Kids bullied for having type 1 diabetes
Children taunted with terms including 'druggie', 'junkie' and 'fat'

11 June 2010

LONDON, 11 June 2010 – Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research, is calling on the Government to do more to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes after a survey has revealed that children with the condition are being bullied. More than half of parents questioned in a survey said that their child with type 1 has been bullied or excluded from activities for having this life-threatening condition. Parents report taunts such as ‘druggie’, ‘junkie’, ‘fat’ and ‘weird’ and young people being told their condition is their own fault for eating too much sugar.

The survey conducted by parents in the UK through Children with Diabetes’ online community for kids, families and adults with type 1 diabetes, and supported by JDRF, found that 54 per cent of the 181 parents polled said that their child had experienced bullying due to their condition. 60 per cent of parents surveyed said that ‘being seen as different’ caused their child the most distress, more so than the daily injections and finger prick tests needed to keep them alive.

Katherine Coleman, aged seven, was the first child in her primary school to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She says: “I am made to eat my lunch with younger children so that a teacher can give me my insulin injection. I can’t sit with my friends which makes me feel alone and upset. Other children are always asking me why I am different and make a fuss because I am allowed to have snacks in class to control my blood sugars.” Katherine’s mum, Nikki, adds: Just two weeks ago Katherine came home upset. Her class had been doing an experiment with sweets and all 30 children were allowed to eat theirs, except Katherine who was told not to by her teacher! The school freely hands out sweets as rewards which is so unfair on kids with type 1.”

Shane Board, 21 from Poole has also faced ignorance and cruel comments, but it hasn’t prevented him from pursuing dream careers in the performing arts and setting-up his own website company. He said: “Both children and adults have reacted to my type 1 diabetes negatively. At school, teachers locked away my bag with medication in it. They wouldn’t give it back despite my desperate pleas explaining that I needed it to live, and didn’t know that I was becoming aggressive due to having low blood sugar and going into a hypoglycaemic episode. One child even ripped off my medic alert band, chewed it and then spat it back at me whilst calling me a 'retard'. This survey shows what I and other children with type 1 diabetes unfortunately have to go through. We need more people to understand type 1 diabetes and to support JDRF in finding the cure.”

Type 1 diabetes affects over 25,000 children in the UK and around 350,000 adults. It is an autoimmune condition that causes the body’s own immune system to attack cells in the pancreas which produce insulin. There is currently no way to prevent type 1, unlike the more common type 2 diabetes, which can be linked to lifestyle factors. Type 1 requires multiple daily injections and finger prick blood tests, and can reduce life expectancy by approximately 20 years.

Karen Addington, Chief Executive at JDRF said: “It’s shocking that children with this life-threatening autoimmune condition are being stigmatised in this way. There is a misconception that diabetes as a whole is caused by lifestyle choices, but this could not be further from the truth for people living with type 1. We need wider understanding of the condition and a greater emphasis on the medical research required to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes, so that children will no longer have to experience such discrimination.”

JDRF is asking MPs to commit to understanding more about type 1 diabetes, and has created a Guide to type 1 diabetes to help them recognise type 1 as a stand alone condition. JDRF is also encouraging MPs to realise the need for greater research funding to help find the cure for type 1, and to urge them to consider type 1 diabetes when making healthcare decisions for the country.

Emma-Jane Cross, CEO Beatbullying said: “It is unacceptable that as many as 54% of children with diabetes have experienced bullying as a direct result of their condition. Bullying can be very traumatic but all the more so when it affects such a vulnerable and significant social group. Beatbullying join JDRF in asking the Government to work towards a greater understanding of type 1 diabetes. It is only through redressing common social prejudices, such as those experienced by people with type 1, and through education that all young people will get the protection and support they deserve.”

– Ends –

For more information or case study interview please contact:

Sarah Paul / Louise Rutter

Portland

T: 020 7842 0136 / 020 7842 0135

E: sarah.paul@portland-communications.com, louise.rutter@portland-communications.com

Notes to Editors

About type 1 diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life-threatening condition that has a life-long impact on those diagnosed with it and their families.

• Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that strikes children and adults suddenly and stays with them for life. It is not linked to lifestyle factors like obesity

• People with type 1 diabetes rely on multiple insulin injections or pump infusions every day just to stay alive, until we find the cure.

• Type 1 diabetes affects about 350,000 people in the UK, over 25,000 of them children.

• Type 1 diabetes reduces life expectancy by about 20 years.

About JDRF

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation exists to find the cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications, and is the world’s leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research. At a global level JDRF volunteers and staff have been responsible for raising over £800 million to support type 1 diabetes research since the charity’s inception. www.jdrf.org.uk

About Children with Diabetes

The mission of UK Children with Diabetes is to promote understanding of the care and treatment of diabetes, especially in children; to increase awareness of the need for unrestricted diabetes care for children at school and daycare; to support families living with diabetes; and to promote understanding of research into a cure. For more information about the UK on line community and email list click here http://www.childrenwithdiabetesuk.org/