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具有特殊需求的幼儿家庭

Children with special needs are members of our communities, programs, and families, and it is our responsibility to provide high-quality, inclusive support for these children and their families. While these families often experience additional situations and stressors, they have hopes, dreams, and concerns for their children just like other families. You can positively impact families of children with special needs by empowering them with knowledge, empathizing with their feelings, and collaborating with other support professionals in their lives.

Working with Families of Children with Special Needs

与家庭建立有意义的关系是您在提供优质家庭儿童保育方面的工作的关键部分。万博体育下载官方网站有些孩子们将以已知的特殊需求进入您的家庭儿童保育，其他家庭将万博体育下载官方网站得知他们的孩子在您的照顾中有残疾或延迟。符合条件的儿童的家庭诞生三人可能会收到早期干预，并有一个individualized family service plan（IFSP）;虽然，三岁及以上的儿童可能会获得特殊教育服务，并有一个individualized education program(IEP). Others may only receive support from a medical center, and some families will be involved with multiple systems of support. Regardless, families can be overwhelmed by what feels like a constant flow of suggestions and appointments to help their children learn and develop. These families may need more help supporting their children and may turn to you for assistance with connecting to services or agencies outside of your family child care. It may be helpful to be familiar with outside agencies so you have up-to-date information on how to make a referral and the types of services offered. Positive interactions with families and other providers can decrease families’ stress and improve their well-being.

When families are working with other providers and agencies, you may be asked to collaborate to create consistency between the support children receive in all the environments they spend time. Working with providers from outside agencies helps things run smoothly for families and ensures that all providers and caregivers in children’s lives are communicating. This lessens family stress by reducing the need for primary caregivers to act as the in-between messenger of important information.

The first step to establish strong relationships with families of children with special needs is to spend time discovering their wishes and concerns for their children and to learn about the meaningful activities they participate in at home. Maintaining this communication throughout the time that a child is in your home is very important. Ask questions to learn about strategies that work at home and consider using them in your family child care home. At the same time, share your thoughts about children’s strengths and if there are concerns. Before initiating conversations with families about concerns, reflect on ways you can communicate using family-centered practice. Be prepared for families to react in a variety of ways and know how to support families if they choose to take specific steps or contact outside agencies for support. Ongoing communication with families and the supportive professionals in their lives creates consistency and helps children develop and meet outcomes more quickly.

In your collaboration with families acknowledge and respect their strengths and unique background, while accepting their ability to make decisions that are right for them. This means that when family wishes and decisions are different from what you would recommend, you will respond to the family’s decisions with respect. Ultimately, meaningful communication and relationship-building will enrich the process for both you and families.

看看以下准则，反映了以家庭为中心的实践。你可能会记得其中一些来自课程。然后，考虑其中哪一个可以在您的工作中使用有特殊需求的儿童家庭（Turnbull，Turbiville，＆Turnbull，2000）：

• Recognize the family as a constant in the child’s life; caregivers and service systems may come and go.
• 促进家庭和专业人士之间的合作。
• 荣誉和尊重各个方面的家庭多样性（文化，种族，种族，语言，精神和社会经济）。
• 认识家庭优势和家庭可能用于应对的不同方法。
• 在持续的基础上与家庭成员分享无偏见和诚实的信息。
• 鼓励家庭到家庭的支持和网络。
• Acknowledge and incorporate the developmental needs of the child and other family members into your practice.
• Design and implement services that are accessible, culturally and linguistically respectful and responsive, flexible, and based on family-identified needs.

See

观看这段视频，听到家庭幼儿专业人士分享他们与各种特万博体育下载官方网站殊需求的儿童家庭合作的经历。

Working with Families of Children with Special Needs

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There are many ways you can demonstrate respect and consideration for families of children with special needs in your family child care. Consider the following:

• 承认家庭最好地了解他们的孩子，并询问他们有关可以帮助您更多地了解他们孩子的服务或资源的问题。
• Establish ongoing communication between home and your family child care program. Communication journals are a great way to maintain communication. These are usually sent home with the child and returned the next day. Providers can share noteworthy observations or events, and families can respond to those or share their own news or reflections. While communication journals can be used with families of all children in your family child care home, they can be an especially valuable tool in establishing consistency between home and learning environments for children with special needs.
• 将儿童的书籍纳入家庭图书馆，反映了对多种能力和差异的考虑。
• Invite families to talk about their children with special needs. For example, a family member may come into your home and talk about their child’s use of adaptive equipment (e.g., braces, wheelchair, a communication device). The family member may explain the use of equipment, which can help children and other families understand aspects of their life. This also promotes acceptance of differences and creates an inclusive environment.
• Be a team player! Work collaboratively with families and other professionals who may be involved in the delivery of services to children with special needs.

If disagreements or miscommunication arise, consider the following:

• Remind yourself that your role is to support families’ hopes and dreams for their child.
• 要有耐心。与特殊需求的儿童交易可能有时挑战，家人需要时间以自己的步伐导航这一体验。
• Avoid making judgments about families and their children (e.g., “They just don’t want to see what’s wrong; they think their child is perfect.”).
• 考虑困难时期作为建立自己和家庭之间的信任的机会。
• Question your assumptions about working with families of children with special needs and urge other professionals you know to do the same.
• 与您在与家庭合作的任何方面有疑问，与您的教练，教练或家庭育儿管理员谈万博体育下载官方网站话。