Broadwater Public School

You might not know that our school has 1 student living with type 1 diabetes. This is because they look like every other person, but they have an important difference. People living with type 1 diabetes have an autoimmune disease that means they cannot produce their own insulin. You can’t catch type 1 diabetes and it’s not caused by lack of exercise or too much sugar.

It occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Everyone needs insulin to live.

People with type 1 diabetes require up to 6 insulin injections every day. They also need to check their blood glucose (sugar) levels up to 6 times a day (by way of a finger prick) and carefully monitor their food intake and exercise regime daily.

If their blood glucose level drops too low (commonly referred to as a “hypo”) they require a quick dose of sugar to prevent them going so low they go into a coma.

Type 1 diabetes is difficult to manage. It is with you for life as there is currently no known cure. Every day 7 more Australians are diagnosed with this disease, most of them are children. There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes, but scientists are working on it. 

JDRF Australia supports research to cure, treat and prevent T1D. We’re

working hard to find a cure, while also finding ways to improve the lives of people with T1D right now.