What it means to be an adolescent with diabetes

Key psychosocial issues faced by the teen who has diabetes have been discussed, including survey data from parents, and healthcare professionals, with direct quotes from teens themselves. It is interesting to note that, while most youth are quick to discuss the many challenges they experience, most are able to see some benefits--or at least some positive aspects--of living with diabetes. There have been tremendous advances in diabetes care with the development of many new medications, equipment, and supplies. As a result, the demands that this has placed on the teen who has diabetes have greatly increased, adding additional worry, time constraints, and a magnitude of responsibilities to their already complex lives. It is a part of every minute and every aspect of their lives and it becomes difficult for teens to separate their core being from the diabetes that "rules their life." The school nurse plays a significant role in the school life of the student with diabetes through direct involvement and in coordinating care with and training for the student, the family, the teachers, other staff in the school, and the community. Diabetes is a very serious chronic illness, yet with careful attention to the physical and psychosocial needs of the student with diabetes, good health as well as academic excellence is well within reach for students who are "teens first, who happen to have diabetes."