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Type 1 newby parent

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Philcratch

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hi, Our 15 year old son has just been diagnosed with type 1. He also has autism and a learning disability. Feeling quite overwhelmed and scared to be honest. On the plus side our son is accepting it all quite well so far. Hopefully things will seem easier soon. Support from the hospital and diabetic team has been excellent.
 
It’s horrible in the beginning isn’t it, but it does get easier! If you’ve got a good hospital team that’s a great start, ask them as many questions as you need to. It’s a very steep learning curve but just take things one step at a time and you’ll get there. My daughter is now 16 and also on the autism spectrum, she just gets on with it on her own now. She’s had diabetes since she was 6 though so she can hardly remember not having it. It just becomes a normal part of life after a while.
Make sure you look after yourself too, you have to go through a grieving process for the life you don’t have any more, that’s all perfectly normal. You will adjust to it because you have to. There’s no reason that your son can’t go out with his friends and carry on with his hobbies and do whatever he liked doing before, it just takes a bit more planning and a lot of clutter to carry around!
 
Hi and welcome. It’s a lot to take in to begin with but you will get to grips with it. If he has a limited diet and eats much the same meals during the week then that will make carb counting easier. If he doesn’t always finish his meals that will be trickier to juggle but you’ll fine ways round it. We’re here to support you and no question is too silly.
 
Philcratch said:
Hi, Our 15 year old son has just been diagnosed with type 1. He also has autism and a learning disability. Feeling quite overwhelmed and scared to be honest. On the plus side our son is accepting it all quite well so far. Hopefully things will seem easier soon. Support from the hospital and diabetic team has been excellent.
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Sorry to hear about your son’s diagnosis, but good to hear that he is accepting it. It is a credibly difficult at the start as there is so much to take on board very quickly. It is understandable that it seems overwhelming but it definitely gets easier.

Whatever questions arise just ask. There is loads of experience to tap into on here, and we are here for you.
 
Welcome to the forum @Philcratch

Sorry to hear about you son’s diagnosis. Hope the changes in routine and sensory aspects of day-to-day management aren’t too difficult for him, and that you can find ways to fit diabetes into his life rather than the other way around.

If you’ve not come across it already you might find Ragnar Hanas’s book very helpful

Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People - it’s considered to be the 'bible' for children and young people on insulin regimes, and is often recommended to new T1s of any age!
 
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