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| Food Allergies at School |
Back to school ads are also my prompt to pull out my yellow "Food Allergy School" folder. In it I'll find:
- Copy of 504 Plan
- Form giving permission to carry EpiPen
- Food Allergy and Anphylaxis Action Plan
All of these papers and forms need to be updated annually, so here's my back-to-school checklist:
__ Review 504 plan. Is it still relevant for upcoming school year or are changes needed?
__ Schedule 504 meeting several days before school starts. Invite school nurse, guidance counselor, teacher (or team of teachers)
__ Get doctor to sign form giving permission to carry epinephrine at school.
__ Review Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Action plan with doctor. Attach updated photo.
__ Get prescription for EpiPens as I'll need two extra to send to school.
__ Prepare bag for nurses office to include EpiPen, bottle of Benadryl and a copy of the Action Plan.
We also meet with the director of the school cafeteria each year to review ingredient changes in foods that have been safe to eat in the past and to see if there are any new foods to add.
I remember feeling overwhelmed by all this when I first sent my food allergic child off to school. We've been doing this for 8 years now, and it's just become part of the routine...just like shopping for notebooks and pencils.Be sure to communicate early and often and have a great back-to-school send-off.
If you're new to this, check out some of the posts I've written over the years about preparing for school with food allergies:
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