Case Study

The ELC of Santa Rosa County received a Warm Line call about a two year old who was banging her head in the child care center. The Inclusion & Infant Toddler Specialist visited the child the next day and observed the behavior first hand. It turns out the child had been placed in several centers, but was constantly having to be transferred because the centers had difficulty dealing with the outbursts. The parent was desperate to return to work but each time she did, she was called many times during the day regarding her child’s behavior. As the calls increased, the employers were angered and the parent had difficulty working. Initially, the parent seemed resistant to addressing the child’s behavior but later she was willing to look for some possible solutions. The Inclusion & Infant Toddler Specialist suggested the parent consider a smaller childcare program and also made a referral to Early Steps for additional assistance. The child eventually received early intervention speech therapy in her childcare setting and the coalition provided on-site technical assistance to the new childcare facility. The mother continued her employment and stated that the provider was a life-saver for her family.