In my role as a consultant and also as a parent, I have had many conversations over the years with school administrators and parents regarding school accommodations.  One point that continually comes up regarding this is the concept of “eliminating all allergens”. Schools don’t feel comfortable guaranteeing 100% allergen-free space because they don’t want to be held accountable if a stray allergen accidentally makes its way into the classroom. Unfortunately, this is sometimes used as a reason not to provide accommodations at all.

I’ll hear a statement like: “Well, we can’t guarantee that the classroom will be 100% free of (fill in the allergen) therefore we can’t monitor snacks brought into the classroom.”

Because my daughter’s has multiple allergens, I never felt that peanut-free applied so we have always had a different type of conversation.  A nut-free school or nut-free table never worked for her.  So our conversation centered on what can be done to minimize the risk of a reaction.  In life, there is no such thing as 100%, and parents of children with food allergy understand this lesson better than anyone.

So the next time someone says, “We can’t guarantee that the classroom (lunchroom, school, activity)  will be 100% free of allergens.”

Try changing the conversation.

Say, “I’m not looking for 100%.  There is no such thing as 100%.  But we can work together to put in place some common sense measures to help reduce the risk of a reaction and to allow my child to fully participate.”

I have found that this is a concept everyone can support.