It’s not uncommon for your child to experience a range of emotions after their diabetes diagnosis. You may notice things like anger, sadness, denial or anxiety. You may notice a regression in their behavior and wonder if things will ever feel normal again.

Children often don’t understand the importance of diabetes management and may feel overwhelmed and resentful about the daily tasks of living with type 1 diabetes. You may experience increased meltdowns as your child begins to feel a loss of control.

Children need the opportunity to express their feelings about diabetes. At our office, we offer children the time, tools and opportunity to work through emotions through play therapy. Play allows children to gain a better understanding of their world and the feelings they have about type 1 diabetes. Through play therapy, children are better equipped to adapt to the changes presented by type 1 diabetes. Play therapy has also been shown to help children more effectively manage their type 1 diabetes. As a result of play therapy, children feel more empowered to engage in the educational piece of learning about their disease and its management.