I'm back!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
I'm back!
6
Wed, 01-25-2006 - 11:50pm

Hi all,
I've been MIA for a bit but things have been crazy around here. I'm about to pull every hair from my head in frustration from trying to get Jake into a preschool. I tried the Catholic school thing but I didn't exactly get an enthusiastic response from any of the schools I tried. When I asked one principal I talked to if they had any kids with a similar diagnosis go through her school she said that she had two kids but both left in first grade because they were not doing well. I was told over and over how great the public school systems are for special needs children and one nun told me she wouldn't tell me straight out no but it was unlikely it would work and we should do what was best for the child. Now I know why one of the therapists told me not to say anything about his diagnosis. To be honest the fact that the teachers seems to have zero experience dealing with ASD kids makes me think it probably wouldn't be a good idea anyway, so I have found a preschool in the area we will be moving to in the summer. It's a typical preschool with a few kids with special needs and they have no problem with an aide shadowing him in the class.It will be a bit tricky because we will be moving into a different county so it may be some time before we can set up a TSS but I'm sure it will work out.

Jake is doing pretty well. He has a new "accent". I have an accent because I'm from Ireland and at first I thought it was him imitating me but this accent has a very definite southern twang to it. Have any of your kids ever started to pretend to have an accent? I can't understand where it's coming from. It is funny though. He was with the developmental ped on monday for his 6 month follow up. She thinks he's doing well. She said he had cognitive skills of a 4 year old (he turns 3 in April) which I already kind of knew. She said he should be getting more speech therapy because he gets only one session per week through E.I but she felt over all he was doing well and felt that eventually he may move of the spectrum totally. She was a little concerned that his eye contact hadn't improved very much and suggested we do a little bit of ABA(we use Greenspan's floortime approach)to help with this. She also thinks he would do well in either a language based preschool or in a typical preschool with an aide. Of course my DH almost freaked when the "special school" was suggested. He is still not doing well with this. On the way home from the appointment he was quiet and I asked what was wrong. He said that he still didn't think there was anything wrong with Jake. I honestly think he thought that when they saw him this time that they would tell us they had made a mistake. He's just not ready to deal with it yet!

Teresa

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 10:30am

Teresa,


welcome back!

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 11:18am

Hi Teresa! Good to hear from you again!

Sorry you're having such hassles with the whole preschool thing. But for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing by being upfront about his diagnosis. If they're so reluctant to have an ASD child in the school, then you can bet that if Jake has any behavioral issues they won't have a clue how to deal with them. And really, with the move AND starting school, some behaviors are likely to crop up as he adjusts to the new situation. Better to have him in a school where they know what's what and are willing to work with both you and Jake.

Good luck with the move!

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 12:47pm
Hi Tina,
Hooray for bobby! I keep putting off potty training but with preschool starting in September I really need to get started with it. I have heard about Theraplay because they had a stand at the Autism walk in Philly during the summer. It's a little expensive but I'm not sure if they take insurance. I have heard good things about it though. That playgroup sounds like it would be really great but I wonder if you have to be living in the county?Ella is doing really well. The developmental ped had a quick look at her while I was there with Jake and felt that she didn't see any red flags so that was reasurring but there is still something telling me there's something more than sensory problems going on. I don't know if it is an ASD or maybe a language disorder but I think it's strange how much echolia she's using even though all the therapists and the doc say it's normal. I think it just reminds me so much of how Jake got language it scares me. How's Elizabeth doing?
Talk to you soon,
Teresa
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 1:18pm

Hi Teresa!

Sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having with school! Dh and I opted to send the boys to public, mostly because of the cost! But we also knew that Nathan would get more services thru public schools, and they are better equipped on dealing with special needs...at least here where we live! Dh and I did attend Catholic schools growing up, and really enjoyed it.

I understand about the dh thing. My dh took about a year to get on board!! It's very hard for them. My dh didn't even want to talk about it, so that made it more difficult for me. I really had to give him time. I talked about Nathan all the time with him, even though he wouldn't comment on anything. He eventually went to a golf tournament (I've posted about this before), it was a charity event for autism. Anyway, he was able to meet other dad's who were going thru the same thing. And it helped seeing other families who were dealing with autism too. Me and the boys didn't go because it was out of town. It was a real eye opening experience for him. When Nathan was dx'd, we didn't know much about autism, or even knew anyone who was autistic.

I'm sure your dh just needs more time. (((hugs)))

michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 5:44pm

Teresa,


I was shocked but my health insurance is going to pay for Bobby's speech at theraplay.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2005
In reply to: baboig
Thu, 01-26-2006 - 6:38pm
Chase was dx while attending catholic school and while there have been bumps in the road things have gone surprisingly well. The teachers and special needs couselor have really allowed me to educate them(to the extent I can) on Aspergers and they're always willing to make changes and accomodations for him. Being with NT's has been of great benefit to Chase but his major malfunction is daydreaming and transitioning so we got lucky in that regard. Next year will be the real telling point because in 3rd grade they no longer have assistants in the classroom. The principal told me she has no problem with me coming in and assisting but I'm not sure that's a good fit. I hope Jake's new school works out! Regards, Vicky