Almost 110,000 Dutch people have type 1 diabetes, of which an estimated 10,000 are children aged 0 to 19 years. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in the Netherlands. Anyone can get type 1 diabetes. A nasty disease that increases the risk of health problems in your heart, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes. The influence of diabetes on daily life is large, but invisible to many people.
Difficulty with diabetes
Especially during puberty, children and young people become more separated from their parents. During this period, they more often seek support from their friends. Many young people aged 11 to 25 do not tell those around them that they have diabetes. Almost half of them indicate that they deal with their illness without help from the environment. Young people aged 11 to 25 also indicate that classmates do not understand what having the disease means. Nearly 4 in 10 of them are coping with their diabetes without help from classmates. Talking about having diabetes can help. It provides support and understanding from others. As a result, the environment understands that it is more than just measuring blood sugar levels and administering insulin.
Making diabetes a topic for discussion
With the new online escape room Hyper Control, children and young people take on the role of Horace Hyper with type 1 diabetes. They experience what it is like to live with diabetes and what you have to take into account when you go to the amusement park for a day. For example, they have to deal with a hypo (low blood sugar) and learn what to do. Young people also experience that they have to administer insulin if their blood sugar level is high. In this way they understand better how it feels for their friend or classmate to have the disease. With the online escape room, young people with diabetes feel better understood. This can prevent them from feeling left out or being bullied. “I played the diabetes game in 8th grade to explain to my class and teacher what type 1 diabetes is,” says Tessa with type 1 diabetes who tested the game. “This year I also played the online escape room with my new classmates in first grade. They now understand better what diabetes is. They regularly ask how I am doing. I think that’s super nice.”
In addition to the fact that the online escape room makes diabetes negotiable in the classroom in an accessible way, the diabetes game can also be played with family, friends or teammates of a sports association. You play the game in pairs and with at least two people.
By: National Care Guide