Our Child and Teen Diabetes Education Program specializes in infants, children and teens with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and those who are at risk of developing diabetes. Our team consists of clerical staff and volunteers, physicians specializing in diabetes and adolescent mental health, diabetes educators including nurses and dietitians and a social worker. Your child and family are the most important part of the diabetes team. The team will work together to provide care with respect, integrity, excellence and compassion. Our patients come first in everything we do.
Referrals
Participation in our program is by physician referral.
The Paediatric Diabetes Education Centre (DEC) at NYGH is now using Ocean eReferral to accept referrals. Using eReferral will allow us to efficiently communicate directly with you about the status of your referral.
Faxed referrals are still accepted, however do have a longer processing time compared to Ocean eReferral. If you would like to instead fax your referral, please fax it to 416-756-6329.
Our program includes individual teaching, counselling and support for children and teens with diabetes, their families and/or caregivers. We have over 150 families in our program, with many children using insulin pumps to manage their blood sugars. We are able to test HbA1c (90-day average blood sugar) onsite and are a certified Assistive Devices Program (ADP) centre that will help you get government funding to cover some of the cost of insulin pump supplies.
Your family is starting a journey that will include many changes both now and as your child grows to be a healthy, responsible young adult. Our team is here to assist you and your family through the many ages and stages of diabetes management. Our goal is to guide you in achieving everything that a full life, without limits, includes for you and your family.
At diagnosis, a minimum of 8 hours of education in the first 3 weeks is required for families to learn about managing diabetes. Family members, close friends or caregivers are welcome to join you at any appointment with a physician and various members of our multidisciplinary team.
Clinic days run on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon or 1 to 3 p.m.
We recommend patients attend clinics in person or virtually at least once every 3 months.
When you arrive at the clinic, please check in with the clerk at the reception desk.
Kids grow and experience different stressors, moods, and conditions that play a role in diabetes care. It is important for children and families to attend follow-up visits regularly, so our team can help identify and manage changes as they occur. At each visit, we will address topics like:
Blood glucose monitoring
How to prevent and treat hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): symptoms, risk, management
Insulin doses and blood sugars: pattern management and insulin adjustments
How to eat well as a family
Physical activity
Coping skills
Group classes are also offered on carbohydrate counting and sick day management. It is mandatory for each family to attend the sick day sessions once per year.
Topics we will cover over the first few weeks include:
How to test your blood sugar: we will provide you with a blood glucose meter, a prescription for test strips, as well as a demonstration of use and time to practice
How insulin works and how to take it: please bring your insulin to the appointment
How food affects your blood sugar: how to keep eating all the foods you love
The benefit of exercise and how to safely participate in all activities
What to do when you’re sick or feeling unwell
After initial education, your clinic visits will be a minimum of once every 3 months with the diabetes team (nurse, dietitian, social worker and physician). You can expect each clinic visit to be up to 1½ hours in length from your scheduled appointment time.
You will have access to your nurse and dietitian educators Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. via appointment, telephone, email or fax
Our social worker is available on Mondays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Access to a paediatric diabetes physician on call for urgent medical situations only, outside of scheduled clinic visits
Resources will be provided, as well as contact information for the team so you feel continuously supported and connected.
Please be on time for appointments.
We understand things come up, unexpectedly. If you are unable to attend, please call to cancel with as much notice as possible. Please let us know if you require an interpreter. We will do our best to arrange one for your visits.
Please bring the following to each appointment:
Your blood sugar records
Your blood glucose meter
Food records (if requested by the dietitian)
An up-to-date list of your medications/insulin doses
Please ask questions and always let us know if you do not understand. Diabetes is a new language and lifestyle that takes time and effort to get used to. You won’t learn it all in your first visit and you’ll need practice to become confident in managing your ‘new normal’.
Currently, there are three insulin pump companies available in Ontario: Insulet Omni Pod, Medtronic and Tandem. You may be eligible for funding through the
Ontario government’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP). When your child is interested and ready, our team will complete an assessment to review the criteria. Our team members are certified pump trainers and highly skilled with the various pumps available in Ontario. We are also trained in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. We are happy to help answer any questions you might have about insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring, as well as the funding process.
The NYGH Child and Teen program has opened a transition clinic run by endocrinologist Dr. Vikram Chandurkar. The clinic supports young people, aged 17 to 23 years Dr. Chandurkar will be working alongside the nurses and dietitians from the Child and Teen program, who you are already familiar with and are familiar with you, helping to ease the transition to adult care.
The transition program will cover topics such as:
Expected changes
Coping skills
School challenges and accommodations
Insurance
Personal matters
Driving with diabetes on board
Our staff is here to assist you in the decision making process when choosing an adult program. Please call our reception at 416-756-6923 for booking or more information.
Videos
The following three videos were created with the help of the Canadian Diabetes Association and St. Michael’s Hospital in partnership with various health care providers from across Canada and people living with diabetes who currently use insulin:
Sick day review group sessions are held monthly at the clinic. We expect each family to attend a review group once per year. Teens above the age of 15 are encouraged to attend the sessions with their parent(s) or guardians. The following resources will be provided at sick day sessions:
Programs to meet other people living with Type 1 diabetes:
I Challenge Diabetes: a charity that creates opportunities for people living with Type 1 diabetes, of all ages, to improve their lives and enjoy the outdoors.
Riding on Insulin: empowers, activates and connects the global diabetes community through shared experience and action sports.
Diabetes Hope Foundation: a not-for-profit organization that help families struggling with the financial and emotional challenges of children living with diabetes through core community health programs.
