Ep.297: Food Allergy - What Teachers Want You to Know

As we get ready for a new school year, food allergy safety is truly a team effort. Parents, teachers, and school staff all play an important role in helping students feel safe, included, and ready to learn. Today, we’re joined by FAACT Director of Education Heather Yee—a former teacher, school board member, and food-allergy parent—to share insights from both sides of the table and help us build stronger partnerships for a successful school year. 

Resources to keep you in the know:

• Food Allergies and School - Free Download
• For School Personnel - Free Downloads and Materials
• Planning for School: A Parent/Caregiver Guide 
• Schools - Education Downloads

You can find FAACT's Roundtable Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, Podbay, iHeart Radio, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Sponsored by: DBV Technologies

Thanks for listening! FAACT invites you to discover more exciting food allergy resources at FoodAllergyAwareness.org!

Transcript

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Caroline: Welcome to FACTS Roundtable, a podcast dedicated to navigating life with food allergies across the lifespan. Presented in a welcoming format with interviews and open discussions,

each episode will explore a specific topic, leaving you with the facts to know or use.

Information presented via this podcast is educational and not intended to provide individual medical advice.

Please consult with your personal board certified allergist or healthcare providers for advice specific to your situation.

Caroline: Hi everyone. I'm Caroline Moassisi and I am your host for the FACT Roundtable podcast. I am a food allergy parent and advocate and the founder of the Grateful Foodie Blog. And I am FACT's Vice President of Community relations.

Before we start today, I just want to say thank you to DBV Technologies for being a kind and generous sponsor of FACT's roundtable podcast.

Caroline: When it comes to food safety at school, parents aren't doing it alone.

Every day, teachers and school staff balance classroom protocols, school policies,

diverse student needs, and never enough hours in the day,

all while helping create a safe environment for students with food allergies.

As parents and caregivers, we rely on these important partners throughout the school year.

Understanding their perspective can help us build stronger relationships, improve communication, and work together to create healthier,

safer learning environments for all students.

Joining us today is FACS Director of Education Heather Yee, a former teacher, school board member, and food allergy parent.

Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal experience,

Heather shares practical strategies to help families and schools collaborate effectively and set students up for success in the upcoming school year.

Heather, welcome to Facts Roundtable podcast. I'm so excited for today's podcast because not only are you a parent and an educational expert, you are part of FACTS Team Team now.

And that is such great news. I just absolutely love all of this and I know today is going to be a great podcast.

Heather: Thank you. Caroline. I'm so excited. I appreciate you asking me to be on your podcast. I love listening. You bring so much knowledge to everybody and it's such a warm environment and I love that I get to be a part of the FACT team officially as well.

So thank you.

Caroline: Well, that's so nice to hear, so thank you to you too.

Now we're just going to dive right in so you have this rare opportunity to see this issues from both sides as a food allergy parent and then as an education professional.

Before we get started, can you then share just a little bit about your journey and how those experiences have influenced the way you approach food allergy safety at school?

Sure.

Heather: Thank you. So I studied both elementary and special education Back in college I got my degree in the education realm. And during that time I was also supporting adults with developmental disabilities in teaching independent living skills and getting out into the community.

And so I was able to work with a variety of ages and backgrounds of people.

And then my son was born in 2007 and fresh out of the gate, he was never feeling well. And at 10 months he was diagnosed with many life threatening food allergies.

And so that was like the beginning. And I know that you know this personally as well, so your world shifts. I was kind of in that state of understanding what I needed to know before he was 2 and I was pregnant with my daughter.

We watched him have his first reaction, anaphylactic reaction that sent him to the hospital.

And that took me into a bit of a downward trajectory. And I realized I needed to equip myself and others better.

And my husband and I had also decided I would step down from the nonprofit and be home and raise my kids. And it took me into more of an advocacy role of food allergies, both for myself and others and how I could do better.

So I was able to do some fundraising walks and really just an end free opportunity start trying to take what I knew from studying education into how can I start helping people understand when I know that?

I also was so nervous, especially when they're starting preschool.

So I would say just how I've approached education with my background was it varies of course. Remember when your kids probably went to preschool, you're nervous anyway that they're going.

And so the beginning was just a lot of hands on. I'm a hands on learner. So I realized the more maybe we can touch things or understand things, visual aspects, different ways of people learning helped me maybe with my teaching of my son.

And so since he was little, we just did trainings, we would train on that time.

The epinephrine auto injectors really talk a lot about preschool and elementary school. It's a lot of hands on. So what's in finger paints and what's in birdseed and what's really just sitting down with the teachers and the people who were going to be with him and trying to get an understanding of how they taught.

Looking around the room, seeing egg cartons everywhere and peanut butter jars that people would donate so schools could use them. But for me gave immediate panic and nerves. So. So how could we balance the education front with safety for not only him but any other school?

So I realized that a lot of people were very caring and also might not understand the gravity of the situation.

So for us to try to be as direct as possible and really break down what that looked like. And at that time, for him, at least he had had a reaction so we could talk about what that looked like and educate the school.

At that time, it was time for to go to elementary school. And even though we are in a phenomenal district,

the culture here is traditional, quite traditional. So when it came to even asking to switch things to be less food in the forefront,

that was hard for people. So my educational approach with that was just to think about, okay, remember being in a classroom, being welcoming, but just being an open communicator as best as we could.

Be approachable,

be open,

tell them what you need.

And so even a 504 at that time was an uphill battle. It was difficult, that was 15 some years ago.

So to really take in what I knew they needed on this school end and at that point had my parent hat on to say, this is what you need to be doing,

so it's okay to be assertive and kind.

So the way I approached allergies while he was,

he's about to go off to college. So it fluctuated and it adapted and I adapted and so did he.

I would say I just asked a lot of questions.

I had specific expectations of the professionals and compassion for their role in his life,

understanding that they are balancing a lot of needs.

Combining my background in both education and being a parent was helpful. It helped my knowledge of both worlds, Knowing I wasn't a master of either world, I guess being open to listening to them, but knowing my son the best,

just being very direct,

knowing that everybody's bringing something different to the table and trying to gauge who is in the classroom, what needs do they have,

how can we help everyone feel safe. And so I just try to modify my approach in the education world kind of every year, I guess, to see what age or stage I'm at and my son's at and the team.

Caroline: Your experience just blows my mind because,

you know, when we get to school, we're so anxious and we're nervous and it's new. Even if we already have children in school, it's new with this. And so I like how you talk about communication and compassion and including everybody.

And I really liked when you said, you know, everyone brings something to the table.

I think for me, that is something. I didn't even hit my brain.

I was just on this mission, must keep child safe, you know. And so I really like your perspective.

This is perfect. Digging into this Conversation. So I'm just gonna dig right in with my questions for you.

So when parents think about food safety at school, it's easy to view the school as one entity,

but it actually consists of teachers, administrators, nurses and other staff who often have different roles and responsibilities.

So can you help us understand how those needs and priorities may differ and then how they all come together to support student safety?

Heather: And I realized what I didn't mention in my introduction was another part that helps my understanding is I was able to run for our local school board and I served for eight years, just recently stepping down at the start of the year.

That has given me this wonderful perspective of a macro level of how the school is functioning. Because even when I was in a teacher role then it's hard to not see your role and beyond it.

So where I'm going to talk about this question is more my role from being on the school board and getting to see those different perspectives.

So I would say I'm going to break down just a few because there's so many different roles of people. So feel free to ask, follow up if I miss a big one.

But I would say first and foremost is the nurse of your school, if you have one. So an important question, I'm going to keep mentioning that as a parent, it's important that you understand how your school is functioning.

So nurses,

if you have one in your school or any other person who fills the role of your nurse,

they need proper documentation of allergies as well as the prescribed medication to keep on hand.

What happens is there's those of us really saying how important this is. And sometimes there's parents who say it's not that big of a deal. It is a big deal.

They need to have the documentation,

the medicine. I always say it's a great idea to have your child self carry even when they're young. We worked on that with my son from 6. He had oversight from staff, but there was a set because some schools have to lock it up and it feels kind of far away.

And so we chose to have two sets. But your nurse will help train other staff on epinephrine administration,

recognizing signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis, overall student safety.

And so even if you as a parent want to have your own individual discussion with a nurse, they're doing a macro level of training, typically for the school district and sometimes we have a district nurse and then there's different school building nurses, but sometimes they travel as well.

So there's not always somebody present.

So that I would Say that's the big functioning of the nurse.

Your administrators provide a big picture oversight and they make sure policies and procedures are written and followed for students.

They'll provide guidance and support. They check to make sure annual trainings occur for staff. They follow up on the nuance. The other. The other steps to make sure even coaches I would put in on there.

So those would be your principals, a superintendent,

different directors of services are really doing that big picture oversight. And then clearly we have your teachers who are the most important everyday person.

And I'm going to put in substitutes there that can be looked over sometimes to make sure that's important when a teacher is not available.

And therapists OTPT speech that sometimes really overlap with needs of students.

So they're clearly your hands on daily oversight for your child and all of the students.

They have awareness of their lesson plans,

any food ingredients that whether your school still provides stacks when they're little they're eating but thinking about lessons that have food in them that's going to be your teacher and they're going to help manage that.

And the expectations they're going to make sure their language is even inclusive. This one's a huge one when I think about it because I think back to sitting in curriculum night when my son was in first grade and the teacher was lovely and I noticed how she mentioned we used to be able to do this but because of food allergies we can't.

And everyone looked at us and it was the manner in which she was presenting it because you could tell she wasn't on board. So I think having having those conversations at a different time is important because.

Right. They can have a lot of compassion and the best intentions and sometimes they don't understand the words that they're using and what that how that can affect one of the children.

And I would say then of the group if you choose to have a 504 or you'll hear things called IHP or IHCP individual healthcare plans or Individual health Plans. Different schools actually have different acronyms sometimes.

So just see you know what your school calls it. But your group, the entire team should be a part of a 504 meeting or that individual healthcare plan meeting. I always like my child to be there.

But that changed as he got older too. He would be more present. But everyone should be contributing listening to one another.

They should listen to the family and students and family and students need to listen to the professionals for any ideas and feedback and problem solving together. So I'd say all of those Roles are your main.

They play an important role in a properly functioning team of communication. And then know also if you have those meetings, those are fluid organic documents. You don't have to sit down there.

And if you realize in two months your child needs something different,

your team will have a main contact person and a lot of times that's the counselor. But that can change based on your building and your school district as well.

So just get the information on who that main contact is so that you know you can always go back to make sure that you come together for student safety. And that's always something that can be worked on.

Throughout this school year.

Caroline: That was phenomenal information, Heather. I am like busy taking notes so I can share with others.

I think when we look at school, we forget all those elements. I shouldn't even say forget. I don't think we know about all these different elements. And that's so helpful because I know in the beginning, for me now, this was a long time ago.

I mean, we're talking 20, 15 years ago now going into this, there wasn't a lot of information. There's a lot more information now. And this helps us kind of cut through all that information and really gets to the core.

Because if we understand what the game board looks like, then we can strategize better. But I think often we go in not understanding the game board and you just brought that all to light.

So thank you so much for that.

So now you mentioned teachers. And so now we're going to dig even deeper on those teachers.

So as families prepare for those back to school meetings, what are the most important things teachers want parents and caregivers to understand just right from the get go at the beginning of the year,

what insights can help set that stage for the strong partnership and a successful school year?

And listeners, before we started recording today, I was telling Heather how after a really bad year, school year for my daughter,

I realized a lot of that was on me. The teacher was lovely and compassionate and wonderful.

I just wasn't in sync with how she functioned and her needs and the needs of the other students. So this question I think is going to be very, very eye opening for all of us.

Heather: Thank you, Caroline. And really just to tap into what you were saying, it makes me remember when I'm wearing my parent hat, how much I didn't know before my son was diagnosed with food allergies.

Like now that's all I know. I, I realize that's what I know, that's what I can tell people about. But you know, when he was one a year ago, I had no idea.

I was probably the person asking, is milk the same as an egg allergy? I don't know. Like, I have to remember that people don't always have poor intentions.

So that being said, I think teachers, one of the main things a teacher primarily want parents and caregivers and families to know and understand is that they are a team.

They want to keep your child safe,

they want a collaborative relationship.

And both parties need to really understand and go in with kindness and compassion and understanding for one another because it probably feels anxiety inducing and a little nerve wracking on either end.

Having an open mind and as a parent also having a plan,

knowing what you want to ask for. Because sometimes you can sit in a school and you say,

what do you do for this? And some, some don't have as extensive as an experience supporting children with food allergies. And some do so understanding that just because they might not answer everything as you want, they might.

They are open to listening and understanding and developing a plan together.

So be open to hearing suggestions from professionals. But also don't be afraid to speak up if you're on the parent end to say,

we've tried that, or that might not work. And also let your child grow with the stages.

The teachers have a wealth of knowledge and so let them guide you and then be ready to be a part of the team.

I would say too, thinking as a parent and then on the educator realm, every year was different.

So not only did I grow in my own confidence and support of what my son needed, he grew and developed in his advocacy as well.

And it's hard for a child. I think sometimes teachers need to also remember it's hard for a child to speak up about what they need. Even if they're a confident, outspoken child,

they're still their teacher. And so they're trying to learn how to advocate for themselves to an adult.

So parents just need to remember that whole relationship is ever evolving.

And something that I would say teachers want you to know, they might not realize they want you to know because they know how their school's functioning. Something that came to my mind seeing the big picture is as a parent, make sure you are understanding how your school functions.

Is it a private school or is it a public school?

They function differently with what you either have to offer. For example, public school, you're probably going to get a 504. A private school does not need to offer a 504.

What does that look like? What is your school size? There can be class sizes here in my state that are up to 40 children in a classroom. And then there might be another class, another school district that has 10 children.

So just getting a gauge from your teacher on what does their day look like, who are they supporting?

Making sure you have a big picture of what their day looks like. Their main job is overall curriculum, educating every child in the room and keeping everybody safe and making sure they can adhere to everybody's plan.

And so they are human. So it's okay for you to maybe remind them of your needs if something feels like it's falling through the cracks or you're not getting?

Maybe what you wanted for me, when I was thinking about it on both ends, is the transition of how you are advocating and the partnership.

And that partnership can change with every year. So our district, for example, was like preschool was separate, and then it was kindergarten through four, and then five to eight, nine to 12.

So with each division, it functioned a little bit differently. You're sitting with different team members who are coming with different knowledge bases.

And so to get that understanding, it's great to ask questions. I think I always just go back to be curious, ask questions,

make sure you're advocating for yourself clearly and asking for what you need, a compassionate way. And I think that's the best way. Teachers want to be collaborative and they want to keep your child safe and happy at school.

Caroline: Well, and you just mentioned asking lots of questions in a compassionate way. Can you maybe give an example of that? And the only reason I'm saying this, and this is personal experience,

as I know I can get so razor focused. And so I'll write an email, then I have to stop and go back. How are you doing? Hope you have a good day.

So if you can speak to that for a moment.

Caroline: Sure.

Heather: Yeah. I might even say this later. I'm not sure. I. I think of myself too. I'm thinking of Heather, parent of a preschooler, to Heather, parent as high schooler, different.

And I know that my anxiety could lead and I'd get, aren't you doing this? Or how can you not know?

That could be a way. You're saying something to a teacher. How did you not see my child not get this? I have to catch myself.

And I could say I was reading our documentation for our 504, and my understanding is my son's not supposed to be wiping down the desks him because there's allergens. And that was the point.

Who's his support person? A way that worked for me was I offered my Direct phone number a lot to people. And I think it alleviated some fear for the teachers that they would send me a quick question in the middle of class or sometimes take a picture of something and we were able to build a relationship.

So I think of it in the way of relationship building. How am I speaking to my best friend or a colleague and not let my irritation and fear take over?

Caroline: Oh, I know that. I mean, that's.

That's where I would stop and say, okay, can you hear my fear? Okay, I need to do a little check here. So I'm really glad you're discussing this and gave some pointers because it's just so easy to go there because we can get very upset when something happens or we're just angry because it's something that shouldn't have happened.

And we have to process that personally and,

and then reach out to the teacher.

Heather: It's okay if you halter, as we all do,

to then say, I am so sorry. That did not come out how I wanted it to. I'm scared. Or I. I am nervous. And I. I know that you want the best for my child, so there's no shame.

I don't believe either way. I think. I think it's bonding to people anyway when you could admit, like, that was ruder than I meant it to be.

Caroline: So true. I really appreciate you being so candid on this. Thank you so much.

We often focus on what schools can do to support students with food allergies. But that partnership goes both ways. Just like we've been discussing so throughout the school year. How can parents and caregivers best support teachers and staff while still advocating for their child needs?

Like, what can we do throughout the year to show we are being supportive?

Heather: I think it's really circling back to probably some things I said on the other one. I know I'm supposed to speak purely from teacher, and it's hard for me to separate the two.

I think sometimes I'm really just answering with both. Both hats. So apologies if I'm doing that big picture, school board slash, how can we be supportive?

I think it goes back to some of those questions. Get an understanding from your teacher.

They can't share specific, private information about students,

but you can get an idea. And I think, Caroline, you had shared something with me offline, even just about getting an understanding of some of the needs in the classroom.

And I know my son being allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, peanut, tree nut at the time, some things that were safe for him, let's say a skittle, other Kids couldn't have because of red dye or what did that look like?

And so we supported.

Well, we really moved to a food free school district. And that was its own challenge for celebrations.

But a way that parents can be supportive is if you see some lesson plans are coming up or again, offer yourself as the first touch of maybe advice or insight.

So what would happen? For example, I can think of one in maybe first grade. And a lesson was these pizza ovens with used pizza boxes, but they were melting chocolate and they were solar ovens.

And it was a great science experiment, but it was riddled with food allergens for us.

And so a way that I tried to support both parties before it was food free was to give suggestions of what might work.

Another example is probably every district has done egg drops.

So sometimes the support is the reminder that just because children aren't eating it doesn't mean it's not something that you shouldn't be having in the classroom.

It's not okay to ask the student to sit in the corner or out in the hall. And that sounds archaic, but those are things that got asked to my son just four years ago as an eighth grader, even though we had a 504.

And so sometimes it is circling back saying, I'm here to help you. Like how can I either I'll bake something for you, I'll give you an idea of different things you can provide.

I'll give you an idea of a different way you can do a lesson.

And I understand that's not the parent's job, it is a teacher job, but sometimes they just need a little help.

Sometimes we have to remember they've been doing these lessons for a long time and that's what they know. And it's not on purpose that they're being exclusive, but to be reminding them,

reminding them of different ways to diversify their thinking as well can sometimes be helpful. But be available to remember that different schools have to function differently.

I would say something that helped us as well is a way that you can be supportive of caregivers is even if your main district has the resources.

We found that in every meeting we would share free resources like share the fact website for people Share that you have this podcast share. And if they do it, great.

If they don't, you can remind them these free resources are out there. But that is something that a lot of the teachers don't know. Even though we, I think we're out there a lot, some people don't know it's there.

So we found what was supportive through the years? If something came across my feed that seemed helpful, I would maybe just send it to them to say this article was great or I love that your podcast, we were talking about it.

It's the right amount of time that people can digest it. Not have a lot of time but still get a lot of information which was helpful. And then remembering just that you're in it together and you will help them in any way you can to help your child.

Caroline: And going back to sharing resources, I remember sharing links to some of facts, articles and resources on non food part.

You know, having a dance party, extra recess time,

a bubble party,

everyone blowing bubbles and paper airplanes and Right. So I remember sharing that. It was so powerful.

Thank you for those tips.

Heather. This has been stunning. All the information that I wish I had at my fingertips. I hate to say it 20 years ago, I'm that old, but my son's gonna be 28 actually more than 20 years ago.

What am I saying? So this has just been incredible information.

I'm so grateful for you sharing your knowledge and again having this really unique position. Before we say goodbye today, is there anything else you want our listeners to hear from you?

Heather: To remind listeners what I have to remind myself to lead with information and not fear.

And sometimes that is so hard to do and it can be difficult based on the age and stage of your child because when they're starting a new division of school or preschool,

my son's about to go off to college. So when I tell you my anxiety spiral and my breathing techniques, I just listened to your other podcasts as well.

But just to really try to give yourself what are things that can be in my control as a teacher on the education end and the parent end,

that anxiety regarding safety can sometimes take the front seat. And doing what's in your control can help ease that.

Absolutely. The other thing I think is remember that all of these wonderful resources exist.

Fact is here to help you. If you really scroll on there on what is accessible at our fingertips, this podcast,

there is such a beautiful community out here that is ready to support one another and support teachers and educators and to remember that that's there you are not alone.

It's phenomenal.

I just used all of it for college. I even know what I'm doing. I feel like I've been doing this now for the 15 years. He's almost 19,

really diving into it. And I still am using college resources, getting on the website, making sure I feel supported that people are out there to listen. But also remember that the transition as a parent and I want teachers to even hear that is hard.

It's okay to feel nervous and scared with each next step.

I'm at that point of life where now I'm letting my son take the lead and I'm trying to be this supportive player and we are just open and we communicate a lot about it.

So I'll always come back to I may err on the side of over communication, but you will know how I'm feeling.

So just think about if you're not sure about something, make sure you're talking to somebody about it. And I'm so grateful for you. I got to meet you through this organization,

the wonderful people on this journey.

So while sometimes it's easy to see what's scary about food allergies, there's so much beau out there and we've met some of our closest friends from this network of support from the camp, friends from all over the country,

and we've bonded. So the information I've learned as an educator and parent have been invaluable and I just try to stay curious.

Always learning, ask questions. I was thinking of yourself,

of your child and family and the schools.

The field continues to adapt and grow. What I've seen in this past year alone of the developments of the field of food allergies makes me so excited.

So keep hope, have a plan,

and teach your child to advocate for themselves through all their ages and stages.

Caroline: Beautiful words of wisdom. Thank you so much for your time sharing your knowledge, your expertise,

your compassion and love for this community. Thank you so much just for everything you do. And again, I'm so happy and honored you're part of this team.

Heather: Well, you are our treasure. You are just easy to sneak to and I appreciate you for having this resource out there as well. So I'm grateful to be a part of this network.

Thank you.

Caroline: Before we say goodbye today,

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to DBV Technologies one more time for being a kind and generous sponsor of FACT's roundtable podcast.

Caroline: Thank you for listening to Facts Round Table Podcast.

Stay tuned for future episodes coming soon.

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Have a great day and always be kind to one another.

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