More Allergy Stuff

There is a story out of Florida that has been brewing for a bit. I read about it a couple of weeks ago and have now seen it picked up by some of the national news outlets. Basically, the administration at an elementary school has done an exemplary job of putting accommodations in place for a young girl who has an incredibly severe peanut allergy. Her classmates are required to wash their hands and rinse out their mouths before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch. Surfaces in the classroom are wiped regularly with Clorox wipes. No outside food is allowed in the classroom. A special dog was brought in to the school during spring break to sniff out any remaining peanut residue.

Some of the parents of her classmates decided to stage a protest outside the school. A few of their complaints:

- Having to wash hands and rinse mouths takes away from valuable instruction time.
- They can't send in cake, cupcakes, or cookies for their children's birthdays.
- Their kids "have rights too."

Because birthday parties don't take up valuable instruction time. Right. That makes sense. And washing hands is good hygiene. No one wants their kids doing that!

A note about the mouth rinsing, since people seem to think it's absolutely ridiculous: My guess is that it's because of the young age of the students. It's a first grade classroom, and kids that age are apt to touch, hug, and sometimes even kiss each other on the cheek. They also are likely to put things in the classroom in their mouths. If a lot of the school supplies are shared, it's not at all unthinkable that one child could mouth something and then the allergic child might do the same and go into anaphylaxis if their was even a bit of peanut protein on the item. The first school that Mikaela was at wanted all the school supplies to be shared. She was in 4th grade at the time and our solution was that she had her own supplies labeled with her name and kept in her desk and didn't share them.

Fact:

-Food allergy is a disability.
-Some allergies, like my daughter's (and the little girl in Florida), are so severe that anaphylaxis can result from a microscopic ingestion or even from the smell of peanuts.
-Schools are required under federal law to provide a safe learning environment for every student.
-Students and parents may have to go out of their way to help protect a life.

Opinion:

-They should be happy to do it.
-Shame on those parents for ostracizing a 6-year-old girl who already has a huge burden to carry.
-Their signs may as well have read, "We don't care if your kid dies!"
-Has anyone asked the kids if they mind going out of their way for a classmate? My guess is that they are happy to help protect their friend.

I am assuming that the school administration, the girl's parents, and possibly her doctor came up with the accommodation plan to keep her safe in school. They are the only ones who know the severity of her allergy, history of her reactions, and likelihood for future reactions. If they decided such stringent procedures were necessary, they likely are. If parents are so set on sending in treats for birthdays, I'm sure the mom of the allergic child could make up a list of packaged safe treats that would be acceptable. Or the school could choose to provide them if they have the finances to do so.

I had heard that the parents chose to pull her out because of the hostility they are facing, and I certainly don't blame them. I have been through a horrible experience with a school (and the Office for Civil Rights did a thorough investigation finding completely in our favor that they had discriminated against my daughter) but I was dealing with uneducated administrators. Students and parents were actually quite supportive. It was by far the most stressful thing I've ever been through, and even reading about this story has brought up some of the feelings and symptoms from that time: insomnia, heartburn, sadness, anger.

It is such a hard thing to learn that the vast majority of people, or at least a very vocal minority, just don't care about your child's life. Eating peanuts in school is WAY more important than keeping ONE kid from dying. She's just one kid.

Until she's your kid.