Preventive Health Care for Young Children with Disabilities
If current trends continue, our children may be the first generation in U.S. history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. A major part of the reason is in that picture to the left. When we asked early childhood staff their recommendations for training in preventive health, the first topic they suggested was nutrition. Eating healthy is a major concern for all children, especially given the epidemic of obesity in America. Ask anyone who ever quit smoking how hard it is to change a habit. Healthy eating habits are established young.
There are several reasons that attention to nutrition is even more important to young children with disabilities. Children with mental disabilities may have trouble making the correct decisions about what to eat or how much to eat. Children with health impairments such as diabetes or food allergies may be limited in the kinds of food they can eat. Children with physical impairments may have difficulty chewing, swallowing or feeding themselves. Children with disabilities may require less, or more, calories than the average child of their age. Given the complicating factors of disabilities in what a child may be able to eat, do or need, where do you start?
As with any other area of early childhood education, we recommend you start with the child. A child with a disability is first of all a child. the next page includes resources for teaching children about healthy eating.
