Day care for handicapped children: Can we stimulate mainstream service through a day care-special education merger?

Abstract

Mainstream day care services are not widely available to parents of handicapped children. By merging special education services (assessment, individual educational programs, and services by specialists) into day care activities, handicapped children can receive education as well as care with their normally developing peers. This article describes child placement, staffing patterns, and teaching formats that enable caregivers to use routine day care activities as teaching opportunities for handicapped preschoolers. The resulting model of service is cost efficient relative to the costs of self-contained service.