Challenges for Children with Special Health Needs at the Time of Transition to School

Abstract

In this chapter, the transition from pre-school to kindergarten for children who need assistance with developmental/physical disabilities or chronic illnesses (children with “special health needs”) will be discussed. Services available during this transition are often inadequate to facilitate a successful school entry among children with special health needs. Administrative challenges involving multiple services agencies and differences in philosophy of pre-school and kindergarten service providers reduce the continuity of services during transition. While there are numerous strategies in place to facilitate the transition process, parents have reported many barriers to a smooth transition. These include lack of communication with staff at school, lack of preparation of education professionals, late and inadequate levels of service provision. Several service recommendations have been proposed to address these barriers, whose effectiveness remains largely understudied. Additional studies are needed to examine the role of diverse strategies in achieving successful transition.