So many parents of special needs children are out there just doing their best. In these hard times of financial stress and political chaos, it can feel like the world is on your shoulders. A Florida woman recently spoke out on TikTok after she was given the price for her special needs child to attend daycare. Hearing the impossible price, she knows that her child won’t have the opportunities she wants for them, and it’s heartbreaking.
Dana (@domesticatingdana) shared a video talking about prices for a local daycare for her special needs child. She said that the daycare is “not accessible financially” to her family. The price? A whopping $1,950 a month. That’s more than most people’s mortgages, and certainly more than a lot of people make in one month. She said that, in her area, this is the only daycare that will take her child, who has Down syndrome. She goes on to say that her child has “no major health concerns” and “no mobility issues.”
She said that they won’t take her child at anything less because he has a Down syndrome diagnosis, which feels wrong under any circumstance. She explains that this option is the closest facility to where she works and lives. Dana also mentions that they are a “designated special needs facility in a church basement” and “will not offer any part-time options” for her son. She asks her audience, “How am I supposed to work if I can’t find care for my child?” Too many families face this every day and the inaccessibility is infuriating.
The ADA has made it illegal for a daycare facility to charge higher rates because a child has a disability. This would be discrimination, and that’s not what Dana is accusing them of. However, this daycare is making it clear that they won’t be accessible to many families by charging those prices. When a commenter asked Dana, “How many hours/days would he be at the daycare? That price is ‘insane,‘ she replied, “I only NEED him there 3 half days, but they don’t offer any varying schedules. They only offer full days five days a week.” The fact that they charge a monthly fee and limit when your child is allowed to attend makes it much more difficult.
A daycare staff member shared, “I saw this a lot and it is almost always solely the director’s decision. They do not know how to handle a special needs child so are scared to accept them. A LOT of the teachers would be comfortable caring for your child.” Others gave Dana good advice on some other options she may have as a parent. But in the end, it’s upsetting that many parents have to worry about these concerns in the first place. If the U.S. government wants people to continue to have children, they need to make sure parents have options. They talk a lot about the negative impact of declining birth rates but refuse to accept that too many parents are out here struggling.
