T1D Parenting: Why Type One Diabetes Care Must Include Sensory Healing

Diabetes care isn’t just medical — it’s sensory.

In today’s video, I’m diving into an often-overlooked truth about Type 1 Diabetes: our children don’t just learn about T1D through instructions, numbers, or routines. They learn through sensation—through touch, smell, comfort, connection, and the way their bodies feel throughout their day.

According to Ashly Montagu's book Touching: The Human Significance of Skin, as humans, our earliest understanding of the world is shaped by our senses. And for children with T1D, every part of their care—CGM changes, finger pokes, insulin, alarms, even hospital environments—creates a sensory relationship with their bodies and their diagnosis. When we ignore this layer, our kids may internalize fear, discomfort, or disconnection instead of confidence and safety.

In this video, I share our family’s journey from trauma and DKA recovery to a more sensory-aware approach to T1D care. I talk about the moment I realized I was treating my son like he was on an assembly line of tasks and checklists—and how integrating play, touch, presence, and “sense education” completely transformed how he experienced his body and his diagnosis.

Relying on what journalist and artist Sue Jay Johnson calls "sense education," this video details:
✨ How children use sensation to learn about themselves
✨ Why sensory experiences shape a child’s relationship to T1D
✨ How DKA and hospitalization can impact a child’s sensory world
✨ What “sense education” is and how to use it at home
✨ How play therapy, connection, and parental presence support healing
✨ Why our emotional state teaches our children how to feel about T1D
✨ Practical ways to model touch, warmth, safety, and body awareness

If you’re a T1D parent who wants to understand your child beyond glucose numbers and carb counts—this video is for you. There is so much more to raising confident, emotionally steady kids with Type 1 Diabetes.

Healing begins at home.
And when we learn to engage our children’s senses with care and intention, we open the door to deeper resilience, trust, and joy.

💛 If this resonates, let me know in the comments:
What sensory experiences have shaped your child’s relationship with T1D?

——
More resources & coaching
Visit my website: https://www.jessicaturcat.com/

Subscribe for more T1D parenting support:
✓ Trauma-informed T1D parenting
✓ Play-based therapy at home
✓ Emotional + developmental tools for T1D families
✓ Real life with toddlers and Type 1 Diabetes

You’re not alone, T1D family — we’re in this together.