“They are there for my son, who is intellectually and physically developmentally delayed and in need of medical care, and are comrades to my family. Teachers in Annie are invaluable.” – a former user of Annie home care for children with disabilities.

Raising a child for the first time is fraught with anxiety.

How do you raise your child, especially if your child needs medical care? What about your job? You can’t leave your child in daycare ……? Some parents are anxious about this. 

In Florence, we operate Helen , a nursery school for disabled children, and Annie, a visiting home  for disabled children, with the goal of creating a society where all children, regardless of disability, can receive care and where parents can choose to work.

In this issue, we would like to introduce a message from a former user of “Annie ” visiting home  for children with disabilities.

What changes have been made in the lives of your children themselves and their parents as a result of meeting with Annie? Please take a look.

My son was in Annie’s care for about three years until one year ago. Even now, when he  attends a nursery school approved by the municipal government, Annie is his “alma mater” and his homeroom teacher is like family to him.

 

　We  met Annie 4 years ago.

 

My eldest son was born with a low birth weight of 1811 grams and managed to continue to gain weight.  But his gastroesophageal reflux, which causes him to vomit up what he eats, became progressively worse, and his weight stagnated after he was a year old. 

 

  My eldest son was in need of “medical  , so the nursery he  was attending could no longer take care of him.

 

  forced to take turns taking care of my  eldest son, but my  wife was absent from work  without pay because she had exhausted her paid leave. I was at a loss as to whether one of us would have to give up our jobs – that’s when we  met Annie.

 

  didn’t even know the term “medical care” at the time, and I remember finding it by chance  while incessantly googling the words “tube feeding”, “tube” and “nursery”.

 

Still, at first, I was a little concerned about whether they  could care for a child who needed medical care when they were not   or medical professionals . It’s tough even for us, his parents. 

 

But the teachers at Annie’s were so enthusiastic that they were able to dispel those concerns. They  quickly learned the art of medical care, and I found  becoming persons whose  understood my eldest son better than his parents did.

 

One day, While my son was undergoing physical therapy  at the rehabilitation center, he bite the therapist  and I scolded him severely. Maybe I was a little too strict, but he  didn’t look at me for a while.

 

When I told them  that story at the handover, Annie’s teacher left a letter for me that evening.

 

《When does ×× kun (*the eldest son) bite ?　When he  happy. When he  angry. That’s when , he did. Instead of scolding him  for biting , why not praise him  for not bit  when he  happy or angry?》

 

This is my third year in Annie’s care. He  was fortunate enough to be able to transfer to his  current preschool. I wondered if he  would be able to handle the switch from one-on-one childcare to group childcare. As parents, we were quite apprehensive, but the transition went much smoother than we expected.

 

Now, when I pick up him  from   in the evening, I see him playing with the other children.

 

 hat’s because of the days he  went to that preschool for almost a year as an “exchange daycare” with Annie’s teacher as a chaperone. If he  hadn’t had those three years at Annie’s, he  sure he  would have had a very difficult time if he  had just gone to his  current preschool .

 

  there for my  son, who is intellectually and physically developmentally delayed and in need of medical care, and are comrades  to my  family. Teachers in   invaluable.

All children, with or without medical care, are unique in their own way.

Also, depending on child’s  physical and mental status and age, the way in which they express their intentions and the level of care they require will vary.

Because Annie is a one-to-one childcare provider, we carefully consider childcare tailored to each child’s personality and developmental status and do our best to support their growth.

We want to be comrades  for the children’s future by being close to the parents’ feelings, sometimes through trial and error. With this in mind, we will continue to provide childcare in the future.