How to Select Day Care for a Special Needs Child

Children with special needs can benefit from day care just as much as children without special needs. Day care allows children to develop social skills and learn to interact with different kinds of children. Additionally, taking your special needs child to day care regularly can provide you with a much needed break from the physical and mental stress of caring for a special needs child. Before you drop off your child, however, you have to do thorough research to make sure that the day care center you select is suited to your child's needs.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Get a recommendation from your child's doctor, therapist or other parents for an appropriate day care center. Recommendations are the best way to find reputable, safe day care centers you can trust.

2. Select a day care center that allows children with and without disabilities. Special needs children can benefit greatly from interacting with children without special needs and vice versa. You don't want to limit your child to only being able to interact with children who have disabilities.

3. Schedule an appointment to visit the day care center without your child and interview the director and staff. You can only form a solid opinion from seeing the center with your own eyes.

4. Check the center for accessibility issues. Your child should be able to experience and enjoy the bulk of the center's activities, including the playground even if he has mobility limitations. It's important for your child to be allowed to be independent and not locked up because of his special needs.

5. Ask the staff about their training and experience with children with your child's condition. The staff should be prepared to handle and assist your child with his limitations and recognize any early signs of physical or emotional difficulty.

6. Quiz the staff on potential physical emergencies and how they would be handled. The day care center you select should have the necessary equipment and expertise to keep your child safe in any situation that might arise.

Tips & Warnings

• Be upfront about what your child can and can't do. It serves no one to minimize your child's limitations because the day care center will not be able to appropriately prepare to accommodate your child's needs.
• Be prepared to pay costs for the staff of the day care center to undergo special training to handle your child's condition. While many day care centers will agree to the training, most will not pay any associated costs.