If you have a child with a disability, you already feel the stress of having to take care of her health, educational and emotional needs. This doesn’t even include having to cope with a drastically lowered income because of reduced work hours or having to pay someone else for childcare.
Have you cut back your hours or quit your job altogether to take care of your child with special needs? Between all the doctor's appointments and the time taken off when he is sick, it’s really tough to maintain a fulltime job. And mostly, even though you know it will be hard financially, you know you need to do what is best for your child.
Have you tried to get In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) for your child with special needs, but you’ve been denied? When you are a parent of a child with a disability like autism or Down syndrome, an IHSS denial can be stressful. You know you need financial help to take care of your child who needs supervision 24 hours a day. You’ve had to cut your hours or you can't work at all because you have to stay home.
As a parent, searching for childcare is tough. You want to find someone who truly cares for your child, who takes his best interests to heart, and who is reliable, devoted, and honest. If you have a child with special needs, searching for someone is even more complex: you may have to ask more questions to find the right person who matches your requirements.
Down syndrome is a disability that is usually diagnosed very early in a child’s life. It is probably one of the most common and visible disability in existence, and there are increased efforts to mainstream children with Down syndrome into society. While all of these factors may make the disability seem less severe than it actually is, many families with a child with Down syndrome rely on financial benefits to survive.