Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) classes empower you to make day-to-day decisions about your child’s care. Our goal is to give families like yours the knowledge and skills needed to be the front-line managers of their child’s diabetes. With help from you and your family, your child with diabetes can enjoy a normal childhood and adolescence

The Diabetes Center offers DSME classes on an outpatient basis. These classes can provide you and your child with:

• Increased knowledge about diabetes
• Better problem-solving and self-management skills
• Improved health outcomes
• Help in eliminating fears surrounding diabetes
• Lowered blood sugar levels
• Fewer absences from work and school because of issues with diabetes management

All DSME classes are taught by Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs), who are licensed healthcare providers specializing in educating people with diabetes about their condition. CDEs are a part of the larger team at Children’s Hospital’s Diabetes Center.

The center’s DSME classes are designed to benefit:

• Caretakers who need to know basic safety skills in caring for a newly diagnosed child
• Newly diagnosed families who are ready for the next step towards advanced home management
• Patients transferring care to CHOP’s Diabetes Center
• Families who need a refresher education course after years of living with diabetes
• Families interested in transitioning to another type of insulin management program, for example the insulin pump
• Teens who are going off to college or who are taking more ownership of their diabetes care