Special Needs Children Need Parents With Special Skills

Thousands of children each year are diagnosed with various disabilities. These numbers continue to grow as the rise in multiple birth increases. Parents who have children with special needs know that education begins at home. Often these complications make learning a difficult task. These special kids need parents who have the skills to advocate for them. It is very true when educating children with disabilities or special needs that education begins at home. Here are some learning tools and tips for parents of children with special needs before the start first grade.

If you notice any major developmental delays consult your medical doctor and have him refer you to a specialist in whatever area your child needs help.

Make sure your child is properly diagnosed. Most often a specialist will need to assess your child several times, in various locations and with different people.

Be informed of the various types of disabilities and the qualification of the specialist who is doing the testing. Here is a brief summary of disorders.

1. Mental retardation: slower development
2. Speech and Language: expression and comprehension impairments
3. Physical Disabilities: visual, motor problems or other conditions
4. Emotional Disabilities: behavior and social difficulties
5. Learning Disabilities: sense and message distortions

Don't wait too long. Some parents think their children will grow out of these debilitating conditions and put off diagnosis and treatment. This could be a fatal educational mistake for your child. For children 2 & under you may want to wait until they are in preschool.

Attend parenting classes that help you establish a basic timetable to monitor your children's developmental achievements and needs.

Help your child learn long before school becomes a battleground.

• Learning sign language at an early age may help some children improve their speech and learning disabilities over time.
• Be sure to take time to play and read with your children each day even if it's just for a few minutes.
• Recognize and monitor the signals that tell you something is wrong. Parents should have a basic understanding of age-appropriate developmental milestones (Mental, Verbal, Social/Emotional and Physical)
• Share all the information with the professionals who are working with your child. Clear and specific records could increase the accuracy of your child's diagnosis.
• Don't waste time blame yourself or others. Your child needs your undivided attention. Focus on solutions and not just the problems.
• Know the laws that protect your child's educational rights. Contact state agencies such as the school board, state government, support agencies.