Creating A Community With Guest Stacey Simms

Thriving in the Midst of Chaos: Parenting With Special Needs Kids

Episode 19: Creating A Community With Guest Stacey Simms

In this episode, Stacey Simms discusses her experience navigating the Type 1 Diabetes world and finding a community. Stacey discusses the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes and the importance of getting an accurate diagnosis. When her son was almost 2, his personality changed (irritability and tantrums), he would become sleepy at unusual times, he started urinating more frequently, and was drinking a lot more water. Stacey became concerned. Stacey discussed the process for her son to get diagnosed. She noted that they coped relatively well with the nitty gritty of managing diabetes when he was young, as her son was laid back about having to take insulin shots. However, it was difficult to figure out how many carbs were in homemade foods, and she never knew what he would actually eat, as toddlers are bonkers. Stacey discussed struggles her son experienced, such as not preferring to talk with his friends about diabetes, blood sugars fluctuating frequently, and having to be on top of his blood sugars at all times. Currently, he is navigating how to manage diabetes during puberty, due to hormonal fluctuations. At the time, she was a health news reporter, and met others in similar situations through summits and meetings while she was working. As time passed, she met more parents of children with Diabetes through school (and the school nurse), and posting meetings on Facebook. Starting a Facebook group helped grow the community in her area and connect families. Finding her community helped her to realize some fears were unjustified and helped her find support and helpful ways to cope. Her son currently copes relatively well, due to having a great support network and having attended camp for children who have Diabetes. She recommends that to create a community, start a Facebook group, talk to your child's school nurse, schedule a dinner or coffee date with other parents, keep meetup locations and activities simple, attend charity walks, set small goals, send your child to camps for children with that diagnosis.

Links: Stacey Simms: https://www.diabetes-connections.com https://www.staceysimms.com Facebook Twitter Instagram

JDRF

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Show Music: Lion Roar: Lion Roar by Iwan Gabovitch under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org) Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org) Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org) Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org) Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple