Tag: disabilities

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Caring for Children with Special Needs from Military Families

Child using reverse walker
Being a child care provider means doing your very best to provide excellent care and learning opportunities to young children, including those with disabilities and other special needs. A recent study has found that child care providers who have experience and training in caring for children with special needs along with typically developing children find it challenging, but also rewarding, to be able to provide such a valuable support to these families.*

Added Challenges for Military Families

Providing valuable support …

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Ways Child Care Providers Can Support Siblings of Children with Special Needs

Girls hugging each other

Child care providers who work with children with special needs may also provide support and care to their siblings. Being the sibling of a child with an identified special need can be challenging to a child. Sibling relationships are unique…and complicated! When one of those siblings has special needs, it adds yet another layer of complexity, even with young children. The loving support of a child care provider can help siblings navigate the complicated emotions of having a brother or …

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Ways Child Care Providers Can Prepare for Enrolling a Child with Special Needs

Infant with cochlear implant

Starting a new school is a BIG event, and not just for the child! Especially for very young children, starting a new child care program is both exciting and worrisome for children and parents, and even child care providers! And this is especially true for children who have been identified as having a disability or special learning need.

If you are a family child care provider, an early childhood teacher, or a child care program administrator, here are some suggestions …

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What Is Inclusive Child Care?

Teacher and preschool girl

In the field of early childhood education, inclusion describes the practice of including children with disabilities in a child care setting with typically developing children of similar ages, with specialized instruction and support when needed. Federal law says that children with disabilities have a protected right to be educated in the least restrictive environment. For many children with special needs, being able to enjoy the experiences and relationships in a child care program isn’t out of reach.

Research has shown …

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Social and Emotional Disabilities and Child Care

Angry todler

As young children grow from infants to toddlers to preschoolers, they learn to interact with other people. Child care providers can play an important role in helping children with social and emotional disabilities be successful, both in early childhood and as they enter kindergarten. Being able to follow directions, play well with others and begin to understand the feelings of others are important skills for all children. These are some of the skills that kindergarten teachers want children to have …

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Adapting the Child Care Environment for Children with Special Needs

Charlotte Cleverley Bisman, a child with prosthetic arms

Many child care providers work with children who have disabilities or special needs. Remember that children with special needs are children first, and have more similarities than differences from children without disabilities. Every child has a unique personality and special skills. Keep your primary focus on each child’s strengths and abilities as you work to make modifications and adjustments.

Making Adaptations to Include Children with Special Needs

Each child is different, and each delay or disability will require different modifications. …

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Social and Emotional Disabilities: Signs of Concern

Boy pouting

Child care providers are often the first people to recognize signs of a social or emotional disability, because they have the opportunity to observe a child in social situations day after day. Remember that most children in child care sometimes have difficulties playing with others, following rules, accepting change, or not getting their way. Some emotional displays are typical, but children who struggle with these issues so often that they become a frequent interruption may need professional evaluation of their …

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Visual Disabilities: Signs of Concern

Baby with cataracts

Child care providers may have many opportunities to notice if a child is having trouble seeing.  Children who are having trouble with their vision may not  focus their eyes well, or may not look directly at people when talking to them. Sometimes child care providers may notice only a few signs of a vision problem; in other cases, they may see many different signs.

Signs that May Suggest a Visual Disability

The following signs may suggest that a child has …

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Learning Disabilities and Child Care

Waffle blocks

Child care providers who include children with special needs may work closely with a young child who has a learning disability. Learning disabilities are problems that affect the brain’s ability to receive, process, analyze or store information. These problems can make it difficult for a child to learn as quickly as other children.

It is often difficult to identify a learning disability in young children, because there is a wide range in what is considered “normal” cognitive development in the …

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Hearing Disabilities and Child Care

Girls using sign language

Child care providers are sometimes the first people to notice that a young child has a hearing problem. Some hearing issues may be temporary like an illness; others may be more permanent.

Being able to hear is important for many aspects of a child’s life — learning to speak, acquiring knowledge, recognizing danger, and communicating with others. Almost all newborns will make sounds like crying, cooing and babbling. They communicate to get their needs met and then move on to …

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