JDRF Presents New Guide for Parents of Teenagers with Type 1 Diabetes

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Oct 31, 2013, 02:15 ET

--JDRF's Teen Toolkit addresses questions and issues most common to teenagers with type 1 diabetes, with advice on issues from behavior and emotions to school and relationships--

NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- JDRF has released a new, comprehensive resource for parents of teenagers with type 1 diabetes (T1D), designed to help address the myriad of questions and issues most common to adolescents ages 12-18 with the disease, whether newly-diagnosed or long-established. The JDRF Teen Toolkit includes valuable tips and information about daily issues – such as mood swings, academic performance, and friendships – as well as more specific challenges – such as driving with T1D and the effects of hormonal changes on blood-glucose control.

"Navigating the many physical and lifestyle changes that take place during adolescence can be challenging for all teens and their parents, but for those with type 1 diabetes, these changes can give rise to many more questions and concerns," says Andrea Hulke, director of national outreach at JDRF. "Written by Moira McCarthy – a mother of a teenage daughter with type 1 diabetes and an active member of the diabetes community – the JDRF Teen Toolkit can help prepare parents and their teens for some of the challenges that can accompany this unique stage of life, and equip them with the information they need to stay as balanced as possible, physically and emotionally. More than anything, we want teens and their parents to feel confident and informed, and to know they are not alone."

The JDRF Teen Toolkit, supported by a grant from Lilly USA, LLC, is now available for free download online at www.jdrf.org/teentoolkit , or parents and guardians can request a print copy from their local JDRF chapters.

About JDRF
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF's goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people's lives until we achieve a world without T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure T1D.

As the largest charitable supporter of T1D research, JDRF is currently sponsoring $530 million in scientific research in 17 countries. In 2012 alone, JDRF provided more than $110 million to T1D research. More than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. In 2012 Forbes magazine named JDRF one of its five All-Star charities, citing the organization's efficiency and effectiveness.

For more information, please visit jdrf.org.

SOURCE JDRF