Re: delaying kindergarten while still receiving services

[Guest guest]

Good luck with that one! School districts do not like to continue to

provide services outside of the school environment. I believe the

law says that they can't deny you one service because you have turned

down another service. Usually this means that they can't deny you

speech if you turn down OT, but the argument could also be made for

the school program itself. When my son was 3, I did not want to take

the special preschool program from them. I just wanted speech. They

forced me to do the preschool program in order to receive services.

(It turned out well in the end, as the preschool, which was very new

at the time, turned out to be awesome for my son.) I could have

hired a lawyer or caused a big ruckus, but for us it just wasn't

worth it. You might want to find a local homeschool group, as they

would probably know the best way to make this argument.

(Homeschoolers are still eligible for services, so you should be,

too.)

in NJ

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since

his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way

we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Services differ from state to state but here in NY, I read the

" Parent's Guide " and found that I can keep (Nov. B'day) home

an extra year. She will be labeled kindergarten, not preschool, and I

have to drive her to a location (most likely school) for her therapies

but it is a way to keep her home that extra year I want. The

following September when she goes to the school building, she will be

a kindergartener again. That's fine with me because it puts her in

the age group I originally wanted. If I can't move to a better school

district or she isn't ready by then, all bets are off and I may yet

decide to home school.

What initially threw me off was they kept saying, " When she goes to

kindergarten.... " , instead of when she is at the kindergarten age

level. MOST parents would rather send their kids out around here so

no one seems to think of the alternatives.

Darlene

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Here in NY you can keep him out of kindergarten and still recieve

speech services but you would be responsible for transporting him to

the elementary school for the services and from what I understand the

schedule is made by the school SLP.....

> >

> > Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary,

turned

> four

> > at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy

through

> the

> > school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

> his

> > birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

> pre-

> > school for another year. However, according to the district,

since

> his

> > birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

> for

> > kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

> coming

> > September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

> really

> > think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

> to

> > mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any

way

> we

> > can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his

speech

> > therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

In my district in NY they would not pay for services if i held back my boy.

However he was born in march. I regret not holding him back and now think i

would have payed for services for the year to hold him back. another reason was

that he was in a sped preschool and they would not let him stay another year, my

only option was to send him to reg preschool with a aide but they would not

provide him with a aide either. In short i had no choice to send him to K.

I hope this helps with your decision. I would say def fight them especially

since he is a nov baby. my typical daughter is nov 22 and our cut off is dec

5th, i held her back another year. so fight for him to stay you have a lot

valid reasons to hold him back.

chris

[ ] delaying kindergarten while still receiving

services

Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned four

at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through the

school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and his

birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in pre-

school for another year. However, according to the district, since his

birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible for

kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this coming

September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We really

think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year to

mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way we

can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

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[Guest guest]

A Novemeber birthday is a very late birthday, especially for a boy. And the

reason I stress " boy " is that it's often more difficult for boys to settle down

and accept the structure of many of the traditional classroom settings. I

taught kindergarten and first grade for 12 years, and I often advised parents to

consider all of their options when considering placements for their " late

birthday " kids. If it's a bad fit and the child is forced to start early, then

the ramifications are often felt throughout their school careers. My suggestion

for you would be to see if your state is one of the eight states that have

mandatory kindergarten programs. Even if it is, it may be one of the states

that allows exemptions. If it's not a mandatory kindergarten state, then this

may be your loophole with the school district and the continuation of preschool

services. I'd definitely push it and not start this little guy early. He's not

only younger than most of the other kids, but he's also apraxic. I'd be very

afraid that his self esteem would be very damaged by early entry into K. I've

seen self esteem issues with typically developing, late birthday kids.....I'd

try everything to avoid that risk.

@...: christinerome@...: Thu,

17 Jan 2008 11:29:51 -0800Subject: Re: [ ] delaying

kindergarten while still receiving services

In my district in NY they would not pay for services if i held back my boy.

However he was born in march. I regret not holding him back and now think i

would have payed for services for the year to hold him back. another reason was

that he was in a sped preschool and they would not let him stay another year, my

only option was to send him to reg preschool with a aide but they would not

provide him with a aide either. In short i had no choice to send him to K.I hope

this helps with your decision. I would say def fight them especially since he is

a nov baby. my typical daughter is nov 22 and our cut off is dec 5th, i held her

back another year. so fight for him to stay you have a lot valid reasons to hold

him back.chris [ ] delaying kindergarten

while still receiving servicesCan anyone help me with some information? My son,

Zachary, turned four at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy

through the school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and his

birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in pre-school for

another year. However, according to the district, since his birthday falls

before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible for kindergarten in our

disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this coming September in order to

continue to receive speech therapy. We really think it is in our son's best

interest to allow him an extra year to mature before going on to kindergarten.

Does anyone know of any way we can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still

receive his speech therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

__________________________________________________________Looking for last

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[Guest guest]

I don't know where you live but we are in California and our son was

five in September and we refused to enroll him in Kindergarten this

year. He got another year of pre-school and is still receiving speech

therapy. I don't know if it differs from state to state but I do know

they really pushed for him to go to kindergarten. We just held firm,

called a special IEP, presented our case, and finally the school

district relented.

It has been such a blessing, they wanted him to start a special day

class kindergarten for learning handicapped children this year. We kept

him in the full inclusion pre-school. Giving him this extra year

allowed him to really progress and now they have completely changed

their tune and he will be moving into a full inclusion kindergarten in

September!!

Being a former military family I have friends all over the country and I

have always heard that it is the parents choice on when to start

kindergarten and many, many, many of my friends are waiting for their

fall babies to start - special ed and regular ed.

~Dylan~

God loves you just the way you are,

And he loves you too much to let you stay that way.

[ ] delaying kindergarten while still

receiving services

Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned four

at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through the

school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and his

birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in pre-

school for another year. However, according to the district, since his

birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible for

kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this coming

September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We really

think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year to

mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way we

can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

[Guest guest]

This really depends on the state. In NM homeschoolers are specifically

excluded from services because the law in NM specifically states that a

homeschool is NOT a private school. Therefore, homeschoolers do not have to

be served for special needs.

Here in CO the cut-off is Sept 15 for school. In NM it was Sept 1. My

son's bday is Sept 1. They were going to place him in 1st here in

Colorado! I was livid and informed the schools that he wouldn't be going.

They would have to provide so many more services for him if he were in first

compared to K and it was completely inappropriate. The principal agreed

with me and so did the sped coordinator. Even though we were homeschooling

last semester we had an IEP in May (basically saying he would not be

eligible for services.) In multiple places in the IEP it said " transition

to K " or currently in pre-K, etc. The sped coordinator sent that IEP to the

district and they agreed that he could be placed in K this year! Yay!

So far he's doing well. They are going to be testing him soon and

determining services. They are giving him 2 30-min speech in small group

(just two kids) and there is a para in his classroom for another child and

she is also working with him. They send a daily communication form home and

he gets extra help during seat work, etc. He loves school. I don't know

how much he's getting out of it, but he's having fun and it's just half

day. I'm starting the process to get preauth for United (our new health

insurance) to try to get private therapy as well.

So in my experience the schools are very inflexible about " retaining "

especially with special needs children. There are some reasons for it which

were explained. Mainly dealing with life skills/independent living and

vocational education after graduation - how it only goes until a certain

bday and if a child is retained they lose precious time on that end. But

then training like that may not be necessary for all children. Hopefully it

won't be for mine.

Miche

You might want to find a local homeschool group, as they

> would probably know the best way to make this argument.

> (Homeschoolers are still eligible for services, so you should be,

> too.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi:

Do you have state funded PreK? Here in GA if the child didn't attend

the state funded PreK when they were 4, they are still eligible when

they are 5. My son turns 5 in August. I had to call the state funded

PreK to find out this information. I have also called GA Department

of Education in the past, they were helpful in answering questions

about IEP stuff. In my first transition meeting the assistant

director of special education was at the meeting and we didn't really

mesh so I called the Director of Special Education and talked to her

about my options for school programs and services. Last May I spoke

to her again before our IEP meeting (with the assistant director) and

discussed options. So if the director wasn't at your meeting, give

her/him a call and see what they have to say. I learned my son had

more options than what the assistant director was telling me. My son

has attended a church program for the last two years, and I take him

to three different churches for speech therapy. I am also a member of

the IEP group...the people on that site are very helpful. I

learned a lot from just reading files and links and asking questions

when I got stuck. You may want to sign up and ask this same question

on there.

IEP_guide/

Good luck,

Tina

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since

his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way

we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks to everyone who has posted replies. I appreciate the

experience and info from everyone. We do live in NY, specifically

Long Island. My son's next CPSE meeting has not been scheduled and

probably will not be until March, so we have some, but not a whole

lot of time, to see where we stand. I'll keep posting with updates

and inquiries. Thanks again to all.

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district,

since his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any

way we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Have you considered developmentally delayed kindnergarten? It is supposed to be

the same curriculum as K, but at a slower pace, and with all the sed services.

Just a suggestion.

sharon

Hanagan <hanagan_8@...> wrote:

A Novemeber birthday is a very late birthday, especially for a boy. And the

reason I stress " boy " is that it's often more difficult for boys to settle down

and accept the structure of many of the traditional classroom settings. I taught

kindergarten and first grade for 12 years, and I often advised parents to

consider all of their options when considering placements for their " late

birthday " kids. If it's a bad fit and the child is forced to start early, then

the ramifications are often felt throughout their school careers. My suggestion

for you would be to see if your state is one of the eight states that have

mandatory kindergarten programs. Even if it is, it may be one of the states that

allows exemptions. If it's not a mandatory kindergarten state, then this may be

your loophole with the school district and the continuation of preschool

services. I'd definitely push it and not start this little guy early. He's not

only younger than most of the other kids, but he's also

apraxic. I'd be very afraid that his self esteem would be very damaged by early

entry into K. I've seen self esteem issues with typically developing, late

birthday kids.....I'd try everything to avoid that risk.

@...: christinerome@...: Thu,

17 Jan 2008 11:29:51 -0800Subject: Re: [ ] delaying

kindergarten while still receiving services

In my district in NY they would not pay for services if i held back my boy.

However he was born in march. I regret not holding him back and now think i

would have payed for services for the year to hold him back. another reason was

that he was in a sped preschool and they would not let him stay another year, my

only option was to send him to reg preschool with a aide but they would not

provide him with a aide either. In short i had no choice to send him to K.I hope

this helps with your decision. I would say def fight them especially since he is

a nov baby. my typical daughter is nov 22 and our cut off is dec 5th, i held her

back another year. so fight for him to stay you have a lot valid reasons to hold

him back.chris [ ] delaying kindergarten

while still receiving servicesCan anyone help me with some

information? My son, Zachary, turned four at the end of November. He began

receiving speech therapy through the school district in October 2006. Since he

has verbal apraxia and his birthday is at the end of November, we would like to

keep him in pre-school for another year. However, according to the district,

since his birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible for

kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this coming

September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We really think it is

in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year to mature before going on

to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way we can arrange to keep him in

pre-school and still receive his speech therapy in the same private facility he

goes to now? __________________________________________________________Looking

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portions of this message have been removed]

__________________________________________________________

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" fix " .

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[Guest guest]

I had a similar problem here, in California. He did go to state funded

pre-school the last year and they tried to tell me he couldn't go this

year. But as I pushed more I found out if the child has an IEP and the

IEP team believes it is in his best interest to have another year of

pre-school they have to take him. So he is in his 2nd year of head

start even though he's five.

~Dylan~

God loves you just the way you are,

And he loves you too much to let you stay that way.

[ ] Re: delaying kindergarten while still

receiving services

Hi:

Do you have state funded PreK? Here in GA if the child didn't attend

the state funded PreK when they were 4, they are still eligible when

they are 5. My son turns 5 in August. I had to call the state funded

PreK to find out this information. I have also called GA Department

of Education in the past, they were helpful in answering questions

about IEP stuff. In my first transition meeting the assistant

director of special education was at the meeting and we didn't really

mesh so I called the Director of Special Education and talked to her

about my options for school programs and services. Last May I spoke

to her again before our IEP meeting (with the assistant director) and

discussed options. So if the director wasn't at your meeting, give

her/him a call and see what they have to say. I learned my son had

more options than what the assistant director was telling me. My son

has attended a church program for the last two years, and I take him

to three different churches for speech therapy. I am also a member of

the IEP group...the people on that site are very helpful. I

learned a lot from just reading files and links and asking questions

when I got stuck. You may want to sign up and ask this same question

on there.

http://groups. <IEP_guide/>

/group/IEP_guide/

Good luck,

Tina

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since

his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way

we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Where in NY (generally)? My sister is on LI and knows lots about the

law there. She has two classified kids.

in NJ

> >

> > Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary,

turned

> four

> > at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy

through

> the

> > school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

> his

> > birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

> pre-

> > school for another year. However, according to the district,

> since his

> > birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

> for

> > kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

> coming

> > September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

> really

> > think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

> to

> > mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any

> way we

> > can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his

speech

> > therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Interesting, and unfair. Does anyone here know the NJ law for

homeschoolers? My 18 month old is a July birthday (cut off is 10/1 in

our district), so I may be facing this same issue down the road. I

like to know the facts before I argue a point.

in NJ (Mercer County)

>

> This really depends on the state. In NM homeschoolers are

specifically

> excluded from services because the law in NM specifically states that

a

> homeschool is NOT a private school. Therefore, homeschoolers do not

have to

> be served for special needs.

>

[Guest guest]

New Mexico never? I say " not yet " . Besides there are what...two (?)

people in this group from New Mexico or something -not as many with

apraxia etc. Perhaps not a crowd of parents as there are in say NJ -

so not enough to fight the injustice yet. Never say never -check to

see what is an option for homeschooled deaf or blind children in your

state. These are the special needs children that the schools know

they can't bully the parents. Verbal disabled children don't have

the same rights yet. Google " homeschool " " IEP " and you'll have a ton

to read to help you fight. You don't have to get angry or upset -

remain calm and just state the facts. But first learn them and don't

just accept " never " . (how many of us heard that at an IEP meeting

before and found out that wasn't the end of the sentence -it should

be " never for those that don't fight it " )

Here's just one link as an example.

http://www.deafhomeschool.com/essentials/deafeducation/iep.html

If this is your mission learn the rules to play the game (we didn't

home school so don't know all the details)

Be a squeaky wheel and get your kid some grease!

=====

[Guest guest]

Will the preschool let him stay another year? If he can get better

services in the school district-is it possible to have him repeat K ?

Than you are not paying for another year of preschool!! When my daughter

went from CPSE to K- her preschool was not using the right approach to

Apraxia. The SD uses Kaufman and has made a world of difference. There

is a fight going on upstate NY where I live- they are trying to deny ALL

services to special needs kids who are homeschooled!

> >

> > Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

> four

> > at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

> the

> > school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

> his

> > birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

> pre-

> > school for another year. However, according to the district,

> since his

> > birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

> for

> > kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

> coming

> > September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

> really

> > think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

> to

> > mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any

> way we

> > can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> > therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Try www.hslda.org Home School Legal Defense Association. You may get some

information from them.

@...: bigcheech91@...: Fri, 18

Jan 2008 17:26:34 +0000Subject: [ ] Re: delaying kindergarten

while still receiving services

Interesting, and unfair. Does anyone here know the NJ law for homeschoolers? My

18 month old is a July birthday (cut off is 10/1 in our district), so I may be

facing this same issue down the road. I like to know the facts before I argue a

point. in NJ (Mercer County)>> This really depends on the state. In

NM homeschoolers are specifically> excluded from services because the law in NM

specifically states that a> homeschool is NOT a private school. Therefore,

homeschoolers do not have to> be served for special needs.>

_________________________________________________________________

Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.

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[Guest guest]

You know what's most annoying - is we are talking about public

school - these are YOUR TAX DOLLARS - who's the BOSS of your money?

What you say goes and that should be the end of it. And for

something as trivial as waiting until the kid is more mature is

better for all and should not even be up for discussion.

I saved myself a lot of headaches putting my son in Montessori

school. We live in MI, he gets an IEP and if I pushed it he could

get more services but I specifically wanted to do ST which is located

in the Elementary public school he would go to. My plan is to keep

him in the Montessori school until first grade (2 more years) while I

continue to work on recovering him. What we do from there depends

on where his actual learning " disabilities " lie. The thought of

hiring a kindergarten and first grade tudor to supplement isn't that

far out of the question. I want options and from what I read

(Janice) the early grades are really rough on kids with learning

disabilities because it's then when their specific problems are

uncovered.

In the meantime, i'm going to work like he** (recovery) to try and

make it so we have choices and he can successfully make it among his

peers in any school environment private or public.

Anyone interested in knowing more about Montessori school - to me

it's like all day OT. Much less about crowd control, regiment and

rules. It was invented 100 years ago by an Italian Phychologist

(don't quote me) who developed a program for what they called " feeble

minded " back then. Now, I've got to laugh, when i mention Montessori

school to anyone they think school for advanced kids. Actually, the

kids that come out of Montessori school known for being ahead of

their peers in all areas. They inspire the children to find their

own joy in learning rather than sit, shut up and learn this now. They

don't compare one to another and they speak to kids using a specific

and deliberate tone and manner of speaking. It's all cup 1/2 full

all the time. My son is very confident and secure, he has no clue

he can't color and draw pictures like they guy next to him. He's

continually encouraged to " get there " . He's never left to feel " bad "

because he's not measuring up.

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since

his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way

we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

- where in MI are you at? I am in West Michigan and am hoping to find

some local parents who could share some resources with me.

You can email me at sbutler@...

[ ] Re: delaying kindergarten while still receiving

services

You know what's most annoying - is we are talking about public

school - these are YOUR TAX DOLLARS - who's the BOSS of your money?

What you say goes and that should be the end of it. And for

something as trivial as waiting until the kid is more mature is

better for all and should not even be up for discussion.

I saved myself a lot of headaches putting my son in Montessori

school. We live in MI, he gets an IEP and if I pushed it he could

get more services but I specifically wanted to do ST which is located

in the Elementary public school he would go to. My plan is to keep

him in the Montessori school until first grade (2 more years) while I

continue to work on recovering him. What we do from there depends

on where his actual learning " disabilities " lie. The thought of

hiring a kindergarten and first grade tudor to supplement isn't that

far out of the question. I want options and from what I read

(Janice) the early grades are really rough on kids with learning

disabilities because it's then when their specific problems are

uncovered.

In the meantime, i'm going to work like he** (recovery) to try and

make it so we have choices and he can successfully make it among his

peers in any school environment private or public.

Anyone interested in knowing more about Montessori school - to me

it's like all day OT. Much less about crowd control, regiment and

rules. It was invented 100 years ago by an Italian Phychologist

(don't quote me) who developed a program for what they called " feeble

minded " back then. Now, I've got to laugh, when i mention Montessori

school to anyone they think school for advanced kids. Actually, the

kids that come out of Montessori school known for being ahead of

their peers in all areas. They inspire the children to find their

own joy in learning rather than sit, shut up and learn this now. They

don't compare one to another and they speak to kids using a specific

and deliberate tone and manner of speaking. It's all cup 1/2 full

all the time. My son is very confident and secure, he has no clue

he can't color and draw pictures like they guy next to him. He's

continually encouraged to " get there " . He's never left to feel " bad "

because he's not measuring up.

>

> Can anyone help me with some information? My son, Zachary, turned

four

> at the end of November. He began receiving speech therapy through

the

> school district in October 2006. Since he has verbal apraxia and

his

> birthday is at the end of November, we would like to keep him in

pre-

> school for another year. However, according to the district, since

his

> birthday falls before December 1 (the cut off for being eligible

for

> kindergarten in our disctrict), he must attend kindergarten this

coming

> September in order to continue to receive speech therapy. We

really

> think it is in our son's best interest to allow him an extra year

to

> mature before going on to kindergarten. Does anyone know of any way

we

> can arrange to keep him in pre-school and still receive his speech

> therapy in the same private facility he goes to now?

>

[Guest guest]

Congratulations! That sounds like a parent-friendly district.

in NJ

>

> To everyone who took the time to post a reply to my original inquiry,

I

> really thank you all. I posted this to let everyone know that we had

> my son's CPSE meeting this morning. Happily, the commitee members

> approved everything we wanted. They had no problem with our wanting

to

> hold off kindergarten for another year and approved maintaining his

> services at the same private facility he is currently attending. We

> are greatly relieved.

>