Outside Therapists And Educational Services

[Tigerlilly]

Here is a question for you that I have not seen come up before.

Do any of you have daycare children that receive outside services in your home during the day? Like occupational therapy, speech therapy ect?

[Leigh]

I have 4 kids receiving services at my home right now.

#1: Counseling/play therapy

#2: Counseling/play therapy and speech therapy

#3: Feeding therapy, speech therapy, early learning specialist, Occupational therapy, home health visits (physical therapy discontinued for him, but will probably start again in the future due to health setbacks).

#4: Feeding therapy, speech therapy, early learning specialist, Occupational therapy, home health visits, and physical therapy.

Honestly, as much work as it sounds like, it's not a big deal.

[Blackcat31]

Here is a question for you that I have not seen come up before.

Do any of you have daycare children that receive outside services in your home during the day? Like occupational therapy, speech therapy ect?

This has come up several times on the forum....

Some providers are very involved in that type of thing and allow anyone connected to a child's development into their program/homes whereas other providers see it as a disruption or an attempt to push this responsibility off onto the provider.

While I don't think there is any one right or wrong way to approach it, whatever choice is made needs to be acceptable and comfortable for everyone.

Personally, I don't ban it all together but don't welcome them in either as it's a major disruption to our day and most of the times parents have wanted someone to visit here it was simply because it was easier for the parent so I've always said no but can't say I will always say no.

It honestly depends on the situation but so far in 2.5 decades, I haven't had a single situation where I was the last resort and had to host a therapist etc... here.

Some other threads about this topic

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79788

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83370&highlight=speech+therapist

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74573&highlight=speech+therapist

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71181&highlight=speech+therapist

[Snowmom]

I have had requests before.

The way I have handled it:
1. I ask if the service provider ASKED to observe during daycare.
2. If the answer is no- then my answer is no. If the answer is yes, then I request the name and phone number of the provider so that I may confirm and settle the conditions I am ok with.

My conditions:
1. The business/practitioner must be licensed.
2. The visit can be no longer than 20 minutes.
3. No more than 2 visits per month and it must have an end date.

[BumbleBee]

Depends on the situation. I've had 2 requests this year for therapy at daycare. 1 I said no, 1 I said yes.

Dcg was approved for ABA therapy. It was 5 hrs a day 4 days a week. I could not accommodate this schedule because they needed a separate area to conduct therapy in.

Dcb was approved for speech therapy 1 day a week for 1 hr. This I could accommodate because while they also needed a separate area to conduct therapy it was 1 hour as opposed to 5.

[Tigerlilly]

This has come up several times on the forum....

Some providers are very involved in that type of thing and allow anyone connected to a child's development into their program/homes whereas other providers see it as a disruption or an attempt to push this responsibility off onto the provider.

While I don't think there is any one right or wrong way to approach it, whatever choice is made needs to be acceptable and comfortable for everyone.

Personally, I don't ban it all together but don't welcome them in either as it's a major disruption to our day and most of the times parents have wanted someone to visit here it was simply because it was easier for the parent so I've always said no but can't say I will always say no.

It honestly depends on the situation but so far in 2.5 decades, I haven't had a single situation where I was the last resort and had to host a therapist etc... here.

Some other threads about this topic

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79788

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83370&highlight=speech+therapist

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74573&highlight=speech+therapist

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showth...eech+therapist

For whatever reason, the search function does not work on my device. Sorry

[Annalee]

The only times occupational therapy was needed for any of my dck, it was for dck that only came 3 days a week (which meant there were two home days the therapist could work with) or because the mom said the dad was embarrassed from the therapy:confused: I told one of these they had to do it at home and I told the other the only time I could work with the therapist was between 6:30 and 7:30 AM. Obviously they didn't take me up on that.....so I did offer but put it with my schedule so it didn't interupt. I haven't been asked any time lately. I have one large room so there is not really a spot for the therapist to be secluded. Licensing told me to be "careful" with each situation to be sure I was in compliance.

[Blackcat31]

For whatever reason, the search function does not work on my device. Sorry

Oh Hey... no worries...

Some one will always help in that department! The tags on the bottom of each thread are sometimes super simple and other times not so easy to connect to the topic but like I said, someone will always help link to other threads...

But still....don't apologize for a topic already discussed... life changes, members change and ideals and approaches do too so everything daycare related worth talking about is worth bringing back up!

[hwichlaz]

I welcome therapists with open arms. I let them know my facility is small and I can not give them privacy, but they can give therapy in my living room. The children aren’t allowed in there after they’ve learned to walk, so it’s usually open for them. I have two kids each seeing 3 therapists a week for an hour at a time. One has Cerebral Palsy and a feeding tube, he is 2 1/2 and cannot walk. The other was a preemie and has microcephaly. She is going to be 2 in a month and is still learning in to hold her head up and control her neck muscles. It’s essential for these two children to have their therapies spread out over the course of a week to maximize effectiveness. And it’s also essential for me, as their main caregiver during the day, to see what is being worked on so I can work on it with them during the day. These two children NEED therapy to be constant nearly 24-7...even if it’s just in the way I hold them to encourage the neck muscles to work etc. It’s only disruptive until the other kids get used to it. I go about my day as if they aren’t here for most of the visit then check in with them at the end to see if I need to update how I’m doing things.

[tenderhearts]

I had one parent ask me about a speech therapist coming to my home and I did not think it was a good idea here, one the other kids get way to hyper when someone else is in the home which would make that child needing the therapy not do well, plus it wouldn't be fair to my family to have someone go into the other part of our home to do the session with the child.

[lovemykidstoo]

I have 1 family right now that has been evaluated and they think he's autistic. They asked if the therapist could come here and see him interact with other kids. I wasn't keen on that because first of all, the kids will not act like they normally act with her here. You guys know how they all act out when someone is here and secondly, can you just let anyone in? What do their qualifications have to be to be around all of the kids?

[Leigh]

I have a (unasked for) reputation for being a special needs daycare. I have a child with cancer, one with cerebral palsy, several with trauma histories (neglect/abuse), others with developmental or social issues. 2 are tube fed, many receive nebs regularly, 2 need daily med administration. I am so involved in the care of 2 of them that I have full access to their medical teams (I have power of attorney to receive information and even make decisions on medical care in their mothers' absence).

I didn't ask for this, but it keeps my roster full and my days usually fly by (they're busy!). I can certainly understand why someone would NOT want this in their lives/businesses, but I am also a foster parent...no such thing as privacy with foster parenting, it seems! I have regular visits from social workers, licensing, food program, anyway, so what are a few more from therapists? LOL.

[Georgiads]

Qualifications

I have 1 family right now that has been evaluated and they think he's autistic. They asked if the therapist could come here and see him interact with other kids. I wasn't keen on that because first of all, the kids will not act like they normally act with her here. You guys know how they all act out when someone is here and secondly, can you just let anyone in? What do their qualifications have to be to be around all of the kids?

You can always ask about their organization and specialty but I would not worry that the therapists do not have appropriate background checks.

I have hosted many providers from Early Intervention and I have never once suspected that they were not able to be around the children, these therapists often visit children in a childcare setting.

If you don't have the space to accommodate it, just tell the parents. Perhaps they can find a daycare center that would be willing to work with them.

I understand how it can feel like you are losing your privacy but if you don't want to deal with it just tell the parents and let them move on to a daycare that will allow the services. It is too important for a child to receive therapy as early and as much as possible, for the child to miss out on the opportunity would be a horrible.

[hwichlaz]

You can always ask about their organization and specialty but I would not worry that the therapists do not have appropriate background checks.

I have hosted many providers from Early Intervention and I have never once suspected that they were not able to be around the children, these therapists often visit children in a childcare setting.

If you don't have the space to accommodate it, just tell the parents. Perhaps they can find a daycare center that would be willing to work with them.

I understand how it can feel like you are losing your privacy but if you don't want to deal with it just tell the parents and let them move on to a daycare that will allow the services. It is too important for a child to receive therapy as early and as much as possible, for the child to miss out on the opportunity would be a horrible.

I totally agree. For a kid that needs multiple therapies a week, spread out for max benefit....one parent would have to quit working to stay home. That’s not realistic in most cases. They need childcare where their child can get the help they desperately need. All of the therapists that come here, also visit kids in state preschool and headstart.

[Unregistered]

Therapists in daycare setting

According to classes that I have taken for our training hours that are required by DHR, you CANNOT separate a child and therapist by putting them in a separate room away from the other children because it's considered as a way for the child to not interact with their peers while the therapist is present.