Jack has gone away with his school, for a 4 day residential trip to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, something he needs to do for his Geography A level course.
His Geography A level – sorry just repeating that bit as I STILL can not believe that my lad is doing A levels. I am considering counselling to come to terms with him getting NINE GCSEs.
Anyway I digress (just for a change).
Jack is away for 4 days & 3 nights. That can mean only one thing – I get to do LOTS of baking & cooking to get the food ready for him. Oh & pack up all his bedding (so it means two things).
Why do I have to send his bedding? Simply because like most of those on the diet, Jack’s allergies & intolerances don’t stop at food; they also embrace (such a nice cuddly word) chemicals, such as laundry detergents and household cleaning products. On top of this there are the chemicals in toiletries (soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorants, bubble-bath etc) that can cause serious problems. With these items I am not just referring to the presence of gluten, casein and artificial sugars and other excitotoxins, there are other chemicals present that can be potential allergens. If this is an area of your child’s life you have not looked into, then I can suggest that you do so, as getting your child’s chemical environment as friendly and comfortable as possible, makes a HUGE difference to their health & well-being and therefore the progress they can make.
In a future newsletter I will address the issue of diet friendly laundry & cleaning & make suggestions for what to do (this is another hint to sign up for my free newsletter asap – see link on website).
Oops, another digression …
So I pack Jack a sheet, pillow, complete with case, & duvet with cover, washed in suitable detergent. And I amazed by how such bulky things can be rendered so small, when squished into a black bin liner.
And then I roll my sleeves up for the serious business of food preparation: Three lots of breakfasts, lunches and dinners to get ready, not to mention plenty of snacks to keep the perpetually hungry teenager from keeling over in the fresh air. Of course the South of England gets hit by a mini heatwave whilst I am cooped up in the kitchen with the oven & hob belching out heat. Timing has never been my strong point!
I have done this several years in a row for Luke when he has gone off with his SEN school for a short holiday and I did this for Jack for the first time 2 years ago when he undertook a similar trip for his geography GCSE. So I am an old hand at it & it really is not as daunting as it first appears as long as the staff on the trip are competent & au fait with the diet & issues like cross contamination. Luckily, Mrs H at Luke’s school was fabulous (in more ways than just the diet) so I had no fears in that department.
But Jack’s school? When they have no idea of the complexities of his diet? Why should they? It isn’t a special needs school, where he has the same staff every day for everything, who not only teach but apply a level of care that is never seen in a mainstream school. He moves from classroom to classroom for each lesson and the staff teach him. They are aware that he is anaphylactic and carries an epi-pen, but they have no idea how far reaching his diet is and how vital it is for him to function. So you can understand why when I found out that the residential trip was a compulsory part of Jack’s GCSE course, I flipped out, lost sleep, went into panic mode & began what could almost be perceived as a stalking campaign to make sure the head of the geography department realised just how serious the whole food & bedding and EVERYTHING situation with Jack was.
Two years later & I am so nonchalant & confident in the whole process, that just 1 (yes only one) email was exchanged on the matter & that was just a copy of the planned menu of what was to be eaten & when. Why this new chilled & laid-back and very un-Marilyn attitude? Because the department and the trip is in the very competent hands of Mr. L.
Every school should have a Mr. L.
Every trip that involves hoards of teenage boys, many on the spectrum, but most importantly, your young man with complex dietary needs, away from home for more than a few hours, requires a Mr. L. In fact, I think it should become the law or at least get written into the Statement of Educational Need.
Never have I met a man as unflappable as Mr. L. Now keep in mind, the first time he met me (apart from a brief parents evening slot) I was in full maternal panic & flap mode, wittering on about gluteo & caseomorphins, homeopathy, bedding and cross-contamination.
To his credit, he took it all on board and accepted without a murmur that most of the mini-bus would be given over to Jack’s food, bedding, toaster etc.
Not only did he take my melt-down on board, he pre-empted any worries that Jack might have by designing the most wonderfully detailed timetable imaginable. Jack paid him the ultimate compliment of saying it was the sort of timetable he would expect from me (we do timetables here in a BIG way).
Upshot, Jack got fed, not poisoned, no regressions occurred & he had a great time – I mean he studied very hard!
So, although the thought of your child going away on short holidays with their school may fill you with over-riding dread – don’t let the diet be one of the issues that sends you into a spin of panic.
A bit of planning, a large cool-box with loads of ice packs, and a sensible member of staff that you have taken time to educate about the diet and all will be well - on the food front at least.
And if you are lucky enough to have a Mr. L on the staff, don’t worry about anything other than the amount of stinky washing you will be getting back along with your over-tired but very happy child.
So this year, I am not panicking, not worrying, not even having a moment or two of anxiety. I know all will be well.
Going away with the diet is doable :)
His Geography A level – sorry just repeating that bit as I STILL can not believe that my lad is doing A levels. I am considering counselling to come to terms with him getting NINE GCSEs.
Anyway I digress (just for a change).
Jack is away for 4 days & 3 nights. That can mean only one thing – I get to do LOTS of baking & cooking to get the food ready for him. Oh & pack up all his bedding (so it means two things).
Why do I have to send his bedding? Simply because like most of those on the diet, Jack’s allergies & intolerances don’t stop at food; they also embrace (such a nice cuddly word) chemicals, such as laundry detergents and household cleaning products. On top of this there are the chemicals in toiletries (soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorants, bubble-bath etc) that can cause serious problems. With these items I am not just referring to the presence of gluten, casein and artificial sugars and other excitotoxins, there are other chemicals present that can be potential allergens. If this is an area of your child’s life you have not looked into, then I can suggest that you do so, as getting your child’s chemical environment as friendly and comfortable as possible, makes a HUGE difference to their health & well-being and therefore the progress they can make.
In a future newsletter I will address the issue of diet friendly laundry & cleaning & make suggestions for what to do (this is another hint to sign up for my free newsletter asap – see link on website).
Oops, another digression …
So I pack Jack a sheet, pillow, complete with case, & duvet with cover, washed in suitable detergent. And I amazed by how such bulky things can be rendered so small, when squished into a black bin liner.
And then I roll my sleeves up for the serious business of food preparation: Three lots of breakfasts, lunches and dinners to get ready, not to mention plenty of snacks to keep the perpetually hungry teenager from keeling over in the fresh air. Of course the South of England gets hit by a mini heatwave whilst I am cooped up in the kitchen with the oven & hob belching out heat. Timing has never been my strong point!
I have done this several years in a row for Luke when he has gone off with his SEN school for a short holiday and I did this for Jack for the first time 2 years ago when he undertook a similar trip for his geography GCSE. So I am an old hand at it & it really is not as daunting as it first appears as long as the staff on the trip are competent & au fait with the diet & issues like cross contamination. Luckily, Mrs H at Luke’s school was fabulous (in more ways than just the diet) so I had no fears in that department.
But Jack’s school? When they have no idea of the complexities of his diet? Why should they? It isn’t a special needs school, where he has the same staff every day for everything, who not only teach but apply a level of care that is never seen in a mainstream school. He moves from classroom to classroom for each lesson and the staff teach him. They are aware that he is anaphylactic and carries an epi-pen, but they have no idea how far reaching his diet is and how vital it is for him to function. So you can understand why when I found out that the residential trip was a compulsory part of Jack’s GCSE course, I flipped out, lost sleep, went into panic mode & began what could almost be perceived as a stalking campaign to make sure the head of the geography department realised just how serious the whole food & bedding and EVERYTHING situation with Jack was.
Two years later & I am so nonchalant & confident in the whole process, that just 1 (yes only one) email was exchanged on the matter & that was just a copy of the planned menu of what was to be eaten & when. Why this new chilled & laid-back and very un-Marilyn attitude? Because the department and the trip is in the very competent hands of Mr. L.
Every school should have a Mr. L.
Every trip that involves hoards of teenage boys, many on the spectrum, but most importantly, your young man with complex dietary needs, away from home for more than a few hours, requires a Mr. L. In fact, I think it should become the law or at least get written into the Statement of Educational Need.
Never have I met a man as unflappable as Mr. L. Now keep in mind, the first time he met me (apart from a brief parents evening slot) I was in full maternal panic & flap mode, wittering on about gluteo & caseomorphins, homeopathy, bedding and cross-contamination.
To his credit, he took it all on board and accepted without a murmur that most of the mini-bus would be given over to Jack’s food, bedding, toaster etc.
Not only did he take my melt-down on board, he pre-empted any worries that Jack might have by designing the most wonderfully detailed timetable imaginable. Jack paid him the ultimate compliment of saying it was the sort of timetable he would expect from me (we do timetables here in a BIG way).
Upshot, Jack got fed, not poisoned, no regressions occurred & he had a great time – I mean he studied very hard!
So, although the thought of your child going away on short holidays with their school may fill you with over-riding dread – don’t let the diet be one of the issues that sends you into a spin of panic.
A bit of planning, a large cool-box with loads of ice packs, and a sensible member of staff that you have taken time to educate about the diet and all will be well - on the food front at least.
And if you are lucky enough to have a Mr. L on the staff, don’t worry about anything other than the amount of stinky washing you will be getting back along with your over-tired but very happy child.
So this year, I am not panicking, not worrying, not even having a moment or two of anxiety. I know all will be well.
Going away with the diet is doable :)
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