TDSB providing only ‘half measures’ to protect at-risk 4-year-old with diabetes, mom says | CBC News

Sarah Tharani thought the months she spent filling out forms, sending emails, and meeting with school board officials would be enough to get adequate accommodation for her son Leo.

He has Type 1 diabetes and, at just four-years-old, requires constant supervision to make sure he has enough insulin. Tharani says the consequences of a teacher getting their attention taken away at the wrong time could lead to severe brain injury, loss of consciousness, seizure, and in the most extreme of cases, death. 

But four months into the school year, Tharani says the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) most recent promise for extra supervision runs out on Friday.

“I’m so thankful that he’s four years old and that he does not know what is going on around him,” said Tharani.

“If he started school knowing that the school board is showing him that he doesn’t belong in class, that he does not have a right to a safe and full education, that he is not being adequately supervised … I can’t even imagine how that would make him feel.”

Tharani says she told the board of his disability in February and has been trying since the start of school to secure long-term staffing support for Leo. It led her to file a disability-based human rights complaint with the TDSB mid-November — the second most commonly cited complaint lodged against the school board over the past two years. 

About 7,000 school-aged kids have Type 1 diabetes, according to the Better Outcomes Registry & Network, a perinatal, newborn and child registry for Ontario — with kids under five the fastest-growing group of newly diagnosed cases.

‘Full care plan’ was developed, TDSB says

Experts say Tharani isn’t alone in her fight for supervision. As far back as 2014, CBC News reported on a parent having trouble getting adequate support staff for her child in class.

The TDSB says it can’t comment on the changes that have taken place since then, but in 2018 the Ontario Ministry of Education instructed all school boards to develop and maintain policies to support students who have chronic diseases like diabetes. 

According to a statement to CBC Toronto, the ministry projects it will give the TDSB almost $400 million this school year via various funds the board can use for students with special needs.

The board says it can’t discuss Leo’s case extensively due to Tharani’s ongoing human rights complaint. However, it says a “full care plan” for Leo was developed by multiple staff members, including health and safety officials and physical therapists. It did not say if Leo’s situation is influenced by any staffing shortages.

However Tharani’s complaint is based on several periods during the day when Leo’s teacher is left alone with a class of 26 other children, or when support staff get a break. She says the 30 minutes in the morning, one hour around lunch, and 30 minutes in the afternoon adds up.

It’s important staff monitor him during these periods, according to a doctor’s note from The Hospital for Sick Children, since Leo doesn’t exhibit typical signs of low blood sugar, can’t recognize when his levels drop, and can’t independently test or treat himself when it happens.

“The school has that information, the board has that information. What they’ve done is they provided a series of half measures,” said Tharani.

Problem is long-standing, doctor says

Dr. Hannah Geddie, a pediatric endocrinologist speaking on behalf of the Canadian Paediatric Society, says the problem is becoming “increasingly common,” hitting a new low last year when several children in Waterdown, Ont., couldn’t attend school due to a nursing shortage.

Geddie and other pediatricians raised their concerns in a letter to the Ministry of Education. But more than a year later, she says the situation hasn’t improved, even for students like Leo who don’t need full-time nursing support.

“We are in a crisis scenario,” said Geddie, who also works at McMaster University and its children’s hospital.

“We’re left with this child completely falling through the gaps and the burden being completely placed back on the family to solve this situation, which is not up to them to solve.”

The problem shows a lack of communication and collaboration between all institutions responsible for student education in Ontario, Geddie says. She says the solution starts with properly allocating resources and being “creative” when those resources fall short.

But until that happens, Tharani says she won’t stop advocating for her son and others like him who need the extra help.

“I am tired, but I’m not going to stop until they can tell me that my son is safe in school.”