History

History of Special Care

Special Care opened its doors in 1985 to provide high-quality early childhood education, specialized care, and on-site therapeutic services to children with and without special needs.

Co-Founders, Pam Newby and Joe Dan Trigg, responded to community need and opened, Special Care, the only organization of its kind in Oklahoma, specializing in serving children of all abilities. Special Care remains the only organization of its kind in the state of Oklahoma and is one of only a handful in the nation with comparable missions.

Special Care has grown from serving 12 children to now over 200. In November 2006, Special Care added an autism therapy clinic in response to the growing number of children on the autism spectrum participating in our program—a number which over the past several years has significantly increased.

In 2013, Special Care gained accreditation from AdvancED, and is a certified private school through kindergarten. Special Care is also accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and a proud United Way Partner Agency.

Since opening, Special Care has also trained approximately 7,000 childcare professionals and practicum students from Oklahoma and surrounding states in the skills of caring for children with special needs. Our outreach programs also include parents and teachers, of course. Special Care has been a model site for the Department of Human Services’ Oklahoma Center for Early Childhood Professional Development, and we continue to seek new ways to provide optimal direct care, education, and therapeutic intervention for children with and without special needs.