Caregivers Strive to Serve Children with Special Needs (Richmond Times -Dispatch, May 12, 2005) When Miriam Owens sought part-time child care for her preschooler, the mention of her daughter's disability usually halted the process. "We had [day-care] centers that, as soon as they heard the word 'autism,' suddenly there were no openings," said Owens, whose daughter, Sarah, is now 5 and enrolled in a local program. "I [also] didn't find the willingness with private day homes to try to understand how the disability was playing into her hypersensitivity." Dana Yarbrough enrolled her toddler, Brooke, in several child- care programs. In one, she said, the child, who has cerebral palsy, was "left in a stroller, in the corner." Experiences like these aren't unusual for parents of children with disabilities or special needs, child advocates say. Many lead frustrating searches for quality child care, while others give up. "We want our kids to be part of society," said Yarbrough, who serves as the inclusion specialist for the Weinstein JCC's preschool. Yarbrough is also an advocate and community support specialist for parents of children with disabilities through the Partnership for People with Disabilities and Parent to Parent of Virginia. Nationwide, child advocates are recognizing the value of including preschoolers with disabilities in programs with typically developing children. About 8 percent to 15 percent of youths in the United States have disabilities. "Research has shown that children learn from children," said Phyllis Mondak, an early childhood special education specialist with the Virginia Department of Education. "When you have good role models or motivation for wanting to interact with another child, we see a lot of growth from everyone, both the typically developing child and the special-needs child." The Weinstein JCC's preschool, at 5403 Monument Ave., is considered a preschool inclusion pioneer in central Virginia. About 20 percent of the 210 children who enroll in the program each year have a special need, such as autism, developmental delays or Down syndrome. The 50 children with special needs attending this year are believed to be the most enrolled in a private preschool program in the metro area, local inclusion officials said. "What the children are here for is not just learning ABCs, colors and numbers," Yarbrough said. "They're here to socialize and to grow into the best possible children they can be." The WJCC's preschool launched a formal effort to secure special- needs training and serve children with special needs in 1996, said Donna Peters, the preschool director. "The first frustration teachers had was, 'I'm not a special education teacher; that's not my background,' " Peters said. They soon learned "every teacher needs to be ready to serve a child with special needs." The WJCC's preschool recently completed a two-year project funded by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities. Preschool staff trained employees of six area child-care centers how to incorporate children with disabilities into their daily activities. Each of those preschools, including the Westminster Canterbury Child Development Center in Richmond and Congregation Beth Israel Preschool in Charlottesville, has children with disabilities enrolled. "We had included children before that, but on a limited basis," said Nan Brennan, director of the Westminster Canterbury program. "Our staff was not completely comfortable." Training sessions with the WJCC and the Partnership for People with Disabilities put the teachers at ease, Brennan said. "We were able to increase the number of children with special needs," she said. Eighteen months later, "we are beginning a program to actively look for children with special needs whose parents are looking for quality preschool." Other efforts continue. In 2002, Vanderbilt University received a $600,000 federal grant to operate a pilot project through which selected child-care providers in 10 states would serve as models of how to be inclusive to all children. The WJCC preschool is the Virginia representative. A grant from the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg has helped the Partnership for People with Disabilities conduct inclusion training sessions for about 20 area child-care centers. The Southside Child Development Center, Sacred Heart Child Care Center, and Humpty Dumpty Day Care are among the participants. While federally funded Head Start programs are required to include children with disabilities and public schools that serve as sites for the Virginia Preschool Initiative are encouraged to do so, more private programs are vital to meeting the need, experts say. "Parents need to feel comfortable knowing their child is going to be cared for so they can do what they need to do during the day," said Mary Lynn White, who coordinates the Partnership's inclusion training project. Donna Sabel, whose son, Cameron, has speech and fine motor skill delays and attends the JCC preschool, agreed. "When you're starting off on this and it's your first child, and you see the child isn't developing on the same path as other children, it can be overwhelming." For more information on home-based or center-based child-care programs where staff have received training from the Partnership for People with Disabilities for children with special needs, call (804) 828-6796. "Preschool Inclusion," a 40-page booklet available through the Weinstein JCC, details how child-care programs can accommodate children with disabilities or special needs. To request a free copy, call (804) 545-8615. Read More from The Reporter »