Daycare.com Forum
Parents and Guardians Forum>Need Help With Talking To A Parent....
Ms. Jo 08:44 PM 10-12-2011
I teach in a 3 yr old class in Daycare. This is my 3rd week in this class..so I am new to the parents. There is a child in my class that has some Autism characteristics. I need some suggestions on how to talk to the parent or what to do.....
Michael 08:47 PM 10-12-2011
Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum! I've upgraded your status. You can post freely now.
We have a lot of threads on Autism: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=autism
We have a lot of threads on Autism: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=autism
Cat Herder 09:04 PM 10-12-2011
I'd start by scheduling a conference with your Director or Educational Coordinator.
There is a chain of command issue, typically, with this.
There is a chain of command issue, typically, with this.
permanentvacation 11:54 AM 10-13-2011
Yep, first, tell your director your concerns - not the parent! If your director gives you permission to do so, then you can talk to the parent about it. But if you express your concerns to the parent first, and the parent gets upset, then complains about you or takes their child out of the daycare, trust me, you will be looking for a new job soon!
In the centers that I worked in, I quickly learned that we - even the director- NEVER said anything to the parents about us thinking their child was slow, had disabilities, or anything like that. Partly because we are not doctors, psychiatrists, etc. and can't diagnose a child and partly - in my opinion mainly because the director didn't want to take a chance on upsetting the parent and losing the child.
I personally think that anyone who has worked with children for a decent lenghth of time should be able to tell and inform the parents that the child isn't performing on a typical level and suggest that the child be evaluated by a professional. I think some parents especially 1st timers don't know what is typical at what ages and some parents simply don't notice or don't want to admit to themselves that their child is slower. But if it is brought to their attention properly, they might actually look into having the child tested and getting help for the child. I think that it is part of our job and therefore should be required of us to bring things like that up to a parent. However, since you work for someone else, you need to ask your director how they want you to handle your concerns.
Same thing goes for physical delays/issues too. My sister had a child who walked a bit funny. She monitored the child's walking for a while and informed the parents about what she noticed. It turned out that the child's one hip was a bit higher than the other hip. The doctors actually performed surgery on the child's hip and put the child in a body cast from the chest down so the child could heal. After the body cast came off and some rehabilitation to teach her to walk again from not being able to do so because of the cast, the child was able to walk just fine. But if my sister had worked in a center, she would have had to let the director know of her concerns and let the director decide whether or not to mention it to the parent.
In the centers that I worked in, I quickly learned that we - even the director- NEVER said anything to the parents about us thinking their child was slow, had disabilities, or anything like that. Partly because we are not doctors, psychiatrists, etc. and can't diagnose a child and partly - in my opinion mainly because the director didn't want to take a chance on upsetting the parent and losing the child.
I personally think that anyone who has worked with children for a decent lenghth of time should be able to tell and inform the parents that the child isn't performing on a typical level and suggest that the child be evaluated by a professional. I think some parents especially 1st timers don't know what is typical at what ages and some parents simply don't notice or don't want to admit to themselves that their child is slower. But if it is brought to their attention properly, they might actually look into having the child tested and getting help for the child. I think that it is part of our job and therefore should be required of us to bring things like that up to a parent. However, since you work for someone else, you need to ask your director how they want you to handle your concerns.
Same thing goes for physical delays/issues too. My sister had a child who walked a bit funny. She monitored the child's walking for a while and informed the parents about what she noticed. It turned out that the child's one hip was a bit higher than the other hip. The doctors actually performed surgery on the child's hip and put the child in a body cast from the chest down so the child could heal. After the body cast came off and some rehabilitation to teach her to walk again from not being able to do so because of the cast, the child was able to walk just fine. But if my sister had worked in a center, she would have had to let the director know of her concerns and let the director decide whether or not to mention it to the parent.