In-home care for children with a severe disability
Posted on: 15 July 2016
For families who have a child with a disability, in-home care can be a fantastic help. It allows the child to have a consistent environment and a stronger relationship both with their family and their carer. Here are some of the ways that having a carer can help support the family.
Allowing the parents to work
In many cases, it is difficult to integrate a child with a severe disability into a daycare setting. However, many parents cannot afford to stay at home with their child because of expenses like extra gap payments for doctor appointments, therapy appointments and assistive devices. Being able to know that your disabled child is being well cared for at home can help you to take on some work and earn extra income to make home life easier. In many cases at home care can be similarly priced to daycare for children with a severe disability, once government rebates are taken into account.
Supporting the relationship with the other siblings and family members
Another less commonly discussed benefit is that, by keeping your disabled child at home, they can form a stronger bond with siblings. Siblings benefit from the physical presence of each other and often enjoy the shared experiences of a home life into their adult years. The normally abled sibling gets to benefit from the extra love and contact, as well as getting a chance to truly appreciate the abilities that their disabled sibling has. Developing this mutual love and empathy is important both in the family and for future relationships with the wider community.
Allowing the child to access appropriate schooling
As children with disabilities get older, decisions need to be made on the most appropriate form of schooling for them. While it can be possible to integrate some children into a mainstream class depending on the disability, other children can benefit from a curriculum at a specialist school which challenges each child according to their abilities. Having a carer available to take the child to a school in another area can reduce the load on parents who may need to take siblings to a school in a different area. This flexibility can help ensure that each child can be educated in a setting that best suits them.
For additional info or questions on care options and services for your disabled child, contact an in-home health care service provider in your area.
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