Help for Children with Special Needs
Child Care For ALL Children
What is Inclusive Child Care?
An inclusive child care program is dedicated to giving the best early care and education possible to ALL children making sure every child, including children with special needs, feels welcome and important. Inclusion teaches children and adults great life lessons in accepting others and ourselves as unique individuals with strengths and needs.
Who benefits from inclusive child care?
Everyone benefits from inclusive child care!!
For the child with special needs:
- Being seen as a child first
- Observing and learning from other children
- Learning appropriate social and adaptive skills
- Making new friends
For other children in the class with a child with special needs:
- Learning to accept and be comfortable with the individual differences
- Increasing self-esteem through helping others
- Exploring new ways to be a friend
- Gaining a new awareness and ability to express care and concern
For parents of a child with special needs:
- Feeling that their child is accepted
- Knowing that their child is receiving the same opportunities as other children
- Expanding the variety of social situations for themselves and their child
- Increasing awareness of resources for their children
- Looking at own child's strengths and needs
- Learning about typical development and observing typical behavior so they can continue to offer challenges at home
- Experiencing connections with a larger group of families
For parents of other children in the class with a child with special needs:
- Expanding the variety of social situations for themselves and their child
- Increasing awareness of resources for their children
- Looking at own child's strengths and needs
- Learning about typical development and observing typical behavior
- Experiencing connections with a larger group of families
For child care providers:
- Broadening teaching and personal experiences
- Expanding techniques for individualized activities
- Learning more about available resources
- Increasing opportunities to encourage acceptance of individual differences
Checklist for Parents - How To Choose a Provider that is Right for My Child
- Visit more than one program
- Ask about the provider's training, education and experience
- Observe the caregiver's interaction with the children. Does he or she seem warm, friendly and involved?
- Look at the children. Do they seem happy and involved?
- While you are visiting, talk clearly about your child's strengths and unique qualities
- Tell the child care provider about your child, his or her routine, likes, dislikes, what makes him or happy or sad
- Be honest about what your child needs, including any special assistance, diet or equipment
- Be willing to help the child care provider on your child's team by sharing information from the child's care plan or from any specialists (pediatrician, social worker, therapists) already working with you and your child.
- Be willing to help your provider solve problems that might come up.
- Remember that you know your child better than anyone else. Stand up for your child's rights and trust your knowledge and your ability to share what you have learned about your child.
Greater Houston
Resources
Advocacy
Mental Health Association
of Greater Houston
www.mhahouston.org
Parent Support Programs and Classes in the Greater Houston Region
The Arc of Greater Houston
Parents as Partners in Special Education Program - in English and Spanish. Call 713-957-1600 for more information and schedules.
www.thearcofgreaterhouston.com/
ESCAPE Family Resource Center
Exceptional Parenting Program: parenting class for English and Spanish-speaking parents of children with special needs.
Call 713-942-9500 for more information and schedules.
www.escapefrc.org
Family 2 Family
Get togethers held the first Tuesday of every month. Call 713-466-6304 for more information.
www.familytofamilynetwork.org
Families Can Program/Parent Education Project
Houston Parent Information Network meets the first Monday of every month. Call 713-743-5435 for more information.
http://las.uh.edu/pep/familiesCan.aspx
Parents for Public Schools of Houston
Helps public schools attract all families in a community by making sure all schools effectively serve all children. Visit website for event and conference schedules.
www.parents4publicschools.com/houston
Partners Resource Network, Project TEAM
Training every other Tuesday. No RSVP required. Call 713-524-2147 for more information and schedules.
www.partnerstx.org
Services
Early Childhood Intervention Referral (for children age 0-3)
ECI Care Line: 1-800-250-2246
www.dars.state.tx.us
For children age 3 and older, request an evaluation at the nearest elementary school. In the Greater Houston area call HISD Child Find.
713-867-5220
http://dept.houstonisd.org/studentservices/ChildStudy/Mission/IntakeCenter/purpose.htm
Bay Area Rehabilitation Center – ECI Program
www.bayarearehab.org
The Center for Hearing and Speech
www.oraldeafed.org
Down Syndrome Association of Houston
www.dsah.net
MHMR Authority of
Harris County
www.mhmraofharriscounty.org
Special Education-Region
IV Education Service Center
www.esc4.net
Texas Department of
Health-Public Health Region 6/5 South-Children
with Health Care Needs & Medically Needy
Program
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/region6-5/default.shtm
United Cerebral Palsy
of Houston
www.ucphouston.org
State Resources
Advocacy, Inc.
American Foundation for the Blind-Southwest
www.advocacyinc.org
The ARC of Texas
www.thearcoftexas.org
Attention Deficit
Disorders Association-Southern Region (ADDA-SR)
http://www.adda-sr.org
Brain Injury Association
of Texas
www.biatx.org
Center for Parent Education (University of North Texas)
http://www.unt.edu/cpe/
Coalition of Texans
with Disabilities
www.cotwd.org
The Disability Law Resource Project (DLRP)
www.dlrp.org/
Mental Health Association
in Texas
www.mhatexas.org
National Federation
of the Blind of Texas
www.nfb-texas.org
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Lone Star Chapter
www.nmsslonestar.org/
Texas Association
of the Deaf
www.deaftexas.org
Texas Commission for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
www.txddc.state.tx.us
Texas Information and Referral Network
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/tirn/tirnhome.htm
Texas Parent Teacher
Association (Texas PTA)
www.txpta.org
Texas Speech-Language-Hearing
Association
www.txsha.org
United Cerebral Palsy
of Texas
www.ucpa.org
Services
Epilepsy Foundation
of Central and South Texas
www.efcst.org
Texas Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services
www.dars.state.tx.us
Texas Department of
Insurance
www.tdi.state.tx.us
Texas Department of
Mental Health and Mental Retardation
www.mhmr.state.tx.us
National Resources
Brave Kids
www.bravekids.org
Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies
http://www.umaine.edu/cci/ec/growingideasindex/index.htm
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
www.nichcy.org
National Early Childhood Transition Center
http://www.ihdi.uky.edu/NECTC/default.asp
National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
http://www.nectac.org/topics/menhealth/menhealth.asp
Financial Support
Social Security Office
www.ssa.gov/ |
