MedicAlert Kids helps kids learn that living with a chronic condition doesn't mean having to sit on the sidelines.
With the support of the CIBC Foundation, IVARI, Arthur and Audrey Cutten Foundation, Alice and Murray Maitland Foundation and MedicAlert subscribers and donors, Medic Alert is addressing unseen inequities experienced by children living with chronic health conditions, physical disability, or mental health challenge. Often these children are isolated and excluded from recreational activities at school meant to enrich their academics and their lives. MedicAlert Kids is improving the well-being and mental health of children living with chronic conditions with early intervention and engagement of the whole school community to ensure children can participate fully and safely, knowing help is there in times of emergency.
Take Joshua, a curious, energetic, funny and cheeky 9-year-old. Joshua loved to build, create and figure out how things work. But unlike most boys his age, he had a special condition called pulmonary atresia, a complex heart defect and a form of epilepsy that leaves him unable to speak during a seizure.
One day at school his teacher noticed he was unusually quiet and appeared to be crying.
"In her mind, he wouldn't tell her what was wrong, but in reality, he just couldn't tell her,” says Laurie, Joshua’s mom, explaining that his seizures are localized and don't present as a typical seizure. "She got down close to his level and asked him again what was wrong. He pointed to his mouth and pointed to his bracelet.”
Thank to his MedicAlert ID, Joshua’s teacher identified he was having a seizure and immediately got him the help he needed.
For children, parents and educators alike, MedicAlert is a game changer. MedicAlert IDs identify critical health conditions and link to a secure digital health record with all the child’s relevant health information.
With 30% of children living with a health condition severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities, many parents live in fear. In a 2023 survey, 86% of parents of kids with chronic conditions fear that something serious could happen to their child at daycare or school and almost half of parents lacked confidence in the school’s knowledge of their child’s condition and the school’s ability to handle a health emergency. And for kids, living with chronic conditions, disabilities or life-threatening allergies often results in social isolation and exclusion from school and recreational activities meant to enrich their academics and their lives.
Now MedicAlert’s S.A.F.E Program (Students Assisting Friends Everywhere) is creating safer, more inclusive environments for children at school. Developed in partnership with educators, parents, medical and mental health professionals, the new curriculum, offered in grades one to six, teaches children with chronic conditions how to speak up to be included and supports teachers with tools and resources to build the skills and confidence needed to include children with chronic conditions safely.
S.A.F.E. teaches empathy and support across the students’ peer groups. Key objectives are to improve health literacy and provide peace of mind to parents knowing that with heightened teacher, peer and community awareness, signs and symptoms of emergencies will be recognized early, and appropriate actions taken to avert the need for interventions.
Just one year in, S.A.F.E is already delivering results. In an evaluation conducted by the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA), educators, students, and parents all reported increased confidence in their ability to manage a child’s chronic condition—emotionally and physically—within their school communities.
With four open-heart surgeries and five cardiac catheterizations, and a stroke that resulted in a form of epilepsy that leaves him unable to speak during a seizure, Joshua has been through a lot in his life. MedicAlert and the new S.A.F.E program are equipping children like Joshua, their teachers, fellow students and First Responders with the skills they need to support safe and active involvement in all school activities.
MedicAlert Kids currently serves more than 39,000 vulnerable kids including 21,697 children in Ontario. The S.A.F.E. curriculum pilot program is currently offered in partnership with 27 Ontario school board representing more than 1,800 schools. To learn more visit MedicAlert Kids | MedicAlert Foundation Canada.
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