It Takes a Village: Helping Families Live With Diabetes
- Deborah A. Butler, MSW, LICSW and
- Margaret T. Lawlor, MS, CDE
Abstract
In Brief
To develop individualized goals of therapy for youth with diabetes, an awareness is needed that diabetes both affects and is affected by normal child and adolescent growth and development, as well as by family functioning and dynamics. However, it takes more than the health care team and family members to succeed at managing a child’s or adolescent’s diabetes. This article offers ideas to empower the families of young people with diabetes through multidisciplinary community support from schools, camps, health care teams, and research-driven programs.
Footnotes
-
Deborah A. Butler, MSW, LICSW, is a clinical social worker and the Pediatric Program Manager, and Margaret T. Lawlor, MS, CDE, is Coordinator of Pediatric Research and Education at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Mass.
-
Note of disclosure: The authors are employed by the Joslin Diabetes Center, whose programs are discussed at length in this article.
- American Diabetes Association
