Being a parent of a child with special needs can be a blessing and exhausting. Respite care can help lessen the exhaustion by providing services to your child with special needs. This service provides an opportunity to parents of children with special needs with a break. A respite care employee would work with your child in a one-on-one situation. Services can be provided to your child in the following settings: camp, in your home, daycare, hospital, residential facility, and other community settings. Not only will this service provide an opportunity for your son or daughter to develop skills (i.e. leisure/recreational, functional skills, community skills, etc.), but it will also allow you to have some time to feel renewed.
How Respite Care Helps Children with Special Needs
Respite care can provide many services to your child with special needs. Trained respite care employees can work with your child on the following skills: leisure/recreational skills (i.e. how to access and participate in these activities in the community), social skills, functional academics (i.e. how to purchase groceries, pay to eat out, pay for groceries, etc.), and community skills (i.e. how to use the bus, explore different activities in the community, etc.) in a variety of settings.
How Respite Care Helps Parents
Respite care can help parents in a variety of ways too. This service allows parents of children with special needs to have a break. The multitude of responsibilities that parents of children with special needs encounter on a daily basis can be overwhelming and exhausting. A respite care employee would work with the child while his or her parents go to run errands, interact with family and friends, etc. Respite care can also provide many different options for care during emergencies and stressful situations.
How Do I Start Locating Respite Services?
If you are interested in obtaining respite services, you may wonder what to do next. The first thing that you need to do is contact a respite care provider. This can be done by doing an internet search and type respite care (your state) or look in the yellow pages in your phone book. It is important to know that each state's respite care providers and the services that they provide can vary from one state to another. Another way to locate respite care services is by contacting the following organizations:
How Respite Care Helps Children with Special Needs
Respite care can provide many services to your child with special needs. Trained respite care employees can work with your child on the following skills: leisure/recreational skills (i.e. how to access and participate in these activities in the community), social skills, functional academics (i.e. how to purchase groceries, pay to eat out, pay for groceries, etc.), and community skills (i.e. how to use the bus, explore different activities in the community, etc.) in a variety of settings.
How Respite Care Helps Parents
Respite care can help parents in a variety of ways too. This service allows parents of children with special needs to have a break. The multitude of responsibilities that parents of children with special needs encounter on a daily basis can be overwhelming and exhausting. A respite care employee would work with the child while his or her parents go to run errands, interact with family and friends, etc. Respite care can also provide many different options for care during emergencies and stressful situations.
How Do I Start Locating Respite Services?
If you are interested in obtaining respite services, you may wonder what to do next. The first thing that you need to do is contact a respite care provider. This can be done by doing an internet search and type respite care (your state) or look in the yellow pages in your phone book. It is important to know that each state's respite care providers and the services that they provide can vary from one state to another. Another way to locate respite care services is by contacting the following organizations:
- State Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Departments of Health and Human Services, or Social Services
- Department of Mental Health
- State and local Departments of Education
- State Protection and Advocacy Agency
- The Arc
- National Easter Seal Society
- Parent Training and Information Center
