Easter Seals Serving DC | MD | VA

This is a review for the daycare services only at Easter Seals in Silver Spring. Our child was enrolled in this program for only a short period of time, so please read this review with that caveat in mind. But, given that so many families struggle with the daycare decision, I decided to post our experiences in case helpful to others. We enrolled our child after going on a tour. During the tour, there were only a few children in the room where our child was placed. However, when we dropped him off that number had grown. I understand this was from a decision to grow our particular program. So, before you commit, I would suggest that you back again and observe the room where your child will be placed. When you sign-​up, you commit to a pay for 30 additional days after leaving. This was a very expensive mistake for us. I would say that the teachers are great and seem to really love the children. It’s an inclusive center, which is spectacular. The teachers really do work extremely hard to keep up with the demands and needs of the children. However, with the number of children, especially when speaking about infants where the ratio is 1 teacher to 3 infants, that can be rather difficult. Before we removed our child from the program, I spent two afternoons observing the interactions in my child’s room. Again, the teachers are spectacular, but it is just impossible to hold three infants at once. So, if your child is not crying or needing something, then they are relegated to a rocker or are placed on the carpet on the floor. I was worried that my child’s personality would change artificially to draw the attention of his caregivers. More crying = more attention. Note, this doesn’t include the time when one teacher goes to lunch or takes a break, then a substitute teacher is supposed to be in the room. However, I suspect that attrition is an issue. We received notice that a few teachers left or gave notice while our child was at the center. So, it could be that a substitute was not available because on more than one occasion, I observed that a teacher had more than three children assigned to their care. They really do try to keep everything very clean at the center, but it is inevitable that viruses will spread from the use of common toys, rockers, etc.,. And it seemed that one or two children were constantly coughing or had runny noses. I will add that the parents seemed involved with the center, which is great. One teacher told me privately that the teachers were having difficulty with management. Again, that was only one teacher and these are my observations from a short but very expensive interaction. I’m positive that there are others that would speak highly of this daycare not to mention the incredible services that this center provides to the community. I would say check it out for yourself, but I would make sure you do your due diligence. We didn’t and paid for it.

*****Respite Event Review*****
I love coming to Easter Seals to volunteer for their Respite Events! One Saturday every month Easter Seals provides families and/​or caregivers with a 4 – 6 hour break from their children. The families enrolled in this respite program have at least one child with a disability or special need. Each volunteer is paired with a child (that either has a special need or is typically developing) for the day.
The coordinators of this program do a fantastic job organizing in-​center and out of center field trips. From holiday themed arts and crafts to face painting to scavenger hunts to reading and story time to playing on the Wii, the children are never bored because there’s always plenty to do. I enjoy going on the field trips the most. My favorite so far was the MD Science Center and Pump It Up (great place to be a kid again!). No need to drive anywhere either as Easter Seals provides the transportation for you. Love how the program provides snacks and (usually) lunch for the volunteers. You burn a lot of calories watching the kids, so you’ll need all the fuel you can get.
I’m usually exhausted by the time I get home, but it’s definitely worth it. I’ve never encountered a parent who wasn’t grateful that this program existed, so it’s great to be able to provide them with some me time!