Re: Questions - Please Help

[Guest guest]

I think that if the time out is inefective then it is pointless to do that.

The reason that our children are called " special needs " , is because that is

what they require. It would be nice to treat them exactly the same as all

the other children and have them respond appropriately, but unfortunately

for many of our children, that isn't an option. If your preschool can't

accomodate your child, you might want to consider switching. What worked

really well for us this summer was a playgroup that I organized in my own

home. I paid a worker to come in and run a 2 1/2 hour program mon-fri. I had

my 4 year olds brother ,sister and two additional children come every day

and the whole program catered to my son. It was a very short circle time 5

minutes, and by the end of the summer we worked our way up to 10 minutes,

everyone had their own mat to sit on. We used a lot of PECS, including

photographs of the children for attendance,songs and a visual schedule.

There was also free play between each activity and craft time, nothing

sophisticated, mostly fingerpainting or playdough, everything that Matt

likes. At snack they all had to line up to wash hands and we would make him

line up with the others (usually second). We would have them outside for

gross motor and a very quick story, lots of pictures of trucks because that

is what he is into. Then we would do a closing song.

If you can do it, it really works well and doesn't cost that much ,about

$20 a day, if you are provided with a worker it shouldn't cost anything, or

you can have other parents absorb the cost because you are looking after

their children. We didn't charge the parents because we " recruited " the

right kids and their mom wasn't looking for daycare. It's worth the peace

of mind because you get to call the shots.

Good Luck,

Questions - Please Help

> Hello group! I have numerous questions and hope that you can help.

> We have sent the packet to Dr. G and are awaiting an appointment

> date. Of course, we have high hopes that he will be able to help

> us. How quickly has anyone seen results? How long has it taken for

> some to get results? We have my 4 year old daughter enrolled in

> preschool now. We placed her in the 3 year old class, as her

> language skills are severely delayed. She is receiving OT, PT, and

> speech therapy in addition to this class twice weekly. She stays

> with a sitter three days a week to give her some interaction with

> other kids. She is having some behavior problems in the class. She

> doesn't want to join in group activities or any structured

> activities. She refuses to line up with the group or sit on the

> carpet when stories are read to them. The preschool uses time-out

> for discipline. This is totally ineffective with her. We use

> praise, rewards, and occasionally corporal punishment with her at

> home. This works and she obeys at home. However, I know that she

> must attend school in 2 years. I do not wish to have her be a

> discipline problem at school. We have considered pulling her out of

> preschool until we see improvements and maybe placing her in a

> private kindergarten next year. Please help! We don't know what to

> do. Any suggestions? Shona Jordan

>

>

>

>

> Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

> the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

> opinion of the Research Institute.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Shona,

If you are considering a different preschool placement, check out your local

park district. Yours or one nearby should have a Special Recreation department.

Because park districts accept federal funding, they are required to accomodate

special needs. That means, if you want your child to participate in a program

that is not offered by the Special Rec Department (generally preschool is not),

you can enroll in the regular program, and they will provide the support (i.e.

an aide). We did this when my son was 3. I did not have to pay anything extra

to have the aide in the class for him. She changed diapers and helped him stay

on task. She also made sure he did not get into the forbidden treats. Once I

caught on, I signed him up for gymnastics, soccer, etc. - all with an aide. It

was wonderful. Many people do not know about this, but it should be available

to you.

[Guest guest]

> Hello group! I have numerous questions and hope that you can

help.

> We have sent the packet to Dr. G and are awaiting an appointment

> date. Of course, we have high hopes that he will be able to help

> us. How quickly has anyone seen results? How long has it taken

for

> some to get results?

We saw real results in about 3.5 to 4 weeks (He's been on it 9

weeks). Mostly it was in the area of receptive language where

started responding appropriately to simple directions such as sit-

down, stand-up etc ... bed, bath ... things like that. He just became

much better at following along and paying attention in general.

As a result, his move seemed to improve since he was having less

trouble understanding the world around him.

He also became more calm and regulated ... not always needing to run

and climb all the time. This all varies from day to day, but overall

it's pretty consistent. I should mention that during the first three

weeks it was pretty rough. He got a lot worse before we saw the

sudden improvement which was noted by his pre-school teachers as well.

Our son has been in half-day pre-school for a year now. He made huge

improvements by being there, but there were problems when they tried

to advance him this summer from the 2-3 year old class to the 3-5

year old class. (He just turned 3 in April). He couldn't deal with

all the structure with the older group, cirle times and stuff like

that.

Fortunately in our area they were able to get extra funding to add a

teacher to the room. She is not so much 's aide as she just

gives the other teachers support. When requires the one-on-one

type of support, such as at circle time, she is the one who gives it

to him.

I agree with what a lot of other people have suggested to you --

sometimes there are ways to get funding for this sort of thing but

you have to find the right person to get it for you or know who to

ask.

As for the discipline aspect, we have almost never punished him for

things, only speeking directly to him and trying to explain what he

did wrong. Overall, his behaviour has been very good except for

certain times when he can't have what he wants. (I am reminded that

this is not a problem specific to special needs kids -- a recent

visit by a neighbour's typical 3 year old taught me that.) We believe

that bad behaviour usually stems from the child's frustration at

dealing with the world around him. We use the Greenspan floortime

model for therapy in the home along with OT and speech. It has worked

very well helping to become more connected to all that is

around him, reduce avoidant behaviour and ... improving his

communication skills considerably even though he remains non-verbal.

You might want to look into that because it is somewhat easier to

institute in the home than ABA and, at least in our case, much more

effective.

Dave

We have my 4 year old daughter enrolled in

> preschool now. We placed her in the 3 year old class, as her

> language skills are severely delayed. She is receiving OT, PT, and

> speech therapy in addition to this class twice weekly. She stays

> with a sitter three days a week to give her some interaction with

> other kids. She is having some behavior problems in the class.

She

> doesn't want to join in group activities or any structured

> activities. She refuses to line up with the group or sit on the

> carpet when stories are read to them. The preschool uses time-out

> for discipline. This is totally ineffective with her. We use

> praise, rewards, and occasionally corporal punishment with her at

> home. This works and she obeys at home. However, I know that she

> must attend school in 2 years. I do not wish to have her be a

> discipline problem at school. We have considered pulling her out

of

> preschool until we see improvements and maybe placing her in a

> private kindergarten next year. Please help! We don't know what

to

> do. Any suggestions? Shona Jordan

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/13/02 5:10:37 PM Central Daylight Time,

barbkatsaros@... writes:

> you had asked about aba. my children never did it, but i have heard of

> others doing it with great success. dr. g. does not believe in it so i

> would

> wait until you see him.

What about ABA does Dr. G not believe in? Anyone know if he recommends any

specific educational/theraputic approaches? Just curious

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

It is an incorrect statement to say that Dr. G does not believe or recommend

ABA. He has stated to me that you have to be careful in choosing the right

program and workers. Some ABA programs are very light on language so you may

have to supplement with speech therapy. You also have to know when to quit.

Once the child is in the recovery phase they may rapidly outgrow the need for

ABA and may find the entire process frustrating. You have to observe

carefully for cues from the child. Kathy -NNY

[Guest guest]

ABA has been a wonderful experience for our son. In the province of Ontario

it is now paid for, for children who qualify up until the age of six.(for

some strange reason the gov't thinks they don't need it after that).I

believe that Dr.G does not approve of the " old school " ABA, lots of

screaming, forced behaviors, etc. I'm sure if he had the time, which he

doesn't, to research some of the newer, reputable ABA providers, he may feel

differently. I don't think that all children respond well to all therapies

and as a parent, YOU know your child best and what may work for them, and

you should make the decision that you feel comfortable with. We don't

discuss ABA with our immunologist and we don't discuss neuro immune

disorders with our ABA therapists.

Re: Questions - Please Help

> In a message dated 9/13/02 5:10:37 PM Central Daylight Time,

> barbkatsaros@... writes:

>

>

> > you had asked about aba. my children never did it, but i have heard of

> > others doing it with great success. dr. g. does not believe in it so i

> > would

> > wait until you see him.

>

> What about ABA does Dr. G not believe in? Anyone know if he recommends

any

> specific educational/theraputic approaches? Just curious

> Gaylen

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Very well put Kathy ! Dr. Goldberg has told me many

times that if the teacher/therapist is treating the child

like a child, not an animal and if they are educating in

a positive way ... call it anything you want ABA, 1:1

training, it doesn't matter. Our children are delayed

and they need extra help and that extra help should

be 1:1, until they are about ready to be mainstreamed,

Godwilling.

Michele

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/16/02 7:47:08 PM Central Daylight Time,

chaia98@... writes:

> do you know how long it takes to get an appointment from Dr. G? They

> received my packet last Wednesday, and I am anxiously awaiting a phone

> call.

They got our packet the week of 8/12 and we got a call last week, almost a

month later. As of today, the only apt he had available for new patients was

the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. Laurie (or Lori?) said she'd start

scheduling December apts about 8 weeks out so most folks waiting should plan

on Dec or Jan now unless there's a cancellation or you want to travel out

there for Thanksgiving. I imagine they'll start calling folks again sometime

in October.

FYI to those who haven't sent their packets yet, send it return receipt so

you know it arrives. If you call to ask if they've received it, they won't

take the time to check. It sounds like they're really swamped.

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/17/02 11:58:08 AM Central Daylight Time,

thecolemans4@... writes:

> Do you know if you have to send the patient health

> history written by the parents along with the info

> packet? If not, my papers are ready to send today,

> otherwise it might be a little longer. Do you have

> the records sent before or after the appointment?

>

We sent some of our records but are still working on getting the rest. You

could probably send what you have to get in line and then send the health

history as soon after as you can. If I understand it correctly, Dr. G

doesn't really get into the details of what we send until right before your

apt.

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

You can send the history after the application. The

medical records and history should be there one month

before your appt.. Barb

--- <thecolemans4@...> wrote:

> Do you know if you have to send the patient health

> history written by the parents along with the info

> packet? If not, my papers are ready to send today,

> otherwise it might be a little longer. Do you have

> the records sent before or after the appointment?

>

>

>

> > FYI to those who haven't sent their packets yet,

> > send it return receipt so

> > you know it arrives. If you call to ask if

> they've

> > received it, they won't

> > take the time to check. It sounds like they're

> > really swamped.

> > Gaylen

>

>

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=====

Barb Katsaros

barbkatsaros@...

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