My name is Isla and I was born with Congenital Melanocytic Naevi on the 12th December 2016, making me 8 years old at the time of writing this. Today I had my transitioning day at school where I met the teacher who will be teaching me when I go into year 4. I took some booklets into school and my ‘How do you C me now’ book to help her learn all about CMN. This year I chose the ‘Understanding Congenital Melanocytic Naevi’ booklet (which I feature in) and the ‘School support guide’ to give me my new teacher and I have let her borrow my ‘How do you C me now’ book for the summer. I like to take the resources in because they explain what CMN is better than I can, and I feel proud that my picture is in the book and booklet. – Isla Age 8.
Every year, from when Isla first started nursery, we have taken in resources from Caring Matters Now to give to the teacher and any other staff in the classroom to help educate them on CMN. We have always involved Isla in this and as she has got older, she has been the one to decide which leaflets/booklets she has wanted to take in. Transitioning day must be so busy for the teachers and there is so many new faces for them to meet that I feel having the resource pack means they can take them away and read through them at a quieter time. I feel this has been the best approach for us to avoid any awkwardness on the teaches behalf if they notice Islas CMN and feel unsure of how to approach the topic. So far Isla has always taken pride in taking in her CMN pack and I feel this has helped to build her confidence. We always let the teacher keep the booklets with the hope that at some point somebody else might pick it up too and awareness will spread. – Emma, Isla’s mum.
