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Child’s Way® Encourages Families of Children With Special Needs to A.C.T.

Throughout the region, many families are helping their medically fragile children thrive and grow in a variety of environments. At Child’s Way®, The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center’s day care for medically fragile children, families are aided in the care of their children and are encouraged to A.C.T. (advocate, care, and teach) to further enrich their children’s lives.

Advocate. Parents should advocate for their medically fragile children. This can be done by obtaining physician prescribed therapies to ensure consistent physical and occupational therapy and audiology consultation for their children. At Child’s Way, children receive therapies through collaboration with Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Parents can also track their children’s development closely by accessing community services that provide evaluations, such as the Alliance for Infants & Toddlers.

Care. Although medically fragile children require more care than typically developing children, this care encourages families to go above and beyond for their children. Families should take time to ensure that their children are given the same educational foundation as typically developing children. Families are encouraged to talk about colors and letters with their children and read to them for 20 minutes each day. At Child’s Way, children participate in circle time each morning with trained child care associates, where they sing, read stories, and create craft projects while pediatric registered nurses take care of their medical needs.

Teach. The strongest networks families with medically fragile children can have are with each other. Families are encouraged to talk with each other to help minimize stress and lessen the feelings of being alone in raising a special needs child while at Child’s Way. Families should also get involved with community education by participating in awareness events and by talking to others in the community about the needs of their children.

As Child’s Way continues to offer support to families in the Pittsburgh area, The Children’s Home hopes that families throughout the entire region will continue to A.C.T. for their children. For more information about The Children’s Home, visit www.childrenshomepgh.org or call (412) 441-4884.

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For more articles, download the Summer '10 issue (PDF)