When I first posted the ways that ADA helped children with disabilities I left some words that seemed very vague highlighted. I have now been able to see a little bit more about what these words are really meaning.
Child care homes and centers must make reasonable modifications to their policies and
practices to integrate children with disabilities into their program unless doing so would
constitute a fundamental alteration of the program.
Centers must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services needed for effective
communication with children with disabilities, when doing so would not constitute an undue
burden.
Centers cannot exclude children with disabilities from their programs unless their presence
would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or require a fundamental
alteration of the program
Reasonable modifications mean changes that can be carried out without much difficulty or
expense. This is individual to each program depending upon nature of the modification, cost and
resources of the program. Examples include a change in policy or procedures, removing physical
barriers, staff training, providing adaptive equipment.
Auxiliary aids and services include a range of devices or services that help people
communicate. Examples are using sign language, interpreters, large print books, or other
communication equipment. Hearing aids are excluded.
Undue burden means changes that would result in significant difficulty or expense to the
program.
Direct threat means the child’s condition poses a significant threat to the health or safety of
other children or staff. Providers must evaluate children on an individual basis and cannot
determine risk based upon their own personal assumptions.
After seeing these explained I would really like to know who makes the decision of whether or not the modification it "too much of a burden" or "too expensive" There seem to be many ways that centers could easily get out of making modifications in order to admit a child with a disability into child care.
