Back to School Safety Issues: Medical ID, Temporary Tattoo ID and Allergy Lunch Bags

Being a huge proponent of children and adults with any kind of medical issue or special needs wearing identification/medical alert tags there have been a few posts on this blog about the issue before. My favorite false argument is that non-speaking students do not need medical ID because someone is always with them, which fails to take into account what could happen if that "someone" is the person who has a medical emergency. How will the non-speaking individual identify him or herself? Or give emergency information for his or her caretaker? Or give a phone number to reach someone else to help? Or assure emergency responders that everything is OK? Trust me no one is going to turn on and set up an AAC device. Medical identification is essential for all non-speaking individuals.


Beyond this medical identification can save precious minutes at school and other places in a crisis. If all the teacher/aide/school nurse has to do is call 911 and read the info off a bracelet/necklace/shoe tag then the ambulance will get their fast compared to the amount of time it would have taken to locate the emergency forms in the file cabinet/binder/desk drawer. This are minutes that count.

Zoo Bears ID carries some wonderful ID items for infants and children, including special needs children (such as shoe tags and zipper pulls for kiddos who will not wear anything else). Carrying some kind of ID is a must for all adults, period. N'Style ID offers a nice selection for Tweens and Teens. My personal advice is to go through Medic Alert for the toll free hot line paramedics/ERs can use to get your medical records and then print that on stylish or sensory appropriate ID. Yes, it costs more, but it is worth it. (As an insulin pumping diabetic who is allergic to penicillin I personally wear a Medic Alert bracelet with a pretty beaded bracelet for special occasions.)




Safety Tats are personalized, rub on tattoos (write on, stick on also available) sold in packs of 30 for about $20.00). You can order them to indicate I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency), Allergies, Medical Conditions, Special Needs or Original. School field trip sets can be ordered as well. Kids Kontact sells a similar product in Australia. FiddledeeIDs sells alert stickers and temporary tattoos and other medical alert gear. These are a nice options for family trips, day trips, vacations, and similar excursions to unknown and unfamiliar locations.



Another product that can increase safety for some individuals with special needs, especially those with limited or no-speaking skills is a special lunch box which clearly indicates food allergies and/or feeding issues. Allergators and STAT Kids both sell lunch bags which clearly mark lunch bags with a child's allergies. STAT Kids bags can be personalized (i.e. for pureed food, diabetic diet, ketogenic diet, choking precautions or food from home only); they also sell backpacks and fanny packs.



At the very least ask parents to (or make for your child) a medical alert wallet card for free:

• free wallet card maker
• ID tags online
• 911 Med 411
• Caregiver Rx
  

Age Appropriate "Sippy" Cup

Do you have a student in your room over the age of three who still needs to drink from a "sippy" cup? Have you been looking for a cup that will allow this young person to drink with out standing out for using a baby cup? This Klean Kanteen may be the answer. The "sippy" is an Avent mouthpiece, just like on must babyish cups, but the bottle is a reusable, lightweight 12oz stainless steel bottle, with a wid opening for ice cubes. You can buy it at Nubius Organics or Amazon.

Adaptive Feeding Equipment

I was at a party last night which was attended by many people who work with adults with intellectual disabilities. At some point the conversation turned to options for specialized feeding equipment for some of their clients. They were looking for cups or straws that slow down drinking, among other items. We looked at pictures of one way straw valves, nosy cups and flo-trol cups and discussed the possibilities. During the discussion I realized a slide show of options like that I have posted for dynamic display AAC and switches might be helpful. So here you are pictures of assistive technology for eating including feeding devices, cups, drink bottles, forks, spoons, knives, plates and bowls:

Personalized Placemats

At this time of year, as we prepare our students for the transitions that the end of the school year inevitably brings, we may be turning our attention to the best ways to pass on information about our students to the next teacher.


In particular, we may be worried about our students safety and the risk of skill regression if the proper information does not reach the proper people.

In that light you might want to check out the Call Centre's information on Communication Passports. I have spent quite a bit of the evening creating personalized placemats for my students to take to summer camp or school after the last day of school next month. The download of the Power Point placemat tutorial with the template was great for making a lot of placemats in a short time. Tomorrow I will print and laminate them and add them to the boxes that will be sent off to my students' extended year programs.

Next, I will fiddle with some of the other Communication Passport Resources and the ideas for Lifestyle Plans from Essential Lifestyle Planning.