Family day care is for normal kids: facilitators and barriers to the inclusion of children with disabilities in family day care

RESEARCH ON THE INCLUSION of children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood settings suggests that inclusion has potential benefits both for children with disabilities and their peers. Family day care (FDC) is one form of mainstream early childhood setting that can potentially benefit children with disabilities, which has been under-researched. This paper reports on a study that explored barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of children with disabilities in FDC. The multi-method study gathered perceptions about factors that support and inhibit inclusion of children with disabilities in FDC, from 39 staff and 54 carers from 12 FDC schemes in the Sydney area. Findings related to five areas, including the (1) child, (2) families, (3) carers, (4) schemes, and (5) sociopolitical context, are reported and discussed. Implications for supporting the inclusion of children in FDC are drawn.