Program & Services

Children with Special Needs

Finding good child care is hard. It is even harder to find good child care for children with special needs. The special needs label covers a wide group of children, including normal children who need special help and children who are severely developmentally or physically challenged. What comes next is a starting point that can help you figure out your needs and guide you to more resources.

Normal but difficult

Difficult children are hard to handle. They may show the following:

• Bad tempers
• Very aggressive behavior
• Problems with routines and change
• A lot of negativity

They may have a hard time with things other children find easy. For example, a child may get overly angry when a favorite shirt is lost. Whatever it is, a difficult child can be very hard to handle in a group care situation. The child can quickly alienate an in-home caregiver. Many day care centers say no to difficult children.

Make sure to factor your child's behavior into your search at the start. Deal with issues head on to save you time later. Talk with the caregiver about your child's behavior. Choose providers who will work with difficult children and make sure the provider has experience. It is good to ask a provider how he or she may handle a situation. Be part of any procedures that are supposed to help your child in his or her care situation. Be prepared to make changes at home.

Children with learning disabilities

A learning disability affects a child in many ways. It causes problems with the ability to process, read and understand what is going on around him or her. It can be very mild to very bad and most of the time it can be helped. Early detection is key.

How to detect a learning disability

Learning problems are often not noticed in a very young child, but signs can become apparent by the time your child is three or four years old. Your child may:

• Start talking later than other children.
• Have trouble finding the right words.
• Not be able to follow instructions.
• Have problems sitting still.
• Display poor behavior with peers.
• Show a lack of physical coordination.

By the school-age years, learning problems are easier to notice. Your child may:

• Have problems understanding letters and sounds.
• Confuse simple words.
• Mix up numbers and letters.
• Have difficulty following easy directions.
• Be impulsive and lack planning skills.
• Have very poor handwriting and/or have trouble holding a pencil well.
• Be unable to understand time.
• Speak more slowly than peers.

This list of the items above only show that there could be a problem. If you think that your child may have a problem, keep a record of his behavior and ask yourself the following questions:

• When does the behavior happen, alone or in a group?
• Where does the behavior happen, in the home, in the care situation or at a friend's house?
• What other things could be a factor, peers, family members, hunger, anger and/or fatigue?
• How often does the behavior happen, every day, once a week?
• How long does the behavior last, a few minutes, 30 minutes?

Ask your child's caregivers or teachers make notes of what they see. Their notes will help provide a full picture. A month of taking notes will help you decide if your child should have special testing. This is the only way to confirm a problem. Your child's doctor is another great way to monitor progress. Also, vision and hearing tests may find problems. Please note, any stress in your child's life may cause temporary problems that may seem like something more.

How to get testing

If you think that your child needs to be tested, ask your public school. You have a legal right to ask under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Your care provider or someone at the school may say your child should be tested. This can be upsetting. You may not think there is a problem, but take the information as just a suggestion. You know your child. Your consent is needed for the testing.

Contact special education at the school for testing. If your child is under three, ask for additional information on programs to help. If your child goes to a private school, you are still allowed free testing at the public school. Make all requests in writing and keep copies.

The school will have the child assessed when a request for testing is made. It will be determined if testing is needed. If they don't think testing is needed, and you think it does, you may ask for the following:

• An informal hearing by other professionals to air your concerns
• An evaluation by a private doctor at the school system's expense
• An administrative review of the assessment process
• A due process hearing if no resolution can be obtained at the school level (this is a last resort)

What happens when testing

A doctor will meet with you if testing is needed. You will be asked about the following:

• Your child's birth
• His or her physical development
• His or her motional development
• Your family's history that fits the situation

Then plans will be made to have your child tested.

School-age children will meet with a doctor several times during testing. A session may last from two to three hours. Children first grade and younger will have shorter sessions. Your child will be tested in the following areas:

• Language, reading, writing and math understanding
• Auditory processing
• Visual processing
• Memory
• Physical coordination

These tests are not meant to be scary. It is important talk to your child before the test. Let him or her know what will happen. Make sure the child knows he or she is not in trouble. Explain to your child that these tests are just to help him or her learn more easily.

Test results... What's next?

Your child's tests will be scored and a diagnosis made. If your child in diagnosed, a team will work with you to create a plan. This plan generally has two parts, a clear description of your child's problem and a set of steps to help him or her grow.

A meeting with this information needs to take place within 90 days of the initial request for testing.

Testing may not show a problem. If this happens, other things are looked into and recommended. You can also challenge the results.

It is very important for the parent to support the child in this situation. Your confidence in him or her is very important to create a life that is positive and fulfilling.

Children with handicaps

Children with handicaps is the largest group of children with special needs. It is also the hardest for which to give specific advice and information. Communities using state support are required to develop programs for children with special needs.