LIVINGLIVING
MY DIABETES KIT
MY DIABETES KIT
KERIE COUTTS There is an established
need for diabetic
children and their
parents/carers to have
social and emotional
support in order to help the family as
a whole to understand diabetes and
its impact on them all. The PPEDS
programme (we'll go into the letters
later) helps children and their parents/
guardians to cope with the range of
challenges and difficulties which they
will face, such as the possibly of being
excluded from activities on account of
their condition.
PPEDS is a charity based in Hampshire
which focuses on helping families cope
with a child being diagnosed with Type
1 diabetes by bringing them to an
environment that lets them focus on the
job at hand, concentrating on caring for
horses - their fitness, their diet and their
overall wellbeing, and thereby learning
about diet and wellbeing for themselves.
It's the brainchild of Kerie Coutts, who
has Type 1 diabetes, and is designed
to help children to settle into what she
sees as 'the diabetes lifestyle', giving
them a decent knowledge base and an
understanding that they are not alone.
Coutts started the PPEDS programme
in 1994, having already founded the
Hampshire Riding Therapy Centre ten
Diabetes education charity
founder Kerie Coutts.