Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 24: Navigating Childcare with Type 1 Diabetes
68 Plays6 days ago
In this episode of the Type 1 Club Podcast, host Jacqui Kidman welcomes back guest Lia Goodwin, mum to Violet who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at just 11 months old.
Lia shares the raw, honest, and deeply personal journey of navigating the early childhood education and care system with a child living with T1D — from the overwhelm of diagnosis to building trust with educators, transitioning between centres, and advocating for meaningful inclusion and support.
💬 What We Cover:
- How Lia approached childcare shortly after Violet's diagnosis
- The emotional toll of leaving a medically vulnerable child in someone else’s care
- Training educators, adapting care plans, and building trust in early learning settings
- The lack of formal support for type 1 diabetes in the Inclusion Support Program
- Facing (and overcoming) discrimination and fear of stigma
- The incredible ways Violet’s current centre supports her and educates others
- Practical tips and strategies to help families prepare for childcare
- The importance of parent-led care planning and proactive communication
This episode is full of valuable insights and advocacy wisdom for any family preparing to send their young child with T1D into early learning environments. Whether you're just beginning your childcare journey or looking to improve your current setup, Lia’s experience will resonate deeply.
🔗 Connect with Lia and Violet’s journey:
Follow on Instagram: @oursweet.type1
Listen to Episode 10: Violet's diagnosis story here
Further Resources:
Type 1 Foundation Website
Follow us on Instagram
Join the Facebook Group
If you'd like to share your story with our podcast listeners, please email: podcast@type1foundation.com.au
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Disclaimer
00:00:00
Speaker
The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
00:00:14
Speaker
Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.
Welcoming the Community
00:00:23
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club. Whether you're a parent grappling with a new diagnosis, a caregiver seeking guidance, or simply someone wanting to learn more about type 1 diabetes, this podcast is for you.
00:00:36
Speaker
Together, let's dispel myths, break down barriers and build a community of understanding and resilience. Join us as we embark on this journey together because with knowledge, compassion and support, no one should ever feel alone in managing type 1 diabetes.
00:00:54
Speaker
Welcome to the Type 1 Club.
00:01:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Type
Host & Guest Introductions
00:01:03
Speaker
1 Club. i am your host, Jacqui Kidman. I am a mum to Harvey who was diagnosed back in June 2022, just after his seventh birthday.
00:01:14
Speaker
I bring you today a ah special guest that we've already had on the podcast, but she's come back on to have a little bit of a chat specifically about a specific topic that we think will be really important for some of our listeners that have younger children who particularly are navigating the early childhood kind of setting stuff.
00:01:34
Speaker
So I've got Leah Goodwin, and Leah has already shared her diagnosis story her violentolet when Violet was diagnosed. at the age of 11 months and that's episode 10. So I encourage you to go back and listen and that creates a little bit of context here as well for so for Leah.
00:01:50
Speaker
And Leah has already started navigating childcare, early childhood setting stuff. um We've had episodes before about the school, but childcare is something that I can give some feedback to because that is my background is early childhood.
00:02:07
Speaker
But when it comes to being a parent and navigating that system of early childhood and training and ah allowing your child to go into the care of educators in that setting, particularly then adding another layer of 1 diabetes onto it,
00:02:26
Speaker
um I'm not the expert so that's why I've grabbed Leah
Challenges in Early Childcare for Diabetes
00:02:30
Speaker
today. so Leah welcome back to the podcast. Thanks so much for having me Jackie. So i remember when we chatted a little while ago about childcare and there was some stuff that you were kind of alluding to of that sort of navigating of putting Violet into childcare.
00:02:50
Speaker
How long been in childcare for? So it's actually coming up to two years. So it'll be two years come May that she's been in childcare.
00:03:00
Speaker
like Okay. So pretty early on from post-diagnosis period. Yes. So she was diagnosed at 11 months um and then she started 17 months. so which was later than what we had intended because I had, you know, I had planned to already be back at work by then and those sorts of things. and um But, but yes, so not too much longer um too like too far beyond um diagnosis was she then in, in daycare.
00:03:31
Speaker
Well, I can just imagine, you know, I know those like from my background, but also being being a mum and having to put my kids into childcare too, or that it's already an emotional kind of moment of trusting and that these educators are going to give the love and the care and the support that for your child that they would get at home.
00:03:54
Speaker
And then I can't Imagine adding on that extra layer of where Violet has a life-threatening illness or disease that is requires a lot more care and attention.
00:04:11
Speaker
Yeah, I was not kind of one of those, and i I'm not still. The thought of, you know, even my baby having to go to daycare soon, I'm like, ah. But I'm not, yeah, I was never really excited for her to go to childcare, even before diagnosis.
00:04:26
Speaker
It was something that was always kind of really nerve-wracking for me. And then just the thought of not only is it um you're sending them off on their own, but now you're trusting them to to really keep your child alive it's not just you know making sure they get through the day it's literally sending them off and um they've got to do a whole bunch of things to to literally keep them alive and that is really really scary So tell us, 17 months you get the call or you, you know, that to say Violet's come off the wait list and she can now come into our centre.
Preparing Childcare Providers
00:05:04
Speaker
It took us a few months to get her started. So i think we got the call um in February and then she started and by the time it took us, quite a decent amount of time to kind of get everything sorted and for her to start in may so it did take a while initially it was going to be one day and then they found another day so by the time you know in that few months period it went um to us planning for her to be going for two days so it was just doing all of the daycare plans kind of figuring out how we were actually going to do this
00:05:36
Speaker
And then one other thing that we decided to hold off that little bit longer for was she was getting her pump. So she started her Omnipod in March, so the end of March.
00:05:48
Speaker
And we just felt like it was probably going to be easier to just do that one lot of education and training rather than doing it for injections.
00:05:59
Speaker
And then month or two later, um changing it up and doing it doing it again with the pod and having to train them to use a whole other device as well. So that's kind of how that played out.
00:06:13
Speaker
But there was actually a lot of preparation. You know, you need a lot of things to, as even just but when they go to school, you would know this. You need a lot of extra, to do it a lot of extra stuff for kids with a medical condition to be able even step foot in some of these places.
00:06:27
Speaker
so Yeah, there's a lot of paperwork. A lot of paperwork. a lot of paperwork, which is always fun, isn't it? So, I mean, for schools, there's the diabetes plan. Yes. Is that the same for daycare?
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, so we use that because there is nothing for the space. I don't know what other states and territories or hospitals do, um but here in the ACT, we use the just the diabetes in schools plan um template which you know it probably needs a few little tweaks for for younger children but for the most part that's the template that we use and what we roll with and you obviously need that in order to attend and then daycare depending um and what their processes are you need a whole bunch of other paperwork filled out and and those sorts of things
00:07:14
Speaker
And so it still just sticks with the the guidelines of the ratios. So for under, it depends on, this is all different for every state. But say, for example, for the age group that that um Violet's in, it might be one to one educator to three so when she started I think it was one to five or maybe it was one to four I can't quite remember because it's changed a little bit and she's just recently moved into junior preschool which is one to eleven which is almost scarier
00:07:47
Speaker
in some ways. But yeah, so there's no, you know, you don't get an extra person to you know, an extra educator because there's a child with type 1 diabetes or another medical condition.
00:07:59
Speaker
All of it is managed within their existing ratios. So, you know, that can be scary because I guess with me um at the time it was just her. And so it was my sole focus was Violet and managing her diabetes. I had delayed my return to work. And so that essentially was, apart from all the other bits of parenthood, um you know, type one was kind of my focus.
Training & Support in Childcare Settings
00:08:26
Speaker
Yeah. So I can imagine, so generally non-diabetic kids, from my experience, if you're, you know, you go in, you accept the position They do a little bit of orientation. So it might be a couple of half days getting to know the child, the child getting to know the setting, you know, building a little bit of connection with educators.
00:08:46
Speaker
Then there's an extra, obviously the extra layer of, well, what what needs to happen for my child, particularly around food and um the injections or the or the insulin requirements.
00:08:59
Speaker
I would say that I would have been I think we had one diabetic child in my 20-year career in early childhood. And I think that I can imagine that when you've got a little child anyway, you do spend a bit of time there, then you've got this this extra training that you're going to have to give them. The educators, did they take it on How did you feel that it came across? Were they aware of any other children that had diabetes or was it new to them as well?
00:09:25
Speaker
So Violet is now um in a new centre. So we started off in one centre and she's now, we've moved her. um And in both centres, neither centre had experience in managing type 1 diabetes.
00:09:40
Speaker
Her first centre was older and established, been around for a long time. um And my understanding was they had you know, at some point in time, um but the current educators and the current people that were there did not have any experience with type 1 at all.
00:09:58
Speaker
And so for them, I think, you know, and going into that I like to try to just be really kind because I can only imagine scary that would be knowing that you've got to do ah all of these things and all that they had training wise is the is our hospital our wonderful diabetes educator went out to the center and provided some education And then they do just the general kind of diabetes stuff, I guess.
00:10:31
Speaker
And then as um her parents, we give that ah more Violet specific education and training, but i can just, yeah, they tried really, really hard at the first place.
00:10:43
Speaker
And um I think, you know, it didn't quite work out, but I definitely haven't encountered anyone that, you know, deliberately wasn't interested in learning. Everyone was trying, but just juggling that along with all of your other responsibilities and the needs of every other child in that room. i just, it must be so, so hard. Yes, it's, what do we say? We say it's more like a you do it for the love.
00:11:09
Speaker
You have to. Yes, yes, the love of the of the children. Because it is, there is no extra or additional support that happens with with type 1 diabetes in these settings.
00:11:23
Speaker
No, ah way we did discover that um there's something called the Inclusion Support Program and that allows for some extra support in those settings and unfortunately um medical conditions and specifically type 1 diabetes is actually ah called out and and excluded from the Inclusion Support Program. So that's a little bit of a bugbear of mine.
00:11:49
Speaker
Yes. ah it's really challenging. We didn't get to um kind of explore it at her first centre, but just recently at her new centre, um and I say new, she's been there for nearly a year, but well, no, actually it for a year now. we They did explore it and the person from the department came out and they're like, we really understand, you know, all of these extra challenges, but it just doesn't fit within what they, you know, I guess their scope.
00:12:18
Speaker
So generally with that inclusion support program from memory is that it's more around learning learning difficulties and behaviour. And it's also an an extra educator is allowed there for a certain amount of time.
00:12:34
Speaker
um so it's not necessarily like a full-time educator, depending, but it could be for one child or could be for several, but they're there for the whole room.
00:12:45
Speaker
So it could be 20 kids and there's an extra educator in there. So say, for example, if you look at that one to 11 ratio, they've already got, if there's 20 children, they've already got two educators, there could be a third one, but they're not specific for that child with that funding.
00:13:01
Speaker
Yeah. it It's interesting. It's interesting because sometimes that's what you need to be. You need to be hands-on with that child for that funding. But technically it's around how do you include them the the the the setting and the program and the planning so that they're not excluded, I guess, because of that their disability or their... Yeah.
Addressing Discrimination Concerns
00:13:25
Speaker
Yeah. I think the challenge with this is that there is nothing um out there that does provide any level of support um for educators and and early learning centres.
00:13:39
Speaker
And I think then what you may see and I um have spoken to a lot of other parents who have experienced this thankfully we have not but you do see that there may be a center that has had experience with um caring for a child with type 1 diabetes and then any future children you're probably more likely you There's potential that you're more likely to be discriminated against.
00:14:08
Speaker
um I've seen centres suddenly not have a place um for children because these kids do take that extra time and energy away from the educators. And ah in a lot of cases, they're already, you know...
00:14:23
Speaker
I couldn't do it. These people are just 24-7, go, go, And it's really frustrating to not have that support in some form or another. and I guess that's the really difficult thing because you go into, you know, you're putting your child's name down and wonder, should I even put down her medical condition?
00:14:44
Speaker
Should I wait until I get an offer? And um we didn't do that deliberately, but with her first centre, she had been on the wait list um since she was teeny tiny. So they didn't know when they offered her the place, but we went for the tour because they do tours after the offer at this place.
00:15:02
Speaker
And the whole time, all I could think about was I have to tell them, I have to tell them. i was petrified. i was so scared. And the she had a wonderful response and it was fine, but not everyone is lucky enough to get that wonderful response.
00:15:18
Speaker
I've seen all sorts of things that, you know, ah really had me scared um for navigating this um this journey. And even with when we decided to move Violet to her new centre, we had gone for a group kind of tour thing and Josh and were kind of hovering in the background waiting to speak to the director and it was a new centre.
00:15:42
Speaker
And I was like, I'm just going to tell her, I'm just, you know, I just want to get it kind of like, and again, she was really, really wonderful and really, really receptive, but it's a real fear for parents because it's not like sending them to school. You know, there's a, there's a real requirement. You send them off to school and they, they have to deal with it.
00:16:04
Speaker
Does everyone get to have a good experience? No. But with daycare, I think you can suddenly find that the place isn't available or other things are done to push families out.
00:16:16
Speaker
So that was kind of playing on my mind a lot. So true. Like even I know with Harvey, like when trying out for, like he just got into like representing, like rep basketball and And I remember thinking, I don't want to tell them that he's diabetic because I don't want that to hinder potentially, you know, and is it's like this, how it works is it's like this, it's very competitive.
00:16:42
Speaker
Yes. And it's like, you know what, if they could have take a child that didn't potentially have a hypo and have to sit out for part of a game versus if they were neck and neck, I don't know, would they choose?
00:16:53
Speaker
Exactly. Would you choose the child that didn't have that sort of, didn't have diabetes versus, you know, this is what us parents just constantly go through. And like I think I'd mentioned when I, in my like diagnosis story, you know, i had that real fear of, oh, he won't get invited to parties. Yeah. You know, play dates. It just, like, so you have that aspect and then, you know, and you just, but you'll never know. And I guess it's,
00:17:19
Speaker
I have also heard other parents in terms of other sporting things that they've said, oh, no, we can't take your child to do this program because because we don't have we don't have the training. And that just shouldn't be the response because technically that goes against it that's that goes against the discrimination. Discrimination, yeah. yeah yeah Yeah. But we're already fighting for such normality for our children that it's like, do you want to take on That's fine.
00:17:48
Speaker
Yeah. Sometimes. From my perspective, I think that's not where I would want to send my child. Totally. Totally. But if you had no other option, if you were in a town or ah whether it's the only place or you really had your heart set on that place for whatever reason, you've got other kids or...
00:18:03
Speaker
You can see where, not necessarily your experience, but for others. A year or so ago, i was chatting with a mum and she, I had commented on something on one of the, you know, diabetes pages at one point. And I had said something to do with daycare or I can't quite remember. Anyway, she messaged me out of the blue one time and she was in that similar kind of situation where basically I think there were two centres in her town And um they were pushing her child out of this centre, you know, and how do you prove all of this?
00:18:35
Speaker
Anyway, we kind of got to chatting and she ended up pursuing, I guess, ah some of those channels where none of us want to have to go down um and was successful in kind of having a really good resolution for that.
00:18:50
Speaker
But, you know, it definitely happens and we're not all, ah you know, We're not all in a situation where we can just not send our child to childcare.
00:19:01
Speaker
We can't all stay at home. um you know, like you said, it may be the only centre in town. It may be the only place we can get into. There's a lot of kind of challenges with that. and you have to kind of balance that with then, you know, making sure that your child is safe. Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:19:19
Speaker
yeah you're safe environment as well. So to know that they may not 100% want them there is, you know, really difficult because i I'm the first to recognise that it's a lot of work. I know that Violet's needs often take um away from, ah you know, one person from away away from what they want we're doing otherwise and I do understand that and I'm so appreciative of of her centre and all of the efforts that they go to um to make sure that she's safe and knows that she's loved and all of those things but I guess um having no way to get that extra support or to get it if it's needed centre needs it
00:20:00
Speaker
I think um can have that effect where by you might see some discrimination. i was really lucky last year to have the opportunity to speak to the federal minister for early childhood.
00:20:13
Speaker
Ali and I actually raised a lot of these issues with her about the inclusion support program and um she had no idea really a and so we kind of just explained some of that additional support that type one kids and particularly the really young ones you know at the time Violet had just turned two I think when I spoke to her and um a two-year-old can do
Advocacy for Better Support
00:20:38
Speaker
nothing you know, to manage their their own condition.
00:20:42
Speaker
A three-year-old, four-year-old, it's just practical. So, you know, while we haven't seen any change in that space, I'm hopeful that if I keep talking about it and if other parents talk about it too, one day we might see that support there and and and some changes made.
00:21:01
Speaker
Don't ignore the four. The four early warning signs of type 1 diabetes. Excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss and extreme fatigue.
00:21:11
Speaker
If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, don't wait. Get checked by a healthcare professional. Early detection and treatment are key to managing type 1 diabetes effectively.
00:21:26
Speaker
That's amazing. It's so good that the effort and the all the work that you and your family put into of paving the way for future, if it even if it doesn't kind of come to fruition for Violet's time in early childhood, you know, definitely the rate of diagnosis for young children is only increasing.
00:21:46
Speaker
So, you know, it's not like this is just an isolated kind of, you know, there's goingnna only going to be a couple of hundred every year. There's going to be more and more requirements for yeah or something to kind of change and some extra support for these settings.
00:22:03
Speaker
so So you started off at one centre, you've moved to another. So tell us a bit about that transition from, i guess, when Violet was 17 months starting in a baby's room basically and then now and then a little while later.
00:22:19
Speaker
what what What were some of the positives and because I don't want to make it sound like this is all just a challenge because I do know that you do have some really positive kind of outcomes that have happened with with those settings too?
00:22:32
Speaker
So I think um for the most part, you know, with Violet's first centre is I know that she was definitely very loved there, but it just didn't work out for a number of reasons. And we didn't feel as though as she was in an environment that, you know, was capable of of managing her needs.
00:22:51
Speaker
And so we did, we made this really, really, really difficult decision to move. And like we, you know, we're talking about before we had started her in childcare fairly quickly after um diagnosis. It was only a few months and we were still so new to everything. And what I knew then at a few months post diagnosis versus, you know, nearly a year and a half post diagnosis was so so different.
00:23:18
Speaker
So we, in the end, decided to move her to a new centre. And I think a lot of what I did the first time around, ah we were encouraged the first time around from her medical team to, you know, to make sure we're a little bit more hands-off and really trying to let the centre manage things the way that they needed. And Ultimately, where we landed with that was that the staff ah weren't really supported. And I think that kind of led to us having a lot of the challenges that we did. So her starting at a new centre was an opportunity for a fresh start. And I think for us to do things differently and to learn from ah where perhaps we're
00:24:03
Speaker
not that where we'd gone wrong, but, you know, to learn from those mistakes or those more challenging times. And so i think every day when I used to drop her off, there were
Positive Childcare Experiences
00:24:15
Speaker
tears. And when I mean tears, they were from me.
00:24:18
Speaker
but in the last year um since she's been at this new centre, I haven't cried once. It's a milestone. Yeah. From a ah sad point of view, i they actually have me in tears from how much like they, they every single day just go above and beyond to make sure that she is cared for and, and they share her diabetes, um you know, with the other kids. So last year um for World Diabetes Day, we did like, I went in and I read a book to them and,
00:24:50
Speaker
ah to her class and um we made a big deal about it They share anything, you know, that we're doing um to create awareness. So, you know, if we go into a walk, they're sharing the the walk. And then they also, which was really lovely last year you She was in the toddler room and they um did a whole little sequence where they have a bear called Cherry Bear and Cherry Bear actually started to feel really sick one day and they went through all of the signs and symptoms and all of that. Cherry Bear went off to hospital and um so all the kids knew what the signs and symptoms were of type 1.
00:25:32
Speaker
He went off to hospital, he came back um with a Dexcom and an Omnipod. Stop it. Yeah it's really sweet he's moved up from toddler to junior preschool with the rest of the the class so but don't know if Cherry Bears are here or she actually but Cherry Bear has moved has moved up as well and just the um one of the parents actually made a little like a 3D printer thing so we could stick the transmitter in it for charity there and like just it just extends beyond um you know the people that are directly caring for her it's the community the family you know the support that Violet is given just to know that she's important but also no different and
00:26:16
Speaker
to the rest them think that that's just yeah they're we are so lucky to have encountered just um a truly truly special bunch of people and I'm always telling them how great they are i think they're sick of me but no but yeah once you find those people though of how just the confidence that you as a parent have to be able to let them, drop them off and and know that they are going to be like so cared for, like regardless of whether they've got diabetes or not, that's just so like important, you know, for these these little people that are.
00:26:56
Speaker
And just that is such a great way to but of of inclusion that those educators are just ah ah doing in that centre.
00:27:08
Speaker
um it's so lovely to see because I guess it's just the same as if someone had, you know, they talk about things around like allergies, if someone can't eat that specific sort of food, what would happen and how you would, you know, deal with it.
00:27:23
Speaker
It might be the same if someone's sensitive to louder noises or, you know, those sort of things. Like it's they're all important of that agency of that child um and as well amazingly to raise awareness for, know,
00:27:38
Speaker
other families that if they are noticing these symptoms as well that of what you know what what to look out for so potentially of recognizing not not only just of what violet went through for diagnosis but also for like any early signs or symptoms of of diagnosis too Yeah, they've been really great in that respect and, um you know, and just they have that real, I guess, willingness to learn and to understand and just that genuine kind of, you know, ah the director will not leave for the day if um there isn't somebody there who is confident in caring for Violet.
00:28:18
Speaker
She's just recently moved up rooms and now has, you know, new educators and, you know, hey her room room leader has just recently started only in the last few weeks and they've actually got a video. So they recorded um the diabetes educator giving her training a year ago.
00:28:39
Speaker
so they can now every single person that starts at that center, they can straight away we don't have to wait. um We can get that in. So they will watch that. And then I will go in and give my um give my little bit of education and stuff that's specific to Violet.
00:28:55
Speaker
But um they've got recordings of me doing, you know, like a manual BGL check, because that's not something that they do every day. So that's, that's a really nerve wracking thing. for some you know somebody to do, especially on another person's child. And so it's just like just the kind of lengths that they've gone to to to make sure that they're kind of meeting their responsibilities, number one, um ah number two, but number one, they're making sure that she is safe and and that is all any parent ah can really ask for, I think, in this type of setting.
00:29:32
Speaker
just just to In terms of your sort of advice on how to make things run a little bit more so smoothly when, you know, you obviously people, they they work and they can't necessarily be there and, you know, on call and come back and forth into the centre if there's something that's, but obviously you do when it's, it is required because yeah if you have to pick up your child, have to pick up your child. That's just regardless of type one or not.
00:29:59
Speaker
You just mentioned a few things there, which I just wanted to clarify. Like what was some specific things that you think if, to make the transition easier, not just for to enter the centre, but for room changes, new different educators.
00:30:14
Speaker
Can you just list a few things that you think would help people with that transition? So I guess even starting out, if you're going to enrol your child in childcare for the first time, our medical team have made this really, really clear.
00:30:29
Speaker
And I think coming from them helps um is that The child's school plan or daycare plan is parent-led. So I think a lot of the time schools and ELCs acs in that think that this is from the medical team.
00:30:45
Speaker
That plan is actually my plan. Absolutely. I manage what goes into that plan. I'm the one that makes the changes. I get that plan signed off by her um diabetes educator, but it's mine.
00:30:59
Speaker
So but early on, um making sure that you, I guess, are the default contact. it's um the The ELC shouldn't be contacting the medical team. And so we made that kind of approach.
00:31:13
Speaker
something that was first and foremost um really cemented in early in early on. And I think that definitely helps. I think that allows the the the educators and and everyone to really know that you are the expert in your diabetes.
00:31:31
Speaker
um We're the ones that are living it day in, day out. We're the ones that are managing. And yes, we don't have that, I guess, medical expertise, um but we're the expert in our kids and and their diabetes. So I think to have that in the background is really important, but also moving. So just starting fresh, I guess, for us, and this isn't going to be for everyone, but we do like to share probably as you realized, ah you know, Violet's story.
00:32:01
Speaker
um We don't want her peers wondering what that thing is that stuck to her leg, right? And so in an age-appropriate way, um we like to make sure that we're sharing and we sit down. We've got books um that we share with the centre so that the kids know, okay, this is really important. We're not talking to pull it and you know bank it off and those sorts of things and so everyone in at Violet Centre knows oh we don't you know we don't go near Violet's devices so it's just making sure that everyone's kind of across across that but then also we have just a really frank and open communication with her educators so
00:32:49
Speaker
It, again, may not be for everyone. I've been lucky that I've been on maternity leave for a lot of Violet's daycare career, but I would prefer um that they pick up the phone and and send me a text.
00:33:04
Speaker
um So we have a group chat. My husband, um when I went back to work for a brief little stint last year, my husband joined the chat. between um us and Violet's phone.
00:33:15
Speaker
So they use, that's their primary source of communication. So we just text all day long and I would rather them annoy me um and you know, interrupt me than to wonder.
00:33:28
Speaker
And so I've made really, really clear. And I'm hoping that them feeling like i'm we're approachable and that no question is too silly,
00:33:39
Speaker
um means that Violet will have that better standard of care. ah Everyone will just feel comfortable because you know you've you've got instances where she goes three days a week. you know It's a limited amount of time out of a person's week.
00:33:54
Speaker
So I can understand that it just would be really, really difficult sometimes. And as we know with diabetes, no day is the same. So, yeah, they're kind of just experiencing that with us and and learning along the way. But I really think it's just giving them as many of the tools as they can.
Importance of Communication
00:34:11
Speaker
And then also to know... that it's okay if sometimes things don't work out. It's better that I'm told. At the previous centre, we had a few incidents where she was given the wrong food for the carb count.
00:34:27
Speaker
um And that could have had a really, really serious consequence. Thankfully, it was lower carb count and then she was given pasta. So it didn't, it didn't matter. She wasn't overdosed or anything like that, but we weren't told about it. i was, i only found out through, I guess, inquiry. So we've now put a number of things in place at her new center.
00:34:52
Speaker
They send us photos of the food so we can just confirm they do amazing things and they've got, you know, her special bread that they get for her and it's just kind of doing as much as we can um to know that they're supported and if at any time they need us to come and get her or deal with something we can do it so that's amazing those little things like you were saying that that communication that comes back and forth from that phone and that group chat you know it's just a simple quick little text and you can kind of go yeah you know what like modify that do this instead
00:35:26
Speaker
you know, you're sitting there wondering anyway as a parent with type 1 of like, oh, have, you know, why is that happening? Or, you know, so then it's sort of like, yeah, like okay, look, you can make a little correction here or let's make an adjustment.
00:35:40
Speaker
And it just, you know, takes that sort of worry out of it. Did you also say that you did little videos of doing the BGL tests and stuff like that as well? So they can just go back. So is that just sitting on Violet's phone or something and they can just click on that and watch it?
00:35:55
Speaker
but They have it saved somewhere. I don't actually know. So early on, like I had done, I've done like a big pack about all of her devices, um you know, any of the, um so it's just like a ah book, ah basically, any error messages that could pop up. We've got screenshots of all of that. So what to do if we've got, you know, if something disconnects, you know, Dexcom sometimes you can have your 30 minute issue or your three hour issue or something.
00:36:22
Speaker
So just what's, you know, what do we do? So I've got a big book of all of those sorts of things. so for me, knowledge is power. So if I can give them as much stuff for them to refer back to as possible, then I think that can only be helpful. And then, yes, so we did do some recordings in most or in many um childcare situations or settings, um the food is provided.
00:36:45
Speaker
So the food is provided morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch. and and a late snack as well for Violet. working through all of that. So we have meal plans um that correspond with each day that she's at the center.
00:37:01
Speaker
ah So I work really closely with the lovely um cook um at Violet Center to get her recipes and we carb count all of that. We work really closely with everyone to make sure she's getting, you know, in the one muffin, you know, to this, you know, yeah, you know what it's like, but it just be that little extra layer of challenge with young kids in a setting where, you know, well, she wants more food. And so I'll get a text message saying, can she have another one? And,
00:37:32
Speaker
um You know, it's just working through, yep, that's fine. Let's give her, you know, X amount of carbs to kind of manage that and providing them with as as much information as possible. Videos I think have been really helpful. I know they dig out the um manual BGL check video every now and then.
00:37:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. That's so good. That's such a lot of work. Yes. Like that's amazing. It's lot of work. but but Yeah, put a little booklet together and, you know, of all that sort of stuff. Like that is actually like, and what a resource that then just gets moved on. But I'm sure they're probably like, we should probably keep a copy of this just for any future because not every not every parent will will be able to come up with that stuff. So it's quite quite amazing to sort of do that.
00:38:18
Speaker
Is there anything else you want to share before we wrap up? um I feel like you've given such great information already and I know that there is still a lot of work that us parents do to allow our type ones to access these sort of services, which feels like they should just be able to access it
Encouragement for Parental Advocacy
00:38:36
Speaker
anyway. But, you know, sometimes there is that there is that Well, not sometimes. There is that extra layer that goes in there.
00:38:42
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think you'll be able to avoid that extra layer, but I'm hopeful that, you know, management of type 1 diabetes in these sorts of services will become a little bit more easier, I guess, moving forward.
00:38:56
Speaker
um I'm always shocked that they don't have more experience or haven't encountered another type 1 and, you know I'm certain in the future that that they will, and hopefully this will be helpful to everyone that has encountered Violet um you know in in either service or or whatever. But one thing that I did want to say that you know I have seen a lot of parents who have said they're having trouble with their their daycare center or their early learning center for whatever reason, they're being told that they need to come and pick up the child if their CGM stops working, even though in their plan, you know, we will know we can go back to manually checking um blood glucose levels and things. So I think it's really important to know that there is
00:39:41
Speaker
some support for you out there and each state and territory does have that ah regulator who looks after those services so if you are experiencing issues please do reach out to the regulator and um you can find out if you're not sure you can actually find out and you'll probably be able but to to tell me this but the regulator in your state and territory through the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority. That's They put a list of of everyone, um e state and territory's regulator on there.
00:40:15
Speaker
So I just think it's really important because I think a lot of parents feel like they really don't have any rights and do have to go and pick up their kid because um all of a sudden that CGM has stopped working and that might be ah um a management choice for your family or a parenting decision that you make.
00:40:36
Speaker
um But it's certainly not, I guess, a legal requirement. i a Yes. And, you know, this is just an example of where I think that there was something like 60% of parents a parent doesn't go back to work after diagnosis because it's just feels too difficult and too big, you know, to be able to manage that. But, you know, these are our children's rights and so we need to make sure that we are advocating for them and then also for others, you know, so if it's not just directly with us that you feel like, oh, that's really minimal and I can let that go, you know, to a degree that maybe someone else doesn't know where to go and we're we're adding that extra support yeah and knowledge as well. Like you just said that the the early childhood minister didn't wasn't aware of any of this stuff. Yeah.
00:41:24
Speaker
no one has that kind of full comprehension of how much it takes to care for a child living with type 1 diabetes and um to expect their needs to be managed in that setting without that additional support i think is um is going to be really challenging.
00:41:44
Speaker
and then you're going to see services, you know, putting on if they're lovely like ours, they will put on some extra staff and make sure that um those kids' needs are supported. But not every centre has the capacity or capability to do that.
00:42:00
Speaker
And when you just said before that, you know, even if you don't think that it's important enough to raise for your child, please do raise it because or report it or do whatever you need to do because at the end of the day, we're only where we are now in terms of our kids having all of these rights or, you know, the technology that we've got, the technology, all those sorts of things.
00:42:24
Speaker
We're only where we are now um because of the the parents and the people before us. Absolutely, yep. It's like plant the tree now for those, even though it's not going to provide the shade for your child, but it will provide the shade for future future children.
00:42:42
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. Yeah. ah Leah, thank you so much. We could continue to talk forever, couldn't we, about this sort of um So you're you're so passionate about this and we're really grateful for all the work and the effort that you put in to, obviously not just for Violet, but, yeah, for that future, those future parents and type ones.
00:43:02
Speaker
out there that are navigating this sort of challenging time, but also very exciting. It's very exciting for kids to go to childcare, I have to say. She loves it. So I think if, you know, that wasn't the case, it would make it harder. But yeah, to know that fear that nice, safe environment every day is, it makes it a lot easier.
00:43:21
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And you can learn more about Violet's sort of diabetes sort of journey through Instagram. Can you remind me what that is? I'll put it in the show notes, but just remind us what it is.
00:43:36
Speaker
It is oursuite.type1, so T-Y-P-E-O-N-E. Thanks again so much for your time. I really do appreciate you giving up your your little quiet nap time for Delilah to talk to us.
00:43:53
Speaker
fade asleep um but thank you so much again Jackie and thank you just for all that you're doing to share all these sorts of things um with the community but also more broadly yeah you're doing awesome things so really appreciate it thank you um all right we will be back very soon with another episode of the Type 1 Club
00:44:18
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to the Type 1 Club podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained some valuable insights. If you like what you heard, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on all the platforms so you never miss an episode.
00:44:31
Speaker
We also appreciate it if you could leave us a rating and review. It really helps us to reach more listeners just like yourselves. For more updates, behind-the-scenes content and to join the conversation further, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, the Type 1 Foundation, or visit our website, type1foundation.com.au.
00:44:53
Speaker
Thanks again for listening and we will see you next time on the Type 1 Club.