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Caring for Children with Disabilities
01/05/2009
Local students participating in Special Care Sitter course designed to teach skills necessary for babysitting a child with special needs
INDIANAPOLIS - Teenagers from Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet School will soon be learning a new language: children first, disabilities, second.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., seven students will be participating in the Special Care Sitter course presented by Riley Hospital for Children. Special Care Sitter offers training, resources and information on providing babysitting care for children with disabilities or special health care needs.
Finding a sitter qualified to care for a child with disabilities can be daunting for parents. Special Care Sitter introduces teens to disabilities and disability awareness, medical and adaptive equipment, communication techniques and varied activities for children with disabilities.
Clarian and the Indiana University School of Medicine partner with Crispus Attucks to offer courses that help prepare students for the medical field.
"Students who have taken our Special Care Sitter training may become physicians, nurses or therapists and work with children with disabilities or other health care needs," said Christina Rogers, BSW, CMC, Strong Families program manager at Riley Hospital for Children. "Special Care Sitter’s focus on the child as an individual first, is at the heart of any health care profession."
Special Care Sitter is open to teenagers, ages 13-16, who have graduated from a Safe Sitter program or other comparable babysitting program that teaches life-saving techniques, first aid, rescue breathing, emergency care for a choking child and basic child development.
For more information on Special Care Sitter, please contact Riley Hospitals’ Community Education and Child Advocacy department at 1.888.365.2022 or visit www.rileychildrenshospital.com/kids1st.
About Riley Hospital for Children As one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals and Indiana’s first and only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital for Children, a part of Clarian Health, has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families for 85 years. Each year, Riley Hospital and Riley Hospital at Clarian North serve over 215,000 inpatients and outpatients from across Indiana, the nation and the world. Riley Hospital’s partnership with Clarian Health, and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine, makes it the only comprehensive clinical resource for Indiana’s children and the premiere source for health-related information for their parents. From simple care associated with the health and wellness of children and less complex specialty care to the most critically-ill and medically complex cases, Riley Hospital for Children is a national leader. Clarian Health operates the Methodist Hospital, Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children campuses as a single hospital under Indiana law. Visit www.rileychildrenshospital.com for more information.
CONTACT:
Margie Smith-Simmons
317.962.4085 (o)
317.312.4348 (p)
msmithsi@clarian.org