Food Allergies and Bullying

It is articles like this that make my blood boil:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesNews/story?id=4659705&page=1

The story features a peanut allergic teen being bullied by classmates. These classmates would put peanut products around her "to see her face swell up". She was repeatedly threatened by these bullies. The school was reluctant to take action and the parents finally filed a 504 Plan to make sure that any threats would be treated as discrimination. Food allergy bullying is on the rise. Again, the key is education. We need to make sure that students and adults understand the seriousness of food allergies. Swift action needs to be taken in the event of bullying. A food allergic child has enough to deal with- anxiety over every bite they take, carrying medication at all times, planning every social outing carefully. The last thing they need to worry about is someone smearing peanut butter on a volleyball in gym class. It starts with the adults and trickles down to our children. We can all be better.

Posted in: 504 Plan,bullying,discrimination