Kathy, Proud of your daughter. Glad she is confident in herself enough to do that as well. It's hard in the teenage years. My son is not as confident and worries more about fitting in yet in his young teen years and why I am more worried about him. They say it is those young teen years where they sometimes slip up with their safety as they let friends and fitting in, throw them off course sometimes with their safety. Yes, there is only so much to put into a 2 page hand-out. Agreed. The...

Oh, those middle school years are the hardest! My dd was steadily outgrowing her FA's before that, but then developed new ones during that time. I encourage you to post over on the School Age Kids forum - there are many who have been through it/are going through it and can bounce ideas or frustrations. It's hard!

Thanks, Kathy.

Cheryl, I know what you mean about wanting a handout to show people who doubt you that will get them to 'get it'. I wonder, what would you like to see in a handout that you haven't found here yet? I have a child who is contact ingestion sensitive and had reactions to this type of exposure ranging from very minor to severe. It has been difficult at times to get people to understand the risks of contact ingestion over the years and I collected things that talked about contact ingestion...

Thank you, Lisa. Yes, I only found this website a year or so ago. If I had found it sooner, a lot of things would of been easier. I used FAAN, which is now FARE. There didn't seem to be a lot of sites where us moms could chat, share ideas etc. I know I have sounded crabby and frustrated on this site, but everyone has been really nice and supportive back. I just had so many people not get the contact sensitive part with my son when he was smaller and even now to some extent. I know what you...

I think what I am hearing here is that the hygiene theory statement in the handout is something that people without food allergies misunderstand, and therefore, it might be better to remove that from the handout altogether. To clarify, it is a theory. It's not proven. And the theory relates to *developing* food allergies, not to outgrowing food allergies or managing food allergies. It has nothing to do with washing hands before or after eating to remove allergens. I'm also sensing that you...

Lynda, We want our kids to be included, however, for some of our kids the inclusion is hard. Mine has severe dairy allergies and asthma and so letting him be with other kids eating ice cream and pizza was impossible. I might as well sat there and called 911, the minute he got there and was around all that. The contact sensitivity or contact ingestion is VERY REAL and many don't get that point. There is very little mention of that ANYWHERE, in any allergy articles, pamplets etc. It seems to...

Hi Cheryl! Welcome to KFA I wanted to add a note about "inclusion". Usually around here when we're talking about inclusion, we mean that the allergen should be removed from the situation or the environment should be made safe for the child with food allergies so that they can be included in an activity. We are not meaning it to say that a kid with a milk allergy should have to sit and endure a milk-laden pizza party. That's not what we mean by "inclusive". From your post, I couldn't tell if...

Originally Posted by Lynda: I think what I am hearing here is that the hygiene theory statement in the handout is something that people without food allergies misunderstand, and therefore, it might be better to remove that from the handout altogether. Lynda, yes, that hits the nail on the head for me! I think that theory is sometimes misunderstood, and when someone pairs that theory with the fact that they see you wiping down a table or having your child wash hands frequently, it becomes a...

Wow, you guys are great! I had absolutely no help from my local school district. I was basically told to home school and was even given a number of a good group that someone knew of etc. I went that path and sometimes regret it. Homeschooling is good, but works better in larger families. My son often felt isolated even though we had lots of outside activities. (soccer, swim team, baseball, guitar) I really feel like things are getting better for the younger ones coming up, but felt my son...

Lynda, This is a great handout. Thanks for your efforts and thank you EVEN MORE listening to some of the feedback here and considering some small changes. I do agree about taking out the "clean theory" info. Folks who aren't dealing with this every day can easily be confused by this and blame the family of the the allergic child for being "too clean." You get comments like "well, maybe you should have let your kid play in the dirt more when he was a baby." If anyone saw the state of my...

Thanks, Carol. We're in the process of updating those sections of the handout. Our graphic designer is on vacation this week. thanks for the suggestion on alternate wording.

Carol, Love your comments. Oh my gosh, I have had many tell me I should just let mine touch a bit of his allergen or sneak a small pinch into his food to desensitize him. OMG, not outside of a doctor's office or a hospital. Mine would probably die if he had a pinch. Even well meaning people don't always get it. These were neighbors of mine that are grandparents and they suggested this "cure" to me. Funny, how the general public can cure food allergies for us all and the medical community...

Thanks Lynda! I'm looking forward to seeing the revised handout! I think it will end up being perfect to hand out to teachers and parents!!

Lynda, Do you know when the revised handout will be available? Our school would like to distribute this to the greater school community to help explain the need for policy changes, but we would like to send out the updated version. Thanks! Kate

Hi Bia, I just got the updated version from the graphic designer a half hour ago. Once it's proofread, if no further changes are needed, I will post it here, probably tomorrow. Thanks! Lynda

GREAT! Thanks so much! You all make my life so much easier!

Welcome Kate.

I should have it for you later today!

Kate, it's ready. Just open this thread, and the download button in the initial blog post will link to the revised handout file.

Lynda, The revised hand out if much improved from the original, thank you for taking all our feedback into consideration. If there are any subsequent revisions, please consider also including a statement that lets readers know that epinephrine is not always effective in halting anaphylaxis, so strict avoidance of allergens is critical. There seems to be a misunderstanding that there is an epinephrine safety net: If a child does have a severe reaction, just give him epinephrine, anaphylaxis...

I agree with DashiMom. I have had many people respond to my worries with ....he will be okay....we have his epi-pen. Then I have to go and explain how food allergies and asthma combined aren't always fixed with a dose or two of an epi-pen. I really think people just look at me then as if I have two heads or I am just plain nuts. Thanks for updating and addressing so many things Lynda, but that is a great idea as a final note on any future revisions. This is so much better than anything I had...

I'm in tears while reading this. It's perfect. THANK YOU for listening and revising. I finally have something to hand out to teachers and parents!

Hi, Thanks again for doing this, but I wanted to bring a problem to your attention about downloading the handout. If you click the image, the current (August) version comes up. However, if you select "attachments" and then click the pdf file listed under "files", the July version comes up.

Thanks for letting us know!