PUPPETS AND PICTURES HELP CHILDREN TALK ABOUT THEIR DIABETES

A novel creative approach to help children and parents better understand and talk about their treatment has been funded by UK based charity Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF).

A grant of £5000 was awarded to The Royal Free Hospital Children's School (RFHCS), a community Special School for pupils aged 5 to 16 for the patient centred multidisciplinary approach to diabetes education using puppet making and film skills to facilitate learning.

DRWF Chief Executive Sarah Tutton said: “We were pleased to support this innovative project which helps young people to explore their diabetes diagnosis and management. Type 1 diabetes is a long-term condition and the film will allow the work to support more young people and their parents to learn good self-management skills.”

The grant funded four sessions of learning puppet and film making skills which resulted in a short film to be used as an educational tool for other young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

After the four sessions, there was a measurable improvement in both the parents’ and children’s knowledge and confidence discussing their type 1 diabetes. The project had other benefits as well, it improved the social aspect of the activities encouraged a strong bond to form between parents and children which can be difficult in a clinical setting.

“Parents and children were rearranging their schedules to ensure they attended as many sessions as possible and happily shared experiences,” explained Steve Green, Deputy Head Teacher and Examinations Officer at the Royal Free Hospital Children's School. “Children were explaining insulin pump function to each other and parents were discussing the importance of control using conventional means as a prerequisite before being offered a pump.

“The film is being used by DRWF as part of their promotional material and shown at the Royal Free Hospital to children newly diagnosed with diabetes as an educational tool and ‘mythbuster’. The film was a delight to make and all parents and children were thrilled with the outcome and thoroughly enjoyed taking part.”

Steve and his colleague Victoria Dublon will be presenting the video and a poster about the project at the British Society forPaediatric Endocrinology and DiabetesAnnual Conference in Newcastle on

November 22^nd to 24^th. The film can be viewed here http://bit.ly/DRWFRoyalFree

14% of the school’s children have a long term medical condition, with 200 young people with type 1 diabetes across the Royal Free Trust, which includes Chase Farm, Barnet and Royal Free Hospitals.

An estimated 125,000 UK children miss more than 14 school days per year meaning most hospitals have an education provision.

The RFHCS offers high quality education for all children who are inpatients at the Royal Free Hospital. It also provides a limited number of places for children who are not inpatients but who are receiving support from medical or mental health services and may benefit from attending the school on a daily basis.

The school operates within a multidisciplinary framework; working closely with a range of professionals including consultant doctors, mental health professionals, physiotherapists, speech therapists and other agencies.