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Program Offers Opportunities For Children With Special Needs

Catherine McKinney

Nov 17, 2005 -- A new after school care  program for Loudoun County’s special needs children opened this fall at the Sterling Communicty Annex in Sterling.The day care, called Brighter Day Care, is a nonprofit corporation specifically designed to address the special needs of autistic, development- and language-delayed children and children with behavioral difficulties.

Owner Ann Finan said that many of her students were kicked out of other day-care programs because those facilities were not equipped to meet their needs. Brighter DayCare is designed for elementary school children ages five through 12, and works with special needs children, parents and teachers to develop the skills necessary to function in the classroom.

“I was a special education teacher for over 15 years, and I would go to meetings where parents would just be in tears because they have nowhere to put their kids after school while they’re still at work,” Finan said. “I decided that I needed to do something. We needed someplace to put the kids where they can be stimulated and have fun, and where there are experienced staff members that can help them.”

Eligible students must be enrolled in the Loudoun County Public School System and must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

The after-school program is also specifically focused on individual children, providing a specialized program for each child based on observations by Brighter DayCare teachers in a school setting and review of the child’s IEP. With this information, Brighter DayCare is able to create an after-school program specific to each child’s needs.

“We try to make it easier for the parents and for the kids,” Finan said. “Right now, we have four students and we’re licensed for eight children,” Finan said. “It’s kind of our pilot program to see if something like this is needed in Loudoun County.”

According to Finan, the public school system has 4,000 special education students. In the future, she hopes to expand her corporation to better serve children with special needs in Sterling and Ashburn, but she claims class sizes will remain small, containing only eight children in a “pod.”

Parents who enroll their children at Brighter DayCare will receive daily reports everyday, detailing what the child accomplished. In-depth progress reports will be sent home quarterly. Parent-teacher conferences are also available as needed. An experienced special education teacher and an assistant are designated for a pod of students, encouraging individual attention for each child.

Activities at Brighter DayCare encourage the children to learn, play and explore while reinforcing their IEP through musical therapy, art therapy, and a theme-based curriculum. In addition, age-appropriate field trips will also be offered throughout the school year.

“Our license says we’re a therapeutic after-school care, but I don’t think it’s really that, aside from the physical therapy,” Finan said. “I think they didn’t really know what to call us. We’re the only after-school care like this in Virginia.”

Probably more popular than the program itself is Mulligan, the three-year old half-border collie, half-golden retriever therapy dog. Mulligan is helpful for children during physical therapy sessions. He offers encouragement and stimulation while the child performs therapeutic exercises. Mulligan can help with standing, crawling, grasping, pushing, pulling and climbing stairs by obeying orders from the trainer to be mimicked by the child.

“Mulligan just got his therapy license last summer,” Finan laughed.

Brighter DayCare follows the same schedule as Loudoun County Public Schools, including during holidays, teacher workdays, early dismissals and cases of inclement weather. The program is held from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.

For more information  call Ann Finan at 703-858-9463 or send e-mail to brighterdaycare1@aol.com. Visit the Web site at www.brighterdaycare.com.