Quality Child Care for Children with Special Needs
Find Quality Child Care for Children with Special Needs
When it comes to finding child care, every parent wants and needs the absolute best care for their child when they can’t be there themselves. This means that parents are looking for a caregiver or program that is nurturing, safe, responsive, engaging, challenging, and is a positive learning environment with a good child to teacher ratio.
Parents of children with special needs are not alone when it comes to finding the highest-quality child care for their child. In Georgia, parents can contact Quality Rated at (1-877-255-4254) for resources and referrals. Additionally, you can contact your local school district and early intervention program for resources and help as well as ask other parents for assistance.
These are some basic indicators of quality that every parent should see and listen for when visiting potential child care programs, and more can be found in the “More Information” links below:
Is the program licensed and Quality Rated?
Are the children happy and being comforted by staff?
Are staff trained in early childhood education and receive ongoing training?
Is there a developmental focus to the activities going on?
Does the space look clean, bright and well cared for with lots of books and creative play areas?
However, for parents of children with developmental delays or disabilities, finding a school that fits your needs best requires a few more questions and indicators to ensure that your child is in the right program:
What are the guidelines and procedures for including children with special needs?
Are there special accommodations you will need to make at your program to include my child?
How will my child be introduced to the adults and other children?
What do you consider “special needs?”
How will my child be included in special activities and field trips?
Are therapeutic services such as occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT) and speech therapy provided on site, if possible?
Is the facility physically accessible for my child and accommodates adaptive equipment?
Do you have anyone on staff that hay special training, skills or experience with children with special needs?
More Information: