In order to help diabetic children manage their illness, the ACADIA association offers them assistance dogs.
- Every year in France, 2,200 children under the age of 15 develop type 1 diabetes.
- “Young diabetics and their families face many constraints that can make their daily lives difficult: constant monitoring of their blood sugar levels, social difficulties, lack of autonomy, risk of medical complications,” explains the ACADIA association.
- ACADIA’s primary objective is therefore to improve the daily lives of diabetic children by making their lives as easy and pleasant as possible through the olfactory abilities of dogs.
The ACADIA associationthe only French assistance dog school for diabetic children, details its objectives during a week of training.
Each year in France, 2,200 children under the age of 15 develop type 1 diabetes, which corresponds to an increase in cases of 4% per year. “It is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood,” explains ACADIA. “Young diabetics and their families face many constraints that can make their daily lives difficult: constant monitoring of their blood sugar levels, social difficulties, lack of autonomy, risk of medical complications,” continues the institution.
Diabetes in young people: what are assistance dogs for?
ACADIA’s primary objective is therefore to improve the daily lives of diabetic children by making their lives as easy and pleasant as possible through the olfactory abilities of dogs. “Assistance dogs are trained to detect variations in blood sugar levels and thus raise the alarm in advance of a crisis,” we learn from the members of the non-profit organization. “The parents and the young patient can then move to safety to inject insulin or resugar. This helps avoid a severe hypo/hyperglycemia crisis, discomfort, discomfort or even a coma”they add.
“Complementary to existing medical devices, the dog watches over its partner like a guardian angel day and night, providing security, comfort and physical activity,” they also congratulate themselves.
Diabetes and assistance dogs: training offered
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, ACADIA also organizes training for those close to them and for sick children. “These few days allow families to get to know each other and learn to live with their new four-legged companion. In tutoring with the educators, they work on the process of training the dog,” details the association. “The training takes place in a different space each day, allowing families to get used to traveling with the animal in various public places such as shopping centers, restaurants, parks…”, she describes.
The ACADIA association is also developing a scientific study to assess the quality of life and state of health of young diabetics accompanied by an assistance dog. “This research is carried out by a multidisciplinary team of professionals including researchers specializing in medicine, veterinarians, psychologists and statisticians,” list the activists. “The central objective of this investigation is to verify whether the presence of a assistance dog has a positive influence on families with a young diabetic and to understand the mechanisms.” they finish.
