Temple Beth Hillel’s Preschool Became A Safe Haven for Food Allergy Families

Resilience And Hope: A Food Allergy Podcast is a brand-new podcast series that tells the story of my journey as a food allergy parent.  My son, Sam, was diagnosed with multiple, severe, life-threatening food allergies at age 1.  His allergies included peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, sesame, and mustard seed along with 13 different environmental allergies.  I made the life-altering decision to seek treatment for Sam from the Tolerance Induction Program™  at the Food Allergy Institute in Long Beach, California when he was 3.  By age 5, Sam graduated from the Tolerance Induction Program™ and entered food allergy remission.  Sam, who is now 12, has since lived a life of complete “food freedom,” eating whatever he wants, whenever he wants, in any quantity he wants with no allergic reaction, including Reese’s peanut butter cups and peanut M&Ms.

Resilience And Hope: A Food Allergy Podcast is a 12-episode series, featuring guests who were instrumental to our food allergy journey.  New episodes are released on a bi-weekly basis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. 

Episode 4, which dropped on March 28, is entitled “Preschool” and features Claudine Douglas, Director of Early Childhood Education at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village.  I enrolled Sam at the preschool at Temple Beth Hillel shortly after his diagnosis.  Claudine played a huge role in our journey.  Claudine has become a champion of the food allergy community over the course of her career, maintaining empathy and sympathy for those suffering from the condition.  As soon as I stepped onto campus at Temple Beth Hillel, I felt warmth and acceptance.  Claudine is a terrific leader.  I will always be grateful for her support.

The episode details strategies and protocols Claudine created at Temple Beth Hillel to protect Sam’s safety while continuing an inclusive environment in the classroom for all children.  Most food allergy parents experience overwhelming anxiety sending their child to preschool, but with open communication, perpetual awareness and pro-active trainings, Claudine fostered a partnership between my family and her staff to help alleviate fears and concerns.  Additionally in the episode, Claudine shares tips on how to select the right preschool for your family and her opinion on why preschool is so important for child development.  Temple Beth Hillel has garnered a reputation in the San Fernando Valley as being a safe haven for food allergy families and has had several children in their preschool who are also patients of the Food Allergy Institute.  More information about Early Childhood Education at Temple Beth Hillel can be found at www.tbhla.org.

Resilience And Hope: A Food Allergy Podcast is co-produced by the Food Allergy Institute, founded in 2015 by Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, a leading clinical academic scientist with five board certifications in transplant immunology, allergy, pulmonology, pediatrics and internal medicine. Samuel Parker Smith serves as Digital Media Producer at the Food Allergy Institute.  The Food Allergy Institute has approximately 300 employees and over 8,000  graduates of the Tolerance Induction Program™ worldwide.  More information about the Food Allergy Institute and the Tolerance Induction Program™ can be found at www.foodallergyinstitute.com. 

 Lesley-Anne Stone is the host of “Resilience And Hope: A Food Allergy Podcast.”  She is a marketing consultant living in Los Angeles with her husband, Dave Malkoff, and two sons, Sam and Casey.