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I think its a disconnect on both sides. Providers have a hard time understanding what it is like to raise a child with special needs and finding care for them. Parents of these children have a hard time seeing what it is like for a provider trying to care for a child with special needs, along with up to 11 other childen.
As a teacher who has had to incorporate children with special needs into a daily schedule with lots of other kids, I can tell you that is not easy and it really requires more than one adult. If that isn't possible, times that by two. If the child is agressive, times it by four.
A large group of kids, lots of noise, color and movement, and a high-energy schedule is often too much for special needs kids. But its unfair to diminish the environment for everyone else. Special needs children may need one-on-one assistance at many points during the day, but that can cause the other children to receive an unfair share of provider's time and attention. If the child is violent toward other children, its unfair to put those children at risk to be harmed.
The other children's parents trust that their children will receive the same quality of care that the child with special needs receives. To me, its more unfair to those families to get a lesser quality of care, than it is for the family with the special needs child to be asked to find other arrangements. It isn't about "giving up" on the child, its about giving up an arrangement that doesn't really work for anyone.
I do get that its difficult to access services for autistic children, but trying to sneak them into care without disclosing the fullness of their issues is an effort in futility, because it will backfire at some point.
As a teacher who has had to incorporate children with special needs into a daily schedule with lots of other kids, I can tell you that is not easy and it really requires more than one adult. If that isn't possible, times that by two. If the child is agressive, times it by four.
A large group of kids, lots of noise, color and movement, and a high-energy schedule is often too much for special needs kids. But its unfair to diminish the environment for everyone else. Special needs children may need one-on-one assistance at many points during the day, but that can cause the other children to receive an unfair share of provider's time and attention. If the child is violent toward other children, its unfair to put those children at risk to be harmed.
The other children's parents trust that their children will receive the same quality of care that the child with special needs receives. To me, its more unfair to those families to get a lesser quality of care, than it is for the family with the special needs child to be asked to find other arrangements. It isn't about "giving up" on the child, its about giving up an arrangement that doesn't really work for anyone.
I do get that its difficult to access services for autistic children, but trying to sneak them into care without disclosing the fullness of their issues is an effort in futility, because it will backfire at some point.
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