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Handout 9: Carla's Story, Part I

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Carla Enters a Center-Based Program

Four-year-old Carla and her family are no strangers to Head Start. For a year, Carla was in a home-based program. This fall, Carla will be enrolled in a center-based program for the first time. Carla's family is excited that she will be around other children. After all, she's a friendly, bubbly child, and loves to be around other people. She also loves to be outdoors, especially when there are climbers that she can pull herself up on and wheel toys that she can push.

Carla "eats" with a feeding tube (she can't have any solid food) and uses a tracheotomy to help her breathe. She cannot be around dust or certain kinds of sand because it can clog the tracheotomy She can make speech noises, but she doesn't like to. Mostly, she communicates by using gestures. Carla also has difficulty walking, and she is still in diapers. Carla lives with her mother, father, and two older siblings. When the Head Start director asked Carla's parents what they wanted for Carla, they didn't even have to think about it. Their answer: "We want her to have the same kinds of opportunities that our other children had - to interact and play with other children."

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