Child Care Guide For Special Needs Kids

Just because your child has special needs doesn’t mean that he/she won’t benefit from being in childcare, indeed many children with disabilities or learning difficulties have benefited greatly from being away from the home environment.

Not only can your child benefit but you can too, you will get a much needed break because looking after a child with special needs 24/7 can be a drain both mentally and physically on yourself and any relationship you may be in.

The hardest part is finding suitable day care for a child with special needs, the center will have to provide not only excellent normal childhood activities for your child but they will also have to meet the particular needs of a child with a disability.

Special Needs Child Care Requirements

Every child with special needs is different so there are no hard and fast rules when looking for a day care center but they should meet certain basic requirements, things you should consider are:

• The center should include children with and without learning difficulties giving the children a chance to intermingle with each other, this then helps children develop skills such as helping each other. It also helps inspire respect for other’s and helps your child to look past another child’s disability.
• Staff should be trained to provide your child with the specific requirements he/she needs for their particular problem. If your child has special needs due to an illness then staff should be fully aware and able to cope with any situation which may arise from the illness.
• Your child should be able to be independent as much as his/her disability will allow them to be, restriction should only be made for any activities which could harm them or are prohibited by your Doctor. In which case the center should be made fully aware of any restrictions.
• The center should allow for flexibility in activities for example alterations to toys and equipment for children who are visually impaired or in a wheelchair.
• The center should have equipment that will meet the needs of the children for example breathing aids for children suffering from asthma and chest problems. Staff should be fully trained in the use of any equipment.
• Staff should be able to recognise the onset of symptoms of any medical problem the child suffers from, for example a child suffering from chronic asthma, staff should be able to recognise the onset of an attack and know how to deal with it quickly.
• Staff should be able to administer any medication a child may need and know how to reach the child’s Doctor and parent in the case of an emergency.
• The center should be able to cater for children in wheelchairs and accesses to any areas such as playgrounds and equipment should have wheelchair access.

Before deciding which day care center your child should attend it is well worth making an appointment to go and look around the center and ask some of the above questions and see for yourself the range and quality of the care which is available at the center.

Any respectable day care provider will be more than happy to discuss your child’s requirements and suggest any changes or extra training staff might have to undertake if you decide to put your child under their care.

Usually if staff needs special training to be able to deal with your child’s problems then if the center is willing to offer this training to a staff member any costs that will occur as a result will be down to you to cover.

Who Is Responsible For Raising A Disabled Child?

A lifelong debate has been on the topic of who is responsible for caring for a disabled child. Is it the Federal government? Is it the State? Or is it the parents of disabled children? Even though arguments have been made for all of them separately, it is actually a combined effort of all of them coming together that would ultimately benefit a disabled child. Parenting disabled children can be a challenging task but in the initial stages of their lives, raising a disabled child is similar to raising a non-disabled one. The disabled child needs the same kind of love, upbringing and habit forming atmosphere as any other kid would demand. In addition to this, extra disabled child help may be required; such as frequent visits to the hospital, mobility care, special schools and expensive assistive technology equipments. Financial help for this can be obtained from various social security and other benefit programs by the Federal Government, as well as the State. The responsibility of providing adequate education to the disabled child falls on the State until the child turns 18. They must provide appropriate facilities and accommodate transportation needs of the disabled child as much as possible. With the financial factor taken care of, it is ultimately the parents who are always the primary caregiver. They help in raising the disabled child and providing them with all the love and emotional support they can offer.

Disabled Child Help & Support

Raising disabled children can be a very challenging task. Apart from the regular issues faced by parents of other children, parenting disabled children come with their own set of setbacks and difficulties. However, a disabled child deserves just as much attention and care, if not more. In order to help parents of disabled children in their journey of raising their child, many communities and groups have been formed. These groups seek to provide disabled child help to parents of disabled children and hope to form a platform where ideas and experiences can be exchanged in order to help others in similar situations. Some of the commonly known disabled child help groups are:

• Special Child (1): This website is provided by the Resource Foundation of Children with Challenges (RFCC). It is a non-profit, charity organization which forms a community of parents of disabled children who meet there to discuss their life experiences with others. It provides numerous helpful tips on raising a disabled child and also gives information on various types of disabilities.
• Loving Your Disabled Child (2): This community has been formed by parents of disabled children who are keen on helping others in the same situation. They feel that there is not enough emotional, spiritual and educational support available for individuals like them and want to lend a hand out to anyone who needs it.
• Henry Spink Foundation (3): This is an independently run organization which aims to provide as much professional disabled child help and information as it can. Apart from educating parents of disabled children more about the disability, it also provides current information on therapies, surgeries and medication opportunities that are available to help their disabled child.

While we see that disabled child help is available from the Government in many different forms, it is ultimately the parents of the disabled child who must provide and care for them. A disabled child requires emotional support, more than anything else, for them to grow and mature. Help regarding parenting disabled children can be obtained from various organizations which discuss stories of individuals facing similar situations. Reach out and look around, a disabled child is welcomed and supported by several people who know and understand what parents of disabled children go through and are willing to help in any way possible.

References:

1. Special Child
2. Loving Your Disabled Child
3. The Henry Spink Foundation