual differences is the natural outcome, but the preschool years are only the foundation. The educational process with regard to these important life skills must continue and spiral throughout school age and adolescence in order for full internalization and application of the knowledge by adults.

Chapter 21

REBECCA FETTERS

Title: First Grade Teacher, The Key School

Question: Have you had children in the first grade with food allergies? If so, what kind of allergies?

Answer:
Yes, we have students with many different food allergies including nuts, dairy, eggs and fruit.

Q: How has that incidence changed over the last five to ten years?

A:
In my time at Key School I have noticed years when there are several children with food allergies and other years with fewer. Every year we have at least one or two children per grade with severe allergies that require an epinephrine auto-injector on hand.

Q: As parents of children with food allergies, what can we do to help you to keep our children safe during the year?

A:
Parents provide information, which includes paperwork from a physician, to the classroom teacher and school nurse. This helps to establish a Food Allergy Action Plan.

At the start of each school year the Lower School teachers have a meeting with the school nurse to review medical issues, most commonly food allergies, of the students. The teachers are given a list that is to be kept in an easily accessible, but confidential, location so we find needed information quickly. When necessary we keep epinephrine auto-injectors in our classroom. We are always glad to talk with parents about allergens and possible reactions. Our school nurse is an invaluable resource as well.

We discuss food allergies with the students and make them aware which foods may make another student ill.

Q: Can you tell me about your food allergy policy in the first grade?

A:
We do not limit the types of foods that can come to school; however, if a student in our classroom has a nut allergy, those who have nut products for snack or lunch are asked to sit at a separate table. We consider ourselves to be "nut sensitive." After eating, those at the "nut table" wash their hands, and the table is also sprayed with disinfectant and washed.

We do not allow students to bring food treats from home to share with the class.

Q: Do you discuss food allergies with parents of non-food-allergic children?

A:
Yes, for those students who attended Key's kindergarten program, the children often arrive in first grade very aware of those with food allergies. The children want to keep one another safe so are very good about sitting elsewhere to eat when needed.

Q: Does your school have an emergency health plan?

A:
We do have an emergency health plan. At the beginning of the year, we get a bright form that has everybody's name on it who has allergies or asthma or any other medical condition. Then we walk through our emergency plans, whether it's give the epinephrine auto-injector, call 911, send someone to call 911. This year we even had some expired epinephrine auto-injectors and oranges, and we all practiced what it felt like to administer an epinephrine auto-injector. It is something I hope we do every year because I think it was really useful.

Q: How do you celebrate birthdays?

A:
Our birthday celebration is such a nice way to both eliminate unhealthy foods but also the possibility of allergic reactions. We do what's called a "Walk around the Sun," and it's a program that we adapted from a Quaker school in North Carolina. The children make the rays of a sun, so however many children we have in our classroom, we have that many number of rays that go around in a circle in the shape of a sun. The parents then receive a form to fill out which chronicles all the important events of their child's life year by year.

On their birthday, we set up the sun, the child holds a globe, and a teacher reads off all the important things. For each year of their life, they take one walk around the sun as though the earth was revolving around the sun. And then at the end of it, the person gets to go around the circle and get a wish from each person in the circle if they have a wish for them. They can say it out loud, or sometimes they like to whisper to them whatever their wish is for their birthday. So it's very sweet. We take pictures, so there's a nice memory of the birthday. It's a nice way to have a special celebration where we can learn a little more about a student but also eliminate the need for food in the classroom.

Q: How do you handle food at holiday parties?

A:
When necessary, food for school parties is nut-free. Whether it's pretzels or whether it's cut fruit, we try to really keep the food as healthy and non-processed as possible. If a student has food allergies, we ask parents to send in special snacks that are safe for the child to eat.

Q: What is your procedure for children with food allergies on field trips?

A:
The school office has a spare set of epinephrine auto-injectors, Benadryl
^®
or whatever we need, and we make sure that we have that with us. If we break up into groups, we make sure the person who has that food-allergic student or students in their group carries an epinephrine auto-injector with them. We do try and make sure that they're with a teacher who is aware of the allergy and equipped to take care of the reaction should one occur.

We have Field Trip Folders that include the Health Alert List, emergency contact numbers and the Food Allergy Action Plans. Teachers take this folder with them each time they leave campus.

Q: Do you have any advice for parents of children who do not have food allergies?

A:
Just make sure you talk to your children about safety and not offering the child with allergies food. We obviously have a no-food-trading policy. Even when there's no one with allergies in our classroom, we don't allow food trading because we just think whatever you've been sent with is what you're eating.

Q: Is it difficult incorporating food allergies into the curriculum?

A:
No, nutrition is actually part of our curriculum. Food allergies are just one aspect of healthy eating and nutrition for some people. Children are so aware of allergies that it fits right into taking care of one another, being respectful and being responsible.

Q: Have you seen any positive effects on the non-food-allergic children?

A:
I think certainly for the other kids it's been awareness, and I think that to be aware that somebody is somehow different from you is always important, particularly at this age, six- and seven-year-olds. To be aware that one's actions could impact someone else, it is always just very eye opening to see. So I think it definitely has a positive impact on the other children because they can see someone else who's slightly different from them and how they can help them.

Q: What positive effects have you seen with children with food allergies?

A:
The children with food allergies are very comfortable talking about and sharing what they know about their allergies. Our "nut-sensitive" environment and inclusive birthday celebration let the children know they are safe and respected.

Section 8

COMMUNITY MEMBERS

F
ew organizations have dedicated the extensive time and resources to the education of the public regarding food allergies as the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). Founded in 1991 by Anne Muñoz-Furlong and most recently led by CEO Maria Acebal, FAAN was a driving force behind important legislative advancements and facilitated an increased awareness of food allergies. In November 2012, FAAN merged with the research powerhouse Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) to form the new Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE).

Entertainment giant Walt Disney
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World Resort has also been a leader in the food allergy arena with its emphasis on dining safety for resort guests with special dietary needs. Previously the Manager of Product Development and Special Diets at Walt Disney
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World Resort, Joel Schaefer created and implemented Disney's food safety program. He has since applied this experience to educate the wider food service industry as well as industry patrons with food allergies and other dietary restrictions.

Section Eight spotlights two food allergy forces and details the following:

• FAAN's mission and accomplishments;
  
• FARE's objectives and resources;
  
• The protection provided by food allergy action plans, individualized healthcare plans and 504 plans and the difference between these options;
  
• The implementation of Walt Disney
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  World Resort's food safety program;
  
• The development of training programs to address food allergies in the context of the food industry; and
  
• Restaurant safety recommendations for food-allergic guests.
  

22

MARIA L. ACEBAL, J.D.

Title: Member of the Board of Directors, Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)

Previous position: CEO, Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN, now FARE)

Website:
www.foodallergy.org

Question: Was there a particular personal or professional experience that influenced your decision to join FAAN in 2009 and accept the role of CEO in 2011?

Answer:
I have three children: Nina (11), Daniella (9) and Mateo (4). When Nina was a few months shy of her second birthday, we had a rush-to-the-emergency room anaphylactic reaction from a peanut butter cracker. It took two doses of epinephrine to stop the reaction. Scariest moment of my life. That is how we found out she was allergic. It is a privilege for me to get to work for a cause that is so deeply personal to my family.

Q: Please elaborate on the Safe@School™ Partners, Inc. which you founded.

A: In my earlier career, I worked as a strategic business consultant. Presentations to our clients were always in the form of PowerPoints
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with strict guidelines on what information made it on a slide, how best to present data, and how to be mindful of extraneous information. For those who do it well, it is an incredibly effective way of communicating complex information. I was personally faced with how to teach my daughter's preschool teachers important information about food allergies, and at that point in my life, creating an effective PowerPoint
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was the way to do it. So I thought long and hard about the information that I wanted to include and how I wanted it presented. From that effort was born the Safe@School™ curriculum adopted by FAAN and now used in hundreds of schools across the country.