Eating lunch at school

[Guest guest]

How does anybody get their RSS kiddos to eat at school, and get school

support?? Tanner eats good in the morning, and after school, evening,

and at night. However, he doesn't eat at ALL at school. I know it has

everything to do with him not feeling hungry due to RSS, but with

encouragement, he will always eat something, even little bits help. He

has gained 5 pounds this summer, and now that school starts, I have no

idea how to maintain that. They slug it off. What can I do? Tanner is

in 4th grade, and lunch is not supervised, but playtime is. So, he

plays. I caleld the nurse, the teacher. They said he has a " lunch

buddy " , but Tanner says his lunch buddy just tells him to go get him

when he is done... what do you guys do? Thank you.

Elisabeth (Tanner 10years, 41 pounds)

[Guest guest]

I have no ideas but what if you packed some of his

favorite snacks? At least it's something going in.

On the other hand what if you went in and asked the

nurse to allow him to eat his lunch in her office -

with a note from his doctors stating something to that

effect?

Good luck.

B

--- tkkmommy wrote:

> How does anybody get their RSS kiddos to eat at

> school, and get school

> support?? Tanner eats good in the morning, and after

> school, evening,

> and at night. However, he doesn't eat at ALL at

> school. I know it has

> everything to do with him not feeling hungry due to

> RSS, but with

> encouragement, he will always eat something, even

> little bits help. He

> has gained 5 pounds this summer, and now that school

> starts, I have no

> idea how to maintain that. They slug it off. What

> can I do? Tanner is

> in 4th grade, and lunch is not supervised, but

> playtime is. So, he

> plays. I caleld the nurse, the teacher. They said he

> has a " lunch

> buddy " , but Tanner says his lunch buddy just tells

> him to go get him

> when he is done... what do you guys do? Thank you.

>

> Elisabeth (Tanner 10years, 41 pounds)

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

connor is on a 504 plan (medical). I have forced the school to follow this to

the T. There is an extra person on the school lunch shift that watches him eat

and encourages, but does not force him to eat. He has snacks and drinks ON his

desk all day, although he is fighting being different this year. He takes a

water bottle ro gatorade to gym. This HAS to be followed legally. All food is

put back into the lunch bag so I can monitor. I have the same thing--connor

will gain all summer, only to lose it the first week of school. I have lunch

duty in my school as a teacher, and see how all kids eat. It is not just our

RSS kids. I feel that schools rush kids to eat, especially i fthey have a

recess directly afterward. your son may have to go to lunch a little earlier or

later to allow for extra time. I watch a LOT of kids not eat and throw out the

most lovingly packed lunches from home! That has made me feel alittle better.

Connor too eats TONS after school right up until he

goes to bed at night. I have the school nurse bolus him just to get through

the day. This has become a fun visit in the building. connor also has a

backpack for emergency situations that goes to EACH class with him--teacher or

student carried---that way there is always food and snack, his tube, bolus equip

and water should there be an emergency in the building. for some odd reason,

connor tends to LIKE hot lunch!!!!

Kim, mom to connor, grade 2, rss

tkkmommy wrote:

How does anybody get their RSS kiddos to eat at school, and get school

support?? Tanner eats good in the morning, and after school, evening,

and at night. However, he doesn't eat at ALL at school. I know it has

everything to do with him not feeling hungry due to RSS, but with

encouragement, he will always eat something, even little bits help. He

has gained 5 pounds this summer, and now that school starts, I have no

idea how to maintain that. They slug it off. What can I do? Tanner is

in 4th grade, and lunch is not supervised, but playtime is. So, he

plays. I caleld the nurse, the teacher. They said he has a " lunch

buddy " , but Tanner says his lunch buddy just tells him to go get him

when he is done... what do you guys do? Thank you.

Elisabeth (Tanner 10years, 41 pounds)

[Guest guest]

Elisabeth

I can give you a few suggestions that might help.

1. Have it written into Tanner's IEP that eating lunch should be

supervised. You may need a doctor's note. That way an aide or SOMEONE

will be required by LAW to supervise. That takes time though, you might

want to get letters etc lined up now for his annual IEP review and get

it written in then.

2. In the meantime? Tell the teacher/nurse/principal that Tanner HAS to

eat. That if he can't be monitored by an adult at this point, then the

school HAS to allow him to have food on his desk to munch throughout

the day. That way even if he doesn't eat a full lunch, he'll probably

get more calories by " grazing " . I have adopted S's idea of a

partitioned snack container that you can fill with a whole variety of

foods and Tanner can " munch " on whatever he feels like. For Adam, when

I started this, his teacher complained that him opening the wrappers

were distracting....(another STUCK ON STUPID) but easy to solve, *I*

remove the wrappers when I pack his snack " box " .

All I know is Adam will eat and eat and eat if he is sitting beside the

food and distracted doing something else (watching t.v., listening to

the teacher etc.)

Good luck

Debby

> How does anybody get their RSS kiddos to eat at school, and get

school

> support?? Tanner eats good in the morning, and after school, evening,

> and at night. However, he doesn't eat at ALL at school. I know it has

> everything to do with him not feeling hungry due to RSS, but with

> encouragement, he will always eat something, even little bits help.

He

> has gained 5 pounds this summer, and now that school starts, I have

no

> idea how to maintain that. They slug it off. What can I do? Tanner is

> in 4th grade, and lunch is not supervised, but playtime is. So, he

> plays. I caleld the nurse, the teacher. They said he has a " lunch

> buddy " , but Tanner says his lunch buddy just tells him to go get him

> when he is done... what do you guys do? Thank you.

>

> Elisabeth (Tanner 10years, 41 pounds)

[Guest guest]

You should have it put in his IEP if he has one. That is what I was told to do.

And each school will handle it different.

Eating lunch at school

How does anybody get their RSS kiddos to eat at school, and get school

support?? Tanner eats good in the morning, and after school, evening,

and at night. However, he doesn't eat at ALL at school. I know it has

everything to do with him not feeling hungry due to RSS, but with

encouragement, he will always eat something, even little bits help. He

has gained 5 pounds this summer, and now that school starts, I have no

idea how to maintain that. They slug it off. What can I do? Tanner is

in 4th grade, and lunch is not supervised, but playtime is. So, he

plays. I caleld the nurse, the teacher. They said he has a " lunch

buddy " , but Tanner says his lunch buddy just tells him to go get him

when he is done... what do you guys do? Thank you.

Elisabeth (Tanner 10years, 41 pounds)

[Guest guest]

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I printed those out. I do

need to get that in the IEP about eating, I didn't even realize I

could. I will call the school today and inquire about the annual

review, or at least a review of it, we haven't done that yet. His IEP

from his other school was transferred here, but nothing has changed.

He isn't in speech at all...

Anyway, I love the snack box idea too-going to do that for sure. I do

take the snacks out of their packages, because Tanner can't open them,

but putting them all together is a great idea, then hopefully he will

eat more a variety without any effort on his part.

His pediatrician appt is Friday, and I will know then if he has lost

any weight since school. I am worried he has.

Tanner will eat a lot at once, when he is busy watching TV or

listening to me read too, when he doesn't realize that he is eating

really!

I know if he snacked at school, and even just a little snack at lunch,

it would make a huge difference.

Thanks again guys!

Elisabeth

[Guest guest]

How timely. My son just transitioned over from Early Intervention (NY) to CPSE.

He was receiving feeding therapy under EI. I am trying to reinstate these

services under CPSE. The feeding therapy was denied because the district feels

that this is a medical diagnosis and that the eating in and of itself, does not

have educational implications. My feeling is that while RSS is a medical

diagnosis, there are learning implications if he does not receive adequate

nutrition (ability to focus attend, regulate behavior etc.) Has anyone had any

experience w/ this in NY? Any input would be great.

Thanks

tkkmommy wrote:

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I printed those out. I do

need to get that in the IEP about eating, I didn't even realize I

could. I will call the school today and inquire about the annual

review, or at least a review of it, we haven't done that yet. His IEP

from his other school was transferred here, but nothing has changed.

He isn't in speech at all...

Anyway, I love the snack box idea too-going to do that for sure. I do

take the snacks out of their packages, because Tanner can't open them,

but putting them all together is a great idea, then hopefully he will

eat more a variety without any effort on his part.

His pediatrician appt is Friday, and I will know then if he has lost

any weight since school. I am worried he has.

Tanner will eat a lot at once, when he is busy watching TV or

listening to me read too, when he doesn't realize that he is eating

really!

I know if he snacked at school, and even just a little snack at lunch,

it would make a huge difference.

Thanks again guys!

Elisabeth

[Guest guest]

here's a thought

I am in Canada mind you but our educational system is based on the idea that

educators are required BY law to educate the children. Whether they are

blind, or deaf or without limbs, " changes " have to made to programming BY

LAW for that child to access learning/education (ie. school).

So while RSS may be considered medical (you are right it's disputable) they

have to acknowledge that a child who is not able to eat is not having his

" educational " rights met (a learning environment that meets his needs).

Maybe they are hoping you'll just give up if they try this excuse. Don't

take it, return with the fundamental rule of public education 'equally

accessible to ALL children "

Deb

Re: Re: Eating lunch at school

> How timely. My son just transitioned over from Early Intervention (NY) to

CPSE. He was receiving feeding therapy under EI. I am trying to reinstate

these services under CPSE. The feeding therapy was denied because the

district feels that this is a medical diagnosis and that the eating in and

of itself, does not have educational implications. My feeling is that while

RSS is a medical diagnosis, there are learning implications if he does not

receive adequate nutrition (ability to focus attend, regulate behavior etc.)

Has anyone had any experience w/ this in NY? Any input would be great.

> Thanks

>

>

>

> tkkmommy wrote:

> Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I printed those out. I do

> need to get that in the IEP about eating, I didn't even realize I

> could. I will call the school today and inquire about the annual

> review, or at least a review of it, we haven't done that yet. His IEP

> from his other school was transferred here, but nothing has changed.

> He isn't in speech at all...

>

> Anyway, I love the snack box idea too-going to do that for sure. I do

> take the snacks out of their packages, because Tanner can't open them,

> but putting them all together is a great idea, then hopefully he will

> eat more a variety without any effort on his part.

>

> His pediatrician appt is Friday, and I will know then if he has lost

> any weight since school. I am worried he has.

>

> Tanner will eat a lot at once, when he is busy watching TV or

> listening to me read too, when he doesn't realize that he is eating

> really!

> I know if he snacked at school, and even just a little snack at lunch,

> it would make a huge difference.

>

> Thanks again guys!

> Elisabeth

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanne,

My RSS daughter is also named Olivia!

My Olivia is the exact same way at school however she has an aide

who's main task is to make sure Olivia eats every hour as well as

most of her lunch. On the few days (this is Olivia's 2nd year of

kindergarten) last year when the aide couldn't be in the class at

lunch Olivia only ate about 2 or 3 bites total, and yes she was in a

horrible mood by the time she got home.

Is there any way you could get an IEP or IPP?? I think there's

something else called a 504?? (I'm in Canada so I'm not too sure on

that one, someone else please jump in!)

Is your Olivia able to snack freely in class or only at snack

time? If the teachers feel it gets " in the way " you could maybe try

a little fanny pack with snacks in it that Olivia wears. I jury

rigged one out of a camera case since it's smaller than a big fanny

pack for Olivia to wear on outings that I don't attend (b-day

parties, playdates, etc) she now eats freely from it but when she

was younger I put a note on it saying " I need to eat every hour " .

Sounds quite odd but if not prompted she barley eats anything.

Wish I could help more, please let me know how it goes for you.

Leah, mom to 10 and Olivia 5.5yrs(6 next month) 22lbs, 36 "

>

> My daughter Olivia was diagnosed at age 2 with RSS and has done

> extremely well under Dr. Harbison's care.

>

> Obviously she has a poor appetite and needs a lot of prompting to

> eat.

>

> She just started all-day kindergarten this year and is not eating

> enough lunch (they send the leftovers home) and often will not eat

> the afternoon snack at school. Many times they have carrot sticks

> for snack (the school's trying to offer heathier food) and Olivia

> will not eat them.

>

> I have talked to the teachers about the importance of her eating

and

> they promise me they will make sure she eats - but it is not

> happening. Unless your child has diabetes, the teachers never

> really take you seriously.

>

> Olivia comes home in a terrible mood complaining that she is

hungry

> and has had some terrible meltdowns. She has also been moody and

> grumpy with friends at school. I know it is a food issue, because

> she really loves school and is very happy there.

>

> Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to loose any

ground

> we have worked hard to gain.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jeanne

>

[Guest guest]

Jeanne

Seeing as I had the same situation last week, I would try copying the page

on RSS from the Magic web site (well that is what I did) and then I

highlighted anything to do with eating, and then really highlighted the

bottom that says it was written by Dr. Harbison!!!

There is one line down near the bottom that says our kids should eat " by any

means possible " or something to that affect.

Also, while it is wonderful that the school is promoting healthy eating, and

for " average " kids that is important, our kids are not " average " . While we

strive at all times to provide healthy food, we can't allow our children to

go hungry because they don't like carrot sticks. The school needs to

understand that you will be sending the foods Olivia likes to eat, and it

may not always be healthy. If the teacher needs to she can explain to the

children that Olivia needs to eat, that is the most important thing for her,

and then she can say " the rest of you need to eat healthy and it is my job

to make sure you all can grow healthy, so you have to eat good foods to stay

healthy and Olivia needs other kinds of foods to stay healthy " .

I was not above stretching the truth a bit either in my situation and

implying that if Adam wasn't allowed to eat in class, I may have to get a

feeding tube and again, implied, that I am sure they would not want to be

the cause of having to go to such a drastic step. For me I am on more solid

ground. Adam is in grade 8 so since JK (this would be 9 years) he has been

allowed to eat in class with no problems, so why is it such an awful thing

now?

Pat is right, if you can get a 504 or IEP to address this issue, it gives

you more standing, but in the meantime, try giving them the literature from

the web site.

Also (being a teacher myself) find out if Olivia is distracted during this

time. My grade 1 class one year NEVER ate. They were so busy looking around

and checking each other out, that they plumb forgot to eat! So I started

lunch 10 minutes earlier and that was so I would be in the room and I could

" encourage " them to begin eating. Most were done in that 10 minutes or

almost done (on their snacks) when the bell rang so I could go for my lunch.

If that's the case with Olivia, you might ask if it was possible she eat in

an area that will be less distracting. The ideal situation would be a table

behind or off to the side of a natural divider in the class; but I would

NEVER make her go there by herself. Instead I would (as the teacher) say

" Olivia if you promise to eat all of your yoghurt (or whatever) you can go

sit at the special table over there AND you can choose one friend to come

and keep you company, but you have to promise to finish the yoghurt " .

That is not too much to expect the classroom teacher to do. Then Olivia

feels like a big shot, she gets to eat somewhere less distracting and she

gets a buddy with her so she's not alone and the teacher isn't expending her

time, energy and attention solely on Olivia's eating.

Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes.

Debby

Eating lunch at school

> My daughter Olivia was diagnosed at age 2 with RSS and has done

> extremely well under Dr. Harbison's care.

>

> Obviously she has a poor appetite and needs a lot of prompting to

> eat.

>

> She just started all-day kindergarten this year and is not eating

> enough lunch (they send the leftovers home) and often will not eat

> the afternoon snack at school. Many times they have carrot sticks

> for snack (the school's trying to offer heathier food) and Olivia

> will not eat them.

>

> I have talked to the teachers about the importance of her eating and

> they promise me they will make sure she eats - but it is not

> happening. Unless your child has diabetes, the teachers never

> really take you seriously.

>

> Olivia comes home in a terrible mood complaining that she is hungry

> and has had some terrible meltdowns. She has also been moody and

> grumpy with friends at school. I know it is a food issue, because

> she really loves school and is very happy there.

>

> Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to loose any ground

> we have worked hard to gain.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jeanne

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jeanne,

We have it in 's IEP that he is to have an aide with him for

lunch. Also, we supply his morning school snack and make sure it is

food he likes. We let choose between lunch from home and

school lunch. He does not get an afternoon snack in school as they

dismiss at 2. He has one at home.

Good luck,

Judith, Steve, (RSS) and (non RSS) 5 1/2 year old twins

>

> My daughter Olivia was diagnosed at age 2 with RSS and has done

> extremely well under Dr. Harbison's care.

>

> Obviously she has a poor appetite and needs a lot of prompting to

> eat.

>

> She just started all-day kindergarten this year and is not eating

> enough lunch (they send the leftovers home) and often will not eat

> the afternoon snack at school. Many times they have carrot sticks

> for snack (the school's trying to offer heathier food) and Olivia

> will not eat them.

>

> I have talked to the teachers about the importance of her eating

and

> they promise me they will make sure she eats - but it is not

> happening. Unless your child has diabetes, the teachers never

> really take you seriously.

>

> Olivia comes home in a terrible mood complaining that she is

hungry

> and has had some terrible meltdowns. She has also been moody and

> grumpy with friends at school. I know it is a food issue, because

> she really loves school and is very happy there.

>

> Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to loose any

ground

> we have worked hard to gain.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jeanne

>

[Guest guest]

I understand the need for schools to set an example and provide

healthy snacks, but some schools are going too far. Carrot sticks

for growing children who are tired in the afternoon and need a boost

are just not going to do it. And for Olivia, that is just not

right.

When Max was in elementary school, I always packed two or three

different snacks for him so that he could choose the one that he was

in the mood for. A lot of times I found that he would be in the

mood for peanut butter crackers in the morning, but want pretzels

and raisins when it was time to eat. Offering these choices did

help get him to eat something.

The lunchtime ritual was a disaster. The teachers on lunch duty

were assigned to make sure he ate something and some did take it

seriously. Others just could not be bothered. When we complained

to the Child Study Team, their answer was to have him eat lunch with

the nurse everday. Well, at least she made sure he ate something,

but it was not good for him socially. He never had a chance to

interact with the kids on the playground.

It does not make sense for the school to be considerate and

concerned about those who are diabetic and not for you child. She

has RSS, is likely to have low blood sugar and her health is greatly

at stake. You may have to get a doctor's note to that effect. Does

she have an IEP? You could have her classified as Other Health

Impaired even if she has no other issues. Let the RSS work for YOU

and HER. Take advantage of the diagnosis and push it to the hilt.

You may have to make them a little fearful in order to get what you

want. It's unfortunate, but it's true.

This really makes me so angry. I'm a special ed teacher and I

always provide snacks for my kids and make sure they eat them. I

even have to make sure some of them get breakfast, for goodness

sake. I cannot expect them to learn if they are hungry.

Jodi Z