Understanding Disabilities / Food Allergies Segment Friends and classmates of children with food allergies are usually very helpful in keeping their friends safe. Everyone has a story about a child who went out of his way to wash his hands before playing with his friend who has food allergies. Or the child who reminded her parent not to pack peanut-butter sandwiches because it could make her friend sick. Because children can show such compassion, TRAIN developed a classroom section (with the assistance of Understanding Disabilities) to help children better understand food allergies. The pilot program was presented during the week of May 9th, 2005, National Food Allergy Awareness week, at Killam Elementary School. This program reached over 100 children, in 5 first grade classrooms. In addition, there were several people who took time out of their busy schedule to view our lesson. The program is approximately 45 minutes long which includes a brief presentation/discussion of the medical facts related to food allergies, a short story, and a blind experiment that illustrates how cross-contamination occurs.
The goals of the program are:
The response from the pilot was overwhelmingly positive. Because of its success, this program has become a permanent part of the Understand Disabilities curriculum and will be rolled-out across the first-grade of all elementary schools in September of the 2005-2006 school year! Finally, volunteers for this program are always welcome. Please contact Lisa Frechette at lisafrechette@verizon.net. |