TDSB providing only ‘half measures’ to protect at-risk 4-year-old with diabetes, mom says – CBC

Situation is becoming increasingly common, Canadian Paediatric Society says

Dec 07, 2022

Sarah Tharani thought the months she spent filling out forms, sending emails, and meeting with school board officials would be enough to get adequate accommodation for her son Leo.

He has Type 1 diabetes and, at just four-years-old, requires constant supervision to make sure he has enough insulin. Tharani says the consequences of a teacher getting their attention taken away at the wrong time could lead to severe brain injury, loss of consciousness, seizure, and in the most extreme of cases, death.

But four months into the school year, Tharani says the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) most recent promise for extra supervision runs out on Friday.

“I’m so thankful that he’s four years old and that he does not know what is going on around him,” said Tharani.

“If he started school knowing that the school board is showing him that he doesn’t belong in class, that he does not have a right to a safe and full education, that he is not being adequately supervised … I can’t even imagine how that would make him feel.”

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/diabetes-tdsb-accommodation-1.6667549