For some practitioners it is the adult relationships that are difficult.  Navigating adult personalities and work styles can be tiring and irksome especially when you are trying to meet the needs of several small children all at the same time.  Although we can quibble and quarrel with our colleagues, we must maintain healthy and appropriate relationships with families at all times. Professionals understand that children do not exist in a vacuum.  They come to us from a deeply complex context that includes their families, their communities, and the larger sphere of their cultures.  Ensuring that all parents feel welcome and included in their children’s program is the job of the teacher and/or the director.

The first and maybe most important way to commit to a culture of inclusivity is to have an “Open-Door Policy” and to make sure that families are aware of it.  It is equally important that if a family member does “drop in” that you make them feel welcome.  Over the years, I have been in programs that have official open-door policies on paper, but in reality they don’t make families feel welcome.  If you are going to talk-the-talk, you have to walk-the-walk.

Most families will not drop in or stop by primarily because they can’t.  Their children are in child care because the parents have to work so it is not realistic to think that you will have a program filled with random adults.  You won’t.

So how do you encourage volunteer participation in your program?  Some programs require a minimum number of volunteer hours throughout the year through fundraising or classroom participation.  Others have no requirements but invite families to participate when they are able.  You should also pay attention to the fact that different families have different access to resources.  Some people have some money. Some people have some time. Some people have some skills. Some people have extremely limited resources but they have an interest in being involved and they simply don’t know how.

Tap into those resources and use them wisely.  Help the families with limited resources to find ways to be included.  Invite them to arrive 15 minutes early so they can read with their child before work.  Orient families to the program and communicate with them while they are there.  Help families whose home language is different than English to feel welcome by inviting them to participate in activities that don’t require a lot of speaking or reading and writing.

Most of all, don’t get in the habit of continually inviting the same people over and over.  You may end up with a group of volunteers who feel like they are overworked, and a group who feel increasingly disenfranchised from the program.

The first thing to remember when serving a family that includes a child with special needs is that that family may need more emotional support and understanding than other families.     Because we work with children who are still so young, it may be possible that the family is still coming to terms with their child’s diagnosis and learning how to cope with the long-term ramifications of their special need.  They may still be looking for support networks and special services available to them. They may still be trying to understand the laws that will protect their child.  They may need help navigating all of this.

It is also crucial not to judge parents who may still be “wishfully thinking” that this situation might go away.  Rather than thinking that they are “in denial,” remind yourself that hope is a powerful emotion and parents are entitled to it.  Allow them the time they need to let things unfold as they will.  Nothing that you say, will change the course of events that are to come.

Child care providers should develop their own set of trusted resources that can be passed along to parents, as needed.  Create a “Community Resource File” that includes local specialists (speech, OTs, PTs), Family Advocates, Pediatricians, Dentists, Tutors, Testing Centers, etc. , so that you have the information on hand, just in case you need it.

Remember, some parents may have already had a series of interactions with professionals before meeting you.  They may already feel overwhelmed and under supported.  You can change that by reaching out, without judgement, and offer a supportive hand as they negotiate this new terrain.

Today, I thought I would share the definition of “Human Diversity” that Harold Washington College developed for Assessment purposes.  It took ages for us to come up with the exact wording that was both inclusive and broad, as well as current and cohesive.

It reads…

Human Diversity is defined by such things as: age, citizenship, education, ethnicity, gender, health, language, marital status, national origin, political beliefs, physical attributes and disabilities, race,religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other differences in cultural expression and tradition.