Re: Home or Preschool?

[Guest guest]

Our school system here in CT is fantastic. I cannot say enough about

them because they were the only ones who agreed with us that there

may be issues with dd. They offered preschool which is special needs

with peer mentors and after a month in preschool they recommended

testing by the team at Children's Medical Center here in CT. DD was

dx with PDD-NOS at 4 1/2 years old and has been in preschool and

summer school for the past 1 1/2 years receiving services, OT and

speech. The preschool teachers were fantastic - they were totally on

board with the GFCF diet (which we did for the first 6 months of

this year then left with enzymes); they even tried to make the snack

schedule GFCF as much as possible! DD is going to a full day

kindergarten in the fall; morning session in the special needs class

where she will receive all her services then into a mainstream

kindergarten class with an aide availabe as needed in the afternoon.

I don't know your history with EI, but it sounds as if you are

leary of the services you were offered or have been. Have you

researched the preschool setting? My dd has socialization issues and

the preschool has really helped her with this. So my vote is for

preschool based on my great experience.

HTH,

>

> Hey everyone-

>

> Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a long time since I've

> checked in. Just a short update: everything is pretty good

here.

> Still on enzymes and fish oil and juicing. DS is still

progressing

> and learning everyday. He is being evaluated for sensory

> integration tommorrow, which I think he has to some degree but not

> bad, so I think we'll accept OT services on a consultive basis and

> not another weekly therapy session.

>

> DS turns 28 months on the 12th and is still not talking. He is

> making attempts but consonant vowel comibinations are not

> consistent. His ST attented the PROMPT clinics(suspected

apraxia),

> but when we started to use it on him, it took his focus off

natural

> vocalizations and he began to worry about mouth movements and was

> begninning to try to prompt himself. He became quiet during their

> sessions together. She and I both agreed that we would back off

the

> PROMPT until he was more consistent in his vocalizations and had

> enough time to progress on his own and solidify that skill.

>

> He no longer flaps but now jumps all the time, but I learned that

> getting off of his previous sleep regimine was causing much of

that

> hyperactivity and now he is settling down thanks to me pulling

back

> out my Weisbluth book.

>

> So now to my thing about preschool. He has been in EI since 15

> months and his service coordinator says that we have to begin the

> transition into the school system beginning in a few months. This

> will consist of a evaluation with professionals not of our own

> choosing and then any services that are delivered after 3 would be

a

> preschool setting. I'm pretty sure we are going to say no thanks

to

> this. Regardless of whether he is autistic or not, which we

aren't

> sure of, I prefer the in-home speech therapy sessions and I want

to

> continue with the therapist we have been using. There are a host

of

> other concerns with a preschool setting too, but I would like to

see

> what your thoughts are? Anyone here conducting there

own " program "

> at home either through your insurance company or private funds.

Who

> has sent their kids to special needs preschools? What are your

> experiences. Thanks for the feedback.

>

> Ash

>

[Guest guest]

My son was severe, non verbal, smeared his diapers etc., at 3, and I

was a single parent with an infant who frankly could have used the

break. Our school system isn't perfect, but at age 8, he is

currently in the most amazing autism classroom I can imagine.

However, I didn't send him to preschool (in a self contained autism

classroom) until he was 4, and then only 1/2 days for the first

year. There were a lot of reasons for that but I think in summary,

he wasn't ready, as a child, to go off to preschool at that age,

even though he needed help with his autism. He is very independent

now and easily spends 8 hours a day away from home, but I think you

still have to respect their fundamental needs as people, like you

would with any child. So if you are able to get home services and

you have the patience to deal with him at home full time, and your

instincts are that this is what's best for him in his life right

now, I think he's lucky to have you thinking in these ways. It's

hard not to address just the special needs when they're so dramatic,

but it sounds like you're addressing overall what would be best for

him as a person and you as a family, which is great.

Also, I can only speak from my experience, but a lot of families are

totally overwhelmed and not even aware of biomedical interventions

when the kids are that young.....and 3-4 year olds with autism can

be completely out of control, even with a highly intact family who

is doing biomedical. Part of the hesitation for me was the extent

of behaviors my son would have been exposed to, although if your son

is higher functioning, hopefully that wouldn't be the case.

Amy

>

> Hey everyone-

>

> Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a long time since I've

> checked in. Just a short update: everything is pretty good

here.

> Still on enzymes and fish oil and juicing. DS is still

progressing

> and learning everyday. He is being evaluated for sensory

> integration tommorrow, which I think he has to some degree but not

> bad, so I think we'll accept OT services on a consultive basis and

> not another weekly therapy session.

>

> DS turns 28 months on the 12th and is still not talking. He is

> making attempts but consonant vowel comibinations are not

> consistent. His ST attented the PROMPT clinics(suspected

apraxia),

> but when we started to use it on him, it took his focus off

natural

> vocalizations and he began to worry about mouth movements and was

> begninning to try to prompt himself. He became quiet during their

> sessions together. She and I both agreed that we would back off

the

> PROMPT until he was more consistent in his vocalizations and had

> enough time to progress on his own and solidify that skill.

>

> He no longer flaps but now jumps all the time, but I learned that

> getting off of his previous sleep regimine was causing much of

that

> hyperactivity and now he is settling down thanks to me pulling

back

> out my Weisbluth book.

>

> So now to my thing about preschool. He has been in EI since 15

> months and his service coordinator says that we have to begin the

> transition into the school system beginning in a few months. This

> will consist of a evaluation with professionals not of our own

> choosing and then any services that are delivered after 3 would be

a

> preschool setting. I'm pretty sure we are going to say no thanks

to

> this. Regardless of whether he is autistic or not, which we

aren't

> sure of, I prefer the in-home speech therapy sessions and I want

to

> continue with the therapist we have been using. There are a host

of

> other concerns with a preschool setting too, but I would like to

see

> what your thoughts are? Anyone here conducting there

own " program "

> at home either through your insurance company or private funds.

Who

> has sent their kids to special needs preschools? What are your

> experiences. Thanks for the feedback.

>

> Ash

>

[Guest guest]

Who has sent their kids to special needs preschools? What are your

> experiences. Thanks for the feedback.

>

I had my daughter evaluated by the school district before she turned

3. She had been receiving ECI for SID and language delays. I was so

torn about whether or not to do it because I just could not phatom

sending my little 3 yr old girl, who was extremely dependent on her

mommy for everything, to a public school. However, I had heard some

very good things about the early childhood program here in our district

(we have an awesome school district!) and they approved her for

services so I chose to give it a try. I cried every day I think for

the first few months. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, but I

wanted to at least give it a chance.

After the first month or so, she actually enjoyed getting on the bus

and going to school which made things a little easier for me. I would

ask her if she wanted to go and she always replied " yes " . However, I

never felt that she functioned as well in the school environment as she

did at home. I would tell the teacher all these wonderful things that

she could do, and never get any feedback that she was doing these

things for them at school. Mostly, I had a very hard time getting any

information out of them on what her achievements were at school, was

she using any of her language, participating in circle time, etc....

It was like pulling teeth trying to get information. We have a nine

week grading period here so I basically would not know if any of her

goals had been met until the end of the reporting period. I just

never felt that I really knew what was going on. Additionally, I

never felt that she was receiving that much benefit from it. She had

always done WAY better with private therapies. Plus there were always

the issues of food that were a HUGE hassel. I would get these notes

once in a while like " oh sorry, she grabbed someone elses oreo cookies

today while my back was turned " , or " she cried all during snack time

because she wanted so and so's goldfish crackers " blah, blah, blah

So despite the fact that I know how much her teacher adores her and

wants to help her, I will not be sending her back this fall. I have

decided to begin a home-school program for her and her two triplet

brothers. I have committed myself to a good one year trial of the

homeschool concept to see if it is something that will work well for

our family long-term. If it goes well I may continue it on thru

Kindergarten or beyond. She will continue with private speech and OT

which she has been in for 2 years now with good results for the most

part.

Having said all of that, you really just have to go with your instincts

on this. If your son is fairly independent and doesn't have too many

sensory issues he may do very well in a classroom setting. I always

felt that the flourescent lights were a HUGE problem for my little

gal. Anyway, this has been our experience. I hope it helps you in

some way.

Sheresa

>

[Guest guest]

Hi...

My son will be 4 next month, has SID, motor planning issues, developmental

delays, esp with speech. The autism spec has been ruled out recently due to he

social skills, most of which were developed at preschool.

In two weeks he will be starting his second year of preschool. He LOVES

school. It gives him routine and structure that was hard for me to provide (I

have a 13 mos old too). It was rough at first, then they suggested busing him

and that was key, he loves riding the bus. I also think it give him sensory

input with the bumpingness of it. I must admit I was very leary at first, esp

about the bus, but it worked wonders.

We did have a major confrontation with the school district this past spring.

we did not feel he was getting the level of services he needed. We finally got

additional speech, summer school and OT/ST services during the 4 weeks of summer

school. He made great progess with the summer services.

I will also tell you I am a big believer in Home Schooling. My neice and

nephews are thriving with it. Perhaps if we lived near them I would consider

it, but my son needs school, at least right now. I would not rule out

homeschooling in the future.

You could give the preschool a try. Fight for individual OT/ST whatever you

need along iwth it. You can always pull him out. You can also request an

indepentant eval if you do not agree with the district. Generally the district

has to pay for it and have a hard time denying additional services after that.

That is how we got more; we simply requested an outside eval. Never went

forward with it as the district not only increase the speech but sent the ST to

our home. I evenually took my ds to the school as the ST would have the session

in the OT motor room which worked better than the home setting.

We also kept a private OT through the first part of the school year until our

insurance changed, but I would much prefer it to be intergrated iwth the school.

We had several OT changes with the private agency too so I did not think that

was good.

I would suggest giving the district a chance; being proactiving in knowing the

law and what they must provide, and monitoring it closely. You can continue

private home services if you wish and then eval it all after a couple months. I

also have to admit the break from the stress of a special needs child while he

was at preschool was much needed and helped me deal with him the remainder of

the day.

good luck.

denice

jarrett, 9-12-02, Sensory and development delays

sarah, 6-22-05, so far as typical as can be

copelpot <copelpot1@...> wrote:

Hey everyone-

Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a long time since I've

checked in. Just a short update: everything is pretty good here.

Still on enzymes and fish oil and juicing. DS is still progressing

and learning everyday. He is being evaluated for sensory

integration tommorrow, which I think he has to some degree but not

bad, so I think we'll accept OT services on a consultive basis and

not another weekly therapy session.

DS turns 28 months on the 12th and is still not talking. He is

making attempts but consonant vowel comibinations are not

consistent. His ST attented the PROMPT clinics(suspected apraxia),

but when we started to use it on him, it took his focus off natural

vocalizations and he began to worry about mouth movements and was

begninning to try to prompt himself. He became quiet during their

sessions together. She and I both agreed that we would back off the

PROMPT until he was more consistent in his vocalizations and had

enough time to progress on his own and solidify that skill.

He no longer flaps but now jumps all the time, but I learned that

getting off of his previous sleep regimine was causing much of that

hyperactivity and now he is settling down thanks to me pulling back

out my Weisbluth book.

So now to my thing about preschool. He has been in EI since 15

months and his service coordinator says that we have to begin the

transition into the school system beginning in a few months. This

will consist of a evaluation with professionals not of our own

choosing and then any services that are delivered after 3 would be a

preschool setting. I'm pretty sure we are going to say no thanks to

this. Regardless of whether he is autistic or not, which we aren't

sure of, I prefer the in-home speech therapy sessions and I want to

continue with the therapist we have been using. There are a host of

other concerns with a preschool setting too, but I would like to see

what your thoughts are? Anyone here conducting there own " program "

at home either through your insurance company or private funds. Who

has sent their kids to special needs preschools? What are your

experiences. Thanks for the feedback.

Ash

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

Hi Ash,

We started our son in a " preschool " of sorts when he was 3. He went 3

days a week, from 8:55 to 11:25. It wasn't much time at school but he

made some really great strides there! Not only was he around other

children, which can be a good learning experience, but his teachers

were WONDERFUL (one having an ASD kid herself). They worked on daily

living things from brushing teeth to sitting at the table while

eating. They had a gross motor room too, which was great! They did

some achedemic stuff too, which he actually learned better from his

teacher (whom he loved) than he was from us!

Anyway, I would never send him off for long periods of time, but I

think the little bit of time he spent there was worth it!

It's always about what's best for your individual child!!

Best of luck!!

Susie, mom to Corbin

[Guest guest]

I also had a very positive experience with preschool this last year. My son was

in a special education class which had a nice small ratio, but no other kids

with Autism, they had a variety of special needs, such as Downs and speech

delays and they were not intimidating to my son who likes children, but does not

know how to deal with a neurotypical kid.

The teacher was very warm and experienced and my son learned a lot while

receiving speech and occupational therapy. He will be in the same classroom

this fall(he is four) even though they gave us the option of a mixed class for

next year. I thought he could use the confidence boost of being an older kid in

this class next year rather than being overwhelmed by NT kids and a worse

student teacher ratio.

He is GFCF and they were totally supportive and when he ahd a few (minor)

infractions they always told me about it which I was glad to know. I had a very

hard time with the transition to preschool from EI but it has been really good.

The first month was tough and I did not know if I would keep him there, but then

he started to want to go to school. He also receives Speech and OT in a clinical

setting which is a bit more inolved than at school.

I know many people can do a better job at home with their kids, but i know I am

not that person. The structure and social aspects of preschool are very hard to

create.

Hope this helps.

Elaine

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

>>Anyone here conducting there own " program "

> at home either through your insurance company or private funds.

I homeschool all my kids, and I did all their therapies myself. Not

sure if this is really what you are asking tho, but it is an option if

you want to consider it.

Dana

[Guest guest]

I am not familiar with your son's background, but my personal

opinion is that preschool (presuming it is high quality, naturally)

is one of the best ways to address speech and language problems --

there may even be research out there to back me up. My third son

went from " probably " qualifying for speech / language services (in a

very hard-to-qualify district) to way above average in less than a

year... preschool was the only intervention we added. In fact, I

noticed that after a weekend at home with me, his speech would

actually REGRESS. I spent some time teaching special education, so

I'm pretty good at deciphering communication (I believe moms are

best at this anyway), so being home actually hampered this

development.

Good luck!

>

> Hey everyone-

>

> Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a long time since I've

> checked in. Just a short update: everything is pretty good

here.

> Still on enzymes and fish oil and juicing. DS is still

progressing

> and learning everyday. He is being evaluated for sensory

> integration tommorrow, which I think he has to some degree but not

> bad, so I think we'll accept OT services on a consultive basis and

> not another weekly therapy session.

>

> DS turns 28 months on the 12th and is still not talking. He is

> making attempts but consonant vowel comibinations are not

> consistent. His ST attented the PROMPT clinics(suspected

apraxia),

> but when we started to use it on him, it took his focus off

natural

> vocalizations and he began to worry about mouth movements and was

> begninning to try to prompt himself. He became quiet during their

> sessions together. She and I both agreed that we would back off

the

> PROMPT until he was more consistent in his vocalizations and had

> enough time to progress on his own and solidify that skill.

>

> He no longer flaps but now jumps all the time, but I learned that

> getting off of his previous sleep regimine was causing much of

that

> hyperactivity and now he is settling down thanks to me pulling

back

> out my Weisbluth book.

>

> So now to my thing about preschool. He has been in EI since 15

> months and his service coordinator says that we have to begin the

> transition into the school system beginning in a few months. This

> will consist of a evaluation with professionals not of our own

> choosing and then any services that are delivered after 3 would be

a

> preschool setting. I'm pretty sure we are going to say no thanks

to

> this. Regardless of whether he is autistic or not, which we

aren't

> sure of, I prefer the in-home speech therapy sessions and I want

to

> continue with the therapist we have been using. There are a host

of

> other concerns with a preschool setting too, but I would like to

see

> what your thoughts are? Anyone here conducting there

own " program "

> at home either through your insurance company or private funds.

Who

> has sent their kids to special needs preschools? What are your

> experiences. Thanks for the feedback.

>

> Ash

>