School says girl can't bring diabetes service dog to class
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TUALATIN, Ore. - After she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, Anika Bjornson, a 5th grader from Tualatin, had enough to worry about.
Irritability, dangerous complications from low blood sugar, even comas were all concerns.
But now Bjornson must also switch schools in order to bring her trained service dog to class with her.
Bjornson, who suffers from Type I diabetes, takes her 9-month-old lab, Bassie, with her everywhere she goes. Bassie is professionally trained to detect changes in blood sugar using scent and “paws” the 10 year old when her sugar is too high or too low.
That’s how Bjornson knows to prick her finger and conduct a more detailed blood test.
"I would feel really hot and shaky, like I couldn't really balance myself," Bjornson said.
She and her mom, Debbie, recently asked her school permission to bring the service animal to class with her, thinking they were covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But the school, Horizon Christian Elementary, said no.
Bjornson says school administrators worried other kids might suffer from pet allergies, classmates would be too distracted by the dog, or Bassie would simply make a mess in the school building.
Bassie seems to fit the legal definition of a qualified service dog under the Americans With Disabilities Act, since he is “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
And the Justice Department also says that schools can’t deny service animals access simply because some kids might be allergic.
But KATU News found that Horizon Christian School is completely within its right to keep Bassie out.
Since the school is a religious organization, the rules laid out in the Americans with Disabilities Act don't apply in this case.
Speaking off camera, a school representative said the school is sorry, but they are doing what's best for other students.
Bjornson is now transferring to public school, where the service animal must be allowed.
"The teacher requested me," she said. "He wanted me in his class because he loves animals."
I think the family shouldve sued the school, because according to federal law they need to obey the acts needed to help people. cuz i kno in Va this would go to high court and ive already hav almost had to go to court for the school not allown me to check my blood sugars and keeping me from getting water to stay hydrated, they wouldnt let m tak care of myself bcuz the other kids n the school didnt lik me checkn it when i needed and the nurse was not qualified to let me so i refused to go to the nurses office, she knew nothing about diabetes, cuz the school was sooo big i could pass out at one end of the building and the nurse could barely walk so id be dead, a dog would b great that way the dog can carry what i need
Interesting isn't it, that because it a religious organization, this school does't have to follow or honor the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Â I have a friend with this type of diabetes and she almost died in front of me.
I only see a bunch of judgmental folks here who think that diabetes is easy to control. The problem is a low sugar can cause a type one to go comatose quickly.  I have to watch my blind wife's diabetes like a hawk and even she had trouble managing it.  She also has type one juvenile onset.  It's not that she didn't or couldn't manage it.  Diabetes ravages the body regardless of your control.  Eat one starch and your sugar goes high.  The world does not allow for diabetics.  Is your dinner safe?  Not really.  It's  only safe for you. Â
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I find  many of the posts here offensive to Type one diabetics who have juvenile onset. In a world where we care about Ding Dongs and Twinkies more than bombings in other countries it's hard to learn control since most of you don't have that kind of self control at all.Â
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How many of you are real diabetics? Â Not likely any who oppose a service dog to can smell a low sugar coming on for a child that needs to know how to learn control of her diabetes. Â One shot can kill her. Â What's your excuse for lacking compassion where it's truly needed? Â This is important. Besides, Â service dogs don't get handed out except in extreme circumstances to begin with. Â Or...unless you're totally blind.
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This child has likely had several severe insulin reactions to merit having this dog.  My mother in-law is still struggling with just a three unit shot.  That's like eight  drops to you and me. Someone who doesn't control their diabetes is going to require much more and have lesser reactions.  I am agog at how uninformed the public truly is on this forum!
First of all she is a young child who is learning to manage her diabetes and the dog is a tool but not a replacement for disease management, which it sounds like she is learning. The dog should be allowed, it is not a "emotional support" animal (which I do agree should not fall under ADA in schools as a instructional support aide can do the job), but a highly specialized trained animal. I am sure just like blind dogs this dog has been trained not to "mess" in the school.This dog is important because it is trained to recognize a problem before symptoms emerge, stopping the teacher from having to deal with an emergency or having to focus her time on one student, thus allowing allowing all students in the class to receive equal attention.  Also teachers and instructional aides are usually not medically trained so would not be effective if she had a emergency, so being able to prevent one is the better option. Like most schools I'm sure they have more than one classroom for the grade and if another child is allergic to the animal or scared of it they should be placed in the other classroom so as not to be exposed to the dander of the dog. Most schools have an allergy free classroom in each grade anyways. To me it sound more like the school is worried about the liability if something went wrong and the dog was to bite a child and is just making excuses. However, the parents have solved the problem by putting the girl in public school and that's probably better as she will receive a more well rounded education and social experience in the long run, better preparing her for the real world.Â
Ummm.. why not teach your child responsibility to take care of themselves.    Teach independence not dependency.  Â
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Thank GOD my children can rely on themselves! Â
@MrAchilles Â
You're not very bright, are you?
Now we can see why you thank God your children can take care of themselves.
 @MrAchilles I am so glad god does not exist when I read compassionless people like you using "his" name.
 @MrAchilles You can teach your child independence and how to care for there issues.. but medical stuff sneaks up on you... I am not a disabetic but I know many and from one minute to the next sugar levels change.. my cousin is in his 60s now been Type 2 since he was 7 and he checks his sugar every hour and his loved ones have found him on the floor passed out from a blood sugar issue.... TH is little gal is just learning about all the signs..  That dog sounds amazing,.. wish my cousin had one...
 @MrAchilles Are your children type 1 diabetics? Do they have to take care of themselves in the way that Anika does? If the answer to these questions are no, then you have no say in the matter of whether or not this girl can take care of herself. You must first understand the responsibility that this young girl has had placed on her.Â
too many people feel entitled. Service dogs for anything nowadays. Cant go on a air plane with some fat lady with a service dog for nerves. BS i say. I want a service donkey! Take that on a plane and let it poo in the isle.
@iamright555 You are obviously not very Christian in your attitude
please grow up and learn
So now diabetes is a disability?
@anonymous guy  YES!
 @anonymous guy usually chronic life threatening illness is classified as a disability... Diabetes has always been considered a disability.
 @anonymous guy Its always been one....Â
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@HarryJuku Pray, just pray you never need to use any service animal to help you later on in life!
 @HarryJuku not surprised the only like you have is "MrAchilles", someone who praises god yet names himself after Greek myth
@HarryJuku I have a pump, I see my doctor regularly, and I still need constant supervision because of my frequent low blood sugars. It is unfair of you to say that she's not properly managing her diabetes, especially saying that she'll go blind. She is CHILD, you moron! I have had type 1 diabetes since I was 4, and I could have used the technology they have nowadays back then. Children don't speak up for themselves, simply because they are embarrassed, or they are too young to vocalize what they need. Dumb ass.
@Meghann Tinker Easy, Meghann. You have to realise their are some people posting here that are: Unfeeling, ignorant, just plain argumentative to ANYTHING even to the point of hurting someone, or just downright mean to get your goat. Some, like Harry Juku is just all the above!
I get it. Some of you don't like dogs.
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 @HarryJuku  @ecb 1: a pump can not detect blood sugar, by definition it only delivers medication, ie insulin. Yes there are pumps to deliver other medications. 2: continuous glucose meters (which are usually combined in a single unit with a pump, but not always) are at best 50% accurate. Diabetic Alert Dogs have been shown to be at least 90% accurate. In whose hands would you want your child in, technology that is just as likely to fail as succeed, or a dog that can warn of an impending high or low almost all of the time?Â
 @HarryJuku  @MissLissaJ  @froggy Nope.  Educating the child in a society where eating is one of the biggest concerns is harder than you think.  That dog will help her whether anyone likes it or not.  HarryJuku you are misguided and uneducated in this area.  You're being more of a flamer here. Too obvious bro.
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@froggy @HarryJuku @ecb froggy - My mother was a type-1 diabetic from the time she was 7 and was the first person in Oregon to receive an insulin pump.  I've been a type-2 diabetic that must supplement with insulin for many years and have been dealing with diabetes longer than most people who post here have been alive. In addition, I've also successfully trained a guide dog for the blind. I can say with confidence that a service dog is not necessary to safely detect low blood sugar in a type-1 diabetic child. Diabetic lows are a driven by medication and are easily identifiable by physical symptoms such as cold sweats, shaking, and difficulty in concentration - something the girl in the story references herself.Â
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Even if the young girl is a brittle diabetic and is crashing so often that she can't function, then the answer isn't a service dog, but a change in medication and diet. She needs to take control of managing her disease and, yes, she is quite capable of doing so if mommy would stop making excuses and teach her to do so. Glucose monitors are extremely accurate and don't cause disruption in the classroom. A service dog is not necessary and trying to use the ADA to bludgeon the school into submission is simply reprehensible.
 @HarryJuku  @froggy Meters are FDA allowed to be +/-20% OFF from labs
 @HarryJuku  @froggy They could also look at the permanent option of a pancreatic transplant, although I've heard they are extremely successful, I don't know exact efficacy rates, and I don't know if at her age, it's advisable because her body is still growing and anti-rejection meds could bring that to a grinding halt. Regardless, no matter how "unfair" the school is being--there ARE other options out there, should her parents choose to avail themselves. Or find another school.
 @HarryJuku  @froggy I DO patient education with CGMs and pumps and let me tell you, your numbers are absolute BS. Maybe when they first came out, but not now. The freestyle pump article I am citing for your "fact checking" edification clearly states an accurate CGM of 81.7%. It's also why they recommend finger sticks in addition to the pump and monitor--although most CGMs are far more sensitive than a capillary stick could ever be. Let me tell you--if the CGM can't pick up the fluctuation in interstitial blood glucose? A dog can't either. The dog is trained to react to cues (ketones on the breath, etc, changes in body EMF, etc) that a MONITOR WOULD CATCH, unless it was outright failing. Nothing is perfect, but as I said before...a pump is a much more efficient option than a dog.
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If you have statistics on the accuracy of companion aide dogs detecting blood sugars, I would love to read them. I couldn't find anything.
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http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/5/1125.long
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 @HarryJuku Can you cite sources that differ? Have you ever used a CGM? Do you have a degree in anything related to healthcare, laboratory science, or statistics? I do. The best accuracy in the low range is seen with Dexcom's newest CGM. Metronic was the best before that at about 30%. If you know everything, prove me wrong.......yeah didn't think you could, because the data proves my point.
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Back to your typical, offensive self I see. Your hatred of Christianity has made you bitter and blind.
The choice is simple: either go to a private school and exclude anyone you want, or go to a public school and get anything you want. You can't have both.
LOL.... The most relevent point of the entire story is summarized in the end sentence.
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>'But KATU News found that Horizon Christian School is completely within its right to keep Bassie out.'
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....but, combine an adorable little girl with (literally) a fuzzy puppy. Sprinkle in a Christian school, stir well with the impression of disability exclusion....
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and, well, you've got more of the typical K2 National Enquirer-level journalism.Â
 @MarkKpic You always call it the way it is, but what do you really think??
 @boned About?
 @MarkKpic LOL The NE might present their news in a lurid, splashy style but they were the first to break news about several political sex scandals when some news media sources ignored or covered-up the stories to begin with.
 @whirledworld  @MarkKpic >'several political sex scandals when some news media sources ignored or covered-up the stories to begin with.'
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Perhaps 'political sex scandals' are worth ignoring or 'covering up'?
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When the media is as driven and focused on stories that really matter, and dramatically affect every day citizens, I'll stand in admiration of them.
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The problem is that todays 'news' media is hopelessly mired in sensationalism and spin. What you end up with is a public that is woefully misinformed, or just flat out lied to, in order to sell a particular point of view.
What exactly do you mean since I do not speak Twit?  Are you insinuating that our medium's cater to Omama and the Left Wing Liberal Loons?  Or have you had too many single malt scotches??Â
A christian school. What a shock...........
wouldnt the teacher notice her going ino diabetic shock before the dog?
@Phuzz Â
Teachers, especially is "Christian" schools, are not allowed to touch children. They (the teachers) might catch something and die while being helpful, and that's not supported by the Bible.
Sorry, but it seems nowadays that labeling something as "Christian" is just an excuse to promote someone's twisted agenda of entitlement, greed, or bigotry.
 @Phuzz No. I have taught before and that is something a teacher can't look for every minute of every day. Even her own mom probably can't catch it every time reliably.
 @whirledworld  @Phuzz What I honestly don't get is the dog situation as a whole. I am TOTALLY for service animals, so that's not the case. But in the case of a fragile or "brittle" juvenile diabetic--why not get her an insulin pump that not only monitors fluctuations in blood sugar, but corrects them minutely, without her having to go take a CBG (which can be off) and trying to medicate herself. The dog is an awesome companion--but honestly, there is a much more effective (and safer) option for their daughter available. Probably cheaper, too.
 @MissLissaJ  @whirledworld  @Phuzz Because no such device exists.  This thread is generally full of ignorance and hatred, but you really seem to enjoy taking misinformation to the next level.  Let's get started:
- There exists one combined CGM and insulin pump device on the market. Â It doesn't use the data from the CGM for any purpose, it just allows them to be displayed on the same device.
- T1Ds should never dose off of a CGM.  If you seem to know that CBG results "can be off" then why on earth would you suggest that someone be dosed off of an even less reliable number.  The sensor for a CGM bases its readings off of the glucose levels in your interstitial fluid... they're in no way reading blood sugar.  These readings tend to lag by at least 15 minutes, and the software on the CGM attempts to correlate them to blood sugar based on calibration CBG results that the patient inputs.
- For recently diagnosed type 1 diabetics, insulin management is generally incredibly difficult because the pancreas still produces small, irregular amounts of insulin, making it nearly impossible to know how much you should dose for a particular food choice or BG correction.Â
Many dogs are adopted through non-profit organizations.
Even so. Who got hurt by it?Â
 @froggy Actually Froggy, FDA has stated that meters can NOT be more than 20% from the lab, but most meters today on the market are well within +/- 10% deviation
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/health/20090717_MONITOR_1.pdf
 @MissLissaJ  @whirledworld  @Phuzz MissLissaJ.. There is no such thing as a pump that monitors and corrects them.. There are pumps that do have intergrated CGMS (Medtronic MiniMed), but the person with diabetes still has to correct the sugars them selves.Â
Yes, CGMS are at about 80% accurate, but FDA has approved Meters to be no more than +/- 20% off from labs, (oh and my meter over the last 2 years has NEVER been more than 6-8 points +/- from a blood draw which means if my sugar is 200 mg/dL via lab stick, my meter will say anywhere from 192-208 vs a CGMS can say 120-280.. and you HAVE to calibrate the CGMS via finger sticks.. so with that I would say that finger sticks are MORE likely to be online to what the person is vs CGMS.. Oh, and I am a type 1 diabetic, ON a pump, (tried the Dexcom (CGMS aka continuous monitoring system) and i HATED it)Â
 @froggy  @HarryJuku I don't have the same experience at all with CGMs, but with your daughter's predicament I can't imagine it would be worthwhile, except to alarm. I'm sure you're sending her to school with glucose tablets and she knows signs/symptoms to look for. The truth of the matter is--medicine isn't perfect. But when it comes to Anika? None or very little insulin production? The likelihood skews much higher that she'll be hyper vs hypoglycemic. Also--if the school won't take her, why take it to the news? If they are shamed into taking the girl now, it won't be a friendly atmosphere (stress= wild blood sugar fluctuations in diabetics) and just make her condition worse. Why not find a school that supports Anika and her issues? My son has severe ADHD and I get so angry and frustrated sometimes with the lack of accommodation or awareness. But then I have to remember that he's the "exception" rather than the rule--and it's not everyone else's job to "get it." It's for him and I to work around his disability to succeed. If Anika is truly that fragile maybe they need to look into homebound schooling. I am currently doing that with my son until we get some of his issues under control.
 @HarryJuku How many T1Ds do you know over about 50 years old that dont' have major complications?
 @MissLissaJ  @whirledworld  @Phuzz Everyone thinks insulin pumps are the answer, but they are not! First, if she is having low blood sugar the pump can't do anything, since more insulin would make the situation worse. Second, it is not safer to have a continuous glucose meter or pump. The CGMs are only accurate below 70 mg/dL roughly 30% of the time. If the meter is wrong more often than it is right how is this safer? When I say wrong I mean, can give a reading that is 50 points or more off. Further, regular blood glucose meters are only accurate within 20%. This means, you prick your finger and the meter says 50 it could actually be 30 which is a critical low and the patient could seize and or die within minutes. Last, my child has a rare disorder similar to hypoglycemia in many ways. Her blood sugar ONLY goes low. A pump and a CGM are of little or no use. We've tried a CGM for months and the accuracy is just too low to be of use. I wish pumps and CGMs did what everyone thinks they do, but the technology just isn't there. Diabetic alert dogs have been shown to be accurate more than 90 % of the time. When my child's life is on the line, I choose the alert dog that will warn me of an impending drop so I can fix it before my child is in a critical situation. If she is not with a parent, at least the dog is trained to go find someone who can call 911 if nothing else. There is no pump or meter that can do that.
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 @HarryJuku Actually, that ^ is the type of comment you make when you really don't have a good point, but you desperately need to be heard and get the last word in because in real life you are a failure.
 @HarryJuku  @MissLissaJ No, HarryJuku. I think you are just a real piece of garbage.
 @HarryJuku I agree. Surprisingly, I agree with you on this. It makes me wonder if they are the super religious type to spurn medical treatment? Who knows.
NO. Animals know by instinct things that are going to happen before they happen. They know
when an earthquake is going to happen before it hits. They can detect cancer in someone before
the person does. So no, the teacher wouldn't know it before the dog would. The girl could go into
diabetic shock & die before they'd realiize what was happening.