Posted by Eleanor Garrow |
One thing I enjoy the most about our events is meeting all of you, getting the opportunity to hear your stories, and answering any questions that you may have. I was once that parent of a child newly diagnosed with food allergy, and I needed help and support. I was once that parent saying “why my child?” I wondered how to manage, what to do about school, and whether my child would be the victim of bullying. I searched for good recipes that we would actually like and still be safe for my child, and I constantly asked myself whether researchers were close to finding a cure for food allergies. Today I still have questions and FAAN is still a lifeline for my family and me.
FAAN events are designed to bring families together to connect with one another. One of my favorite events is the Teen Summit. Later this month, FAAN’s Sixth Annual Teen Summit is coming to the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA. We are very excited for a fun-filled weekend, Nov. 18-20, for teens and siblings, ages 11-22, and their parents, as we have many great speakers scheduled throughout the weekend. I have been involved with Teen Summit for three years now, and it has definitely become one of the events I enjoy most.
Including siblings last year and again this year was something very important to me. I have one child with multiple life-threatening food allergies, eosinophilic esophagitis, and asthma, and I have one child without any food allergies. Not only is it important for the teens to meet other teens just like them, who share the same conditions, but it is also important for siblings to meet other siblings, because they are just as affected and advocate for their brothers and sisters. The parents get the opportunity to meet other parents who have a mutual bond and create new friendships. It is important to make the weekend one in which other family members can participate.
Teen Summit is such an inspirational and empowering weekend for everyone involved. Everyone leaves with new friendships (and old ones from previous years, as many return each year), a sense of empowerment, and the feeling of knowing they are not alone. I know when my children, Thomas and Anne, are old enough to attend Teen Summit, we will be thankful to experience this event together as a family. There is still time to sign up, so please visit www.foodallergyevents.org to register today.
On another note, FAAN’s Annual Food Allergy Conferences have been scheduled for 2012. We look forward to another exciting year of conferences filled with wonderful speakers, topics, and breakout sessions, along with a separate, fun-filled and educational day for the teens, ages 11-18. I am pleased to announce that we will be holding our conferences in:
- Oak Brook, IL on March 31,
- Tarrytown, NY on April 28, and
- Anaheim, CA on June 9.
More information regarding registration will be posted on our website before the end of the year. So, start planning now and mark your calendars for 2012. I would love to see you all there!
Posted by Kristen Kauke |
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” ~Buddha
Back-to-school time is hardly a time of nirvana. As parents, we fret about purchasing back-to-school supplies and wrangling our kids back onto a schedule. Our kids fret about seeing friends who were placed in the other class, and managing the burden of homework. And for our kiddos with food allergies, they have additional worries of how to feel safe.
Feel that daunting sensation in the pit of your stomach yet? Ok, so exhale … and reflect back to Buddha’s advice.
Let go of last year’s pains. We can’t change the bumps in the road already traveled, but we can learn what paths to avoid and ways to re-route. Ponder the events and ways of coping that were less than productive and consider it as feedback for improvement.
Don’t anticipate catastrophe. As parents, we are but one of the variables from whom our children learn to navigate their world. Other variables include school leaders, peers, and independent exploration of their environment. (Phew, it’s not all on us!) One of the most important gifts we can give our children is learning to manage our own anxiety. We can keep our own worries in perspective by asking the following questions of our “worst case scenarios”:
- How likely, really, is this worst-case scenario to occur? 100%? 40%? 10%?
- How bad could this scenario be if it were to occur?
- Can we handle that?
Plan wisely for preschool: We can help our kiddos plan wisely by instilling rules, role-playing situations, and encouraging reasonable expectations.
Good rules to enforce with food allergic kiddos include:
- always read food labels;
- ask an adult before eating food that was not provided by your parents or other designated adult;
- whoever is responsible for you should be aware of your food allergy;
- wash hands before and after eating;
- wipe surface before eating;
- be prepared with a stash of “safe” food; and
- always have epinephrine auto-injectors.
Parents can role-play ways to respond to social situations such as the following:
- A friend asks, “Why do you have to eat something different?” Practice answering: “Because I’m allergic to (milk). If I eat that I get sick.”
- Teachers open play dough in the classroom. Practice asking: “Is this play dough safe for me?”
Preschool aged children are all about themselves – they want what they want when they want it. While they may have many complaints about food substitutions and safety precautions, it’s important to reframe comments such as “but it should be this way…” and instead say, “I’d like it to be…” and to echo reasonable expectations such as: “You don’t have to like it, but you have to do it.” Or “Fair does not mean equal.”
Plan wisely for elementary school. When kids reach kindergarten age, we can help them plan wisely by inviting them to ask questions, helping them problem solve, educating their friends, and encouraging them to face their fears.
A favorite word of kids at this age is why. Inviting kids to ask questions increases their knowledge about food allergies, and knowledge is power.
Parents do their kids a favor when they guide them through the problem solving process instead of just giving them an answer. If your kiddo is worrying about sitting at the nut-free table in the lunchroom, ask them about their specific worry.
This is also a great age to guide kids in ways to educate their friends about their allergy. Kids at this age tend to be altruistic; most are willing to help if they know how. Help your child teach peers about their allergy.
Fears at every age are common. Most kids at this age have fears about separation, thunder and lightning, sleeping in the dark, and bodily injury. For kids with food allergies, the fears of separation and bodily injury might be more magnified. We need to practice preparing for reasonable risks and facing our fears. As parents, we need to encourage our kiddos to act with courage to gain confidence over their fears.
And again…exhale. I wish you and your family wisdom and presence this school year.
Posted by Eleanor Garrow |
Our first 2011 Food Allergy Conference in Baltimore on April 2 was a great success, with more than 200 people in attendance.
Robert Wood, M.D., spoke about food allergy management and expressed optimism about current research, Eyal Shemesh, M.D., discussed the developmental stages of living with food allergies, and life coach and author Gina Clowes (One of the Gang) gave attendees tips about parenting a child with food allergies.
There were also sessions from FAAN experts about advocacy issues, sending your child to school with food allergies, and living with food 
allergies as an adult. FAAN Ambassador Who Cares and cookbook author Cybele Pascal (Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook) presented an allergen-friendly cooking workshop to a packed house, and teens enjoyed an entire day of sessions tailored to their age group. Sloane Miller, L.M.S.W., food allergy coach and author (Allergic Girl), along with Clowes, Pascal, and author Elizabeth Gordon (Allergy-Free Desserts) also signed copies of their books. In sum, it was a great day, full of education and bonding.
It is wonderful to see new and familiar faces each year at our conferences. It is very heartwarming to hear how FAAN has helped so many of our families, and knowing that I helped just one person makes my job all the more worth it.
We also had the opportunity to honor several winners of our 15th Annual Mariel C. Furlong Awards for Making a Difference and one of the recipients of the Third Annual Grandparent Awards who were in attendance. They were:
- Richard Wachs, M.D. (MCF Award – health professional category)
- Lauren Eicher, R.N. (MCF Award - school category)
- Burke United Methodist Preschool (MCF Award - school category)
- Marie Pratt (MCF Award - school category)
- Paul Mennett (Grandparent Award)
Our Oak Brook conference on Saturday, April 16, will feature similar presentations, with cookbook 
author Kelly Rudnicki (The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book) leading the allergen-friendly cooking workshop. Rudnicki and Clowes will be signing their books (copies will be available for purchase at the conference or you may bring your own copy). In Anaheim, Pascal and Clowes will be on hand to sign their books.
I hope to see you there! If you haven’t already done so, register for the conferences in Oak Brook, IL on April 16 and Anaheim, CA on June 11.
Posted by Julia Bradsher |
Greetings, and welcome to the first post of FAAN’s brand-new blog! In this section of our website, you’ll hear from various members of FAAN’s staff, who will share their perspective, experiences, and stories about food allergies and anaphylaxis. You’ll notice that the topics will usually fall into the areas of education, awareness, research and advocacy. This is not a coincidence, as those are the mission points that are at the crux of everything we do.
We’ve accomplished so much in our aim to make life simpler for families managing food allergies, and I’m excited to share with you our ambitious plans for the future. In 2011, the 20th anniversary of FAAN, we will continue to work diligently to educate the public about the severity of food allergy and provide the food allergy community with tools and programs that it deserves.
Next month, I’m pleased to report that FAAN will honor some very special individuals and corporations who have gone above and beyond on behalf of people with food allergies at the Los Angeles Honors Gala. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (Corporate Leadership), Kristy Villa, host of “The Balancing Act” on Lifetime Television (Media), Campbell’s (Corporate Advocacy), Kendall Hollinger (Teen Hero), Brian Hom (Family Advocacy), and Melanie and Tom Staggs (Family Leadership), will be honored during this event on Feb. 10. Tickets are available through our Events website.
I’d also like to let you know about a great educational program that will be unveiled this year. FAAN was commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) to produce an instructional DVD to help schools and parents manage food allergies in the school setting. This video will be available on our website, and will likely be part of a larger DASH toolkit that can be used by schools across the nation to help manage students with food allergy.
Also in 2011, we will open Camp TAG (The Allergy Gang), a camp where kids with food allergies can just be kids. I’m really excited about this one-week camp, which will provide children with food allergies and their siblings with a safe environment to meet new friends, learn more about food allergies, and just have a lot of fun. The camp will be staffed with trained parent and teen counselors who “get it” when it comes to food allergies, and the curriculum for the camp has been approved by FAAN’s Medical Advisory Board.
In closing, we are very excited about our programs and initiatives for 2011. We welcome your feedback. Please call or write if we can be of help to you or your family.
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