TLC by the Sea Presentation for 2015.

1. Barbara Anderson PhD
Marisa Hilliard PhD
Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
Houston, TX

2. Diabetes is demanding.
 Complex, unrelenting, expensive.
 Behavior is the foundation of diabetes care, yet not the
only influence on blood glucose (BG) levels.
 Parents often feel out of control of BG levels, yet hold
themselves 100% responsible.
 Arguments about diabetes are exhausting.
 Worries and fears can be all-consuming.

3. The demands take a toll.
Distress
Frustration,
conflicts
Burnout
Feel
overwhelmed
Burden Exhausted

4. You are not alone.
 Distress and burnout happen.
 Every family has some diabetes conflict.
 Keep an eye out for early signs:
 Feeling overwhelmed, no control, you can’t keep up
 Down mood, pessimistic outlook
 Sense of “giving up” or losing motivation
 Irritability, more arguments about diabetes
 Exhaustion, fatigue
 Feeling alone or isolated

5. But you can live well with diabetes!
Developmentally
appropriate parent
involvement in
T1D management.
Less family
conflict about T1D
management.
More teamwork.
Better T1D
management.
Lower A1c, higher
quality of life.

6. What is “living well” with diabetes in your
family?

7.  What do we enjoy doing?
 What are we good at?
 What is going well in diabetes care?
 How can we build on what is going well?
 How can we use our strengths for diabetes?
Find your strengths. Use them.

8.  So many influences on blood glucose numbers.
 Punishing numbers  “Blame and shame”
 Most control over diabetes management behaviors.
 Catch your child being good!
 More is going well than you might think.
 Praise diabetes management behaviors:
 More likely to happen again
 Create positive atmosphere
 Develop confidence, feel ownership
Praise behavior, not numbers.

9.  You do not “pass” or “fail” diabetes
 Major changes can be daunting
 Open communication with healthcare
team is key.
 Small changes, one step at a time.
 Focus on behavior goals
 Each step achieved will reinforce
management behaviors
 Celebrate each success!
Set realistic goals.

10.  Diabetes is serious business.
 Also, funny stuff happens.
 Finding humor in stressful situations can be a useful
(and fun) way to cope.
Please share a funny story
with the group or your
neighbor!
A little laughter goes a long way.