Special Stories Publishing

The Bravest Girl In School
This book has been designed to help young children with diabetes to appreciate the importance of taking their insulin injections and being aware of what they eat.

By Kate Gaynor
Illustrated By Aileen Murphy

Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition characterised by high blood sugar levels. It occurs due to a lack of insulin in the body, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar.

Type 1 diabetes: This is most common in people under 30 and often appears in early child hood. People with type 1 diabetes are unable to make their own insulin and therefore must be treated with insulin injections.

Type 2 diabetes: This is more common among older people where the body can in fact produce insulin but cannot use it correctly. This type of diabetes can be controlled with correct diet and medication.

As young children commonly suffer from type 1 diabetes it is necessary for them to receive regular injections of insulin. In recent times pen devices have made it much easier for children to inject their own insulin under parental supervision.

Using this book

Although parents are of course primarily responsible for the care of their childs diabetes, it is important that the children themselves are aware that they too must take some responsibility. This book encourages children to follow the instructions given to them by their doctors and parents, to eat healthily, and to see their insulin injections as something brave that they do, that other children cannot! Instead of viewing diabetes and their daily injections as something negative, the story encourages them to think of it as something that sets them apart from their peers in a positive way!

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Welcome

Diabetes

Using this book