Would you take on a SN child as a new childminder?

[Ripeberry]

I know we are not allowed to discriminate, but a parent is interested in me having her son for a few hours a day and he has SN and does not talk (a bit of sign language) and he loves moving around non-stop and throwing things.
He is at our local pre-school at the moment and he is assigned a helper and she is run ragged (can't image what its like for his mum).
It's just as a new childminder i'm not feeling confident about taking on a SN child as my first mindee!
It's quite awkward situation as i can't say i'm full.

[Angela234]

My first mindee was my daughter's friends little boy i knew he was a bit of a handfull he turned out very hard work i looked after him for about 2 years he was lovely when he behaved he is now at school with one to one help.

I did have a bit of experiance having a child myself with learning difficulties.

If you don't feel you can give this child the attention/support he needs then don't feel bad saying so.

Angela

[breezy]

If I didnt feel confident about it then probably not, I'm the parent of a special needs child ( physical and mentally) and would totally understand , however it's hard as you cant discriminate, so be honest with the mum, tell her you dont feel experienced enough to take on the child and see how she reacts.

Also talk to your childminding co ordinator and see if they can offer you training or support if you do consider taking the child on.

Bear in mind also that it could affect your ability to care for other children you want to take on.

I hope that makes sense, it is hard and you could have a trial period of some sort.

[Mollymop]

I had only been minding 4 months when E started, she has down's and can't talk well and communicates by using makaton. I had no experience at the time and was worried to begin with that I wouldn't cope, but it has gone really well.
You may get an idea from meeting the child and parents and doing some settling in sessions.
You may find it really rewarding looking after a child with special needs, I know I do.x

[Mollymop]

Sorry hun, I didn't really read all of your post properly.
If you don't feel confident then don't do it hun! Just tell the parent that you don't feel experienced enough yet xx

[gemhei]

Its all about how you feel deep down. If you know a lot about this little boy and feel confident and know where to go for advise or help if you need it then go for it. If you are not confident or you feel you may not be able to cope then personally i wouldnt, dont feel bad as its probs best you didnt rather than take him then have to let him go. Good luck.

[Tatia]

I would take advice from your network coordinator or someone from local Early Years before speaking to parent. It can be so tricky and you don't want to be accused of discrimination. Someone may be able to help you word what you want to say if you do say no.

I have 4 special needs children after school. 2 have severe learning disabilities and limited speech so we use Makaton, 1 has a mild learning disability and talks too much:D and 1 is a baby w Down's. Except for the baby (who is needy because she is a baby, simple as), they're all far easier to look after than my quote-unquote normal kids.