Question about kindergarten & schools

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Question about kindergarten & schools
7
Sat, 10-22-2005 - 12:45pm

Hi,

My daughter is in preschool right now. A speech based one and also a "normal" one. I am concerned because I don't know how she will do in Public kindergarten. I have been reading about people who send their kids to special ASD schools. How do I find out more about that. I live in Sacramento, CA area and I am trying to find out more about what I can do to help my daughter. She may or may not have an ASD or Aspergers. It is still very unclear. Neurologist says Aspergers but all her therapists say he is wrong. Anyway, any info on schools would be great.

Thanks,
Rachelle

Avatar for kittikatkate
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2004
Mon, 10-24-2005 - 1:12pm

My ds is 4 and attends a PPCD class at the regular elementary school. The PPCD class can have kids ages 3-5. It is a small class with 2 special ed teachers. Therapists come into the classroom to work with the kids. My ds will be 5 next year and would normally be starting kinder. However, he will go half day PPCD and half day of kinder. He will receive therapy in the PPCD class. Then the next year he will officially be in kinder. Then he will be pulled out of class to receive therapy.

The majority of the kids in our elementary's PPCD program are there for ASD's. The more severe children have an aide assigned to them. The higher functioning kids, like my ds, will just be pulled out as needed.

kate

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Mon, 10-24-2005 - 1:39pm

Thank you for your info. It sounds like that is where my DD is headed.

R.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 10-24-2005 - 1:39pm

Can I ask what is PPCD?

Thanks,
Jeannine

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Mon, 10-24-2005 - 9:36pm

Rachelle,

If she can handle a regular pre-k, even part-time, what makes you think she would not handle regular K with supports? Under the law, she is entitled to the Least Restrictive Envirnment, i.e. the closest thing to a 'regular' classroom that she can handle.

My DD attends a regular K class with 24 kids in total. She shares a FT aide with three other kids and she gets speech therapy/social skills twice each week in a group with other kids. She also a special ed learning center 45 minutes each day and an OT consult. Her DX, BTW is "at risk for Aspergers Syndrome" and she is doing great in this program. (visible results since September)

My DS, 7, is in a self-contained special ed classroom in he same school, mainstreamed for Math and Spanish. We have known forever that he would not be able to handle a regular ed class fulltime. There is too much activity and he gets overwhelmed.

The other thing is you have to see what is available in your area. Research the options available; public and private in your district and the surrounding ones. -Districts can vary vastly in their offerings. Some have NO special ed programs preferring to ship all their special needs kids off to another district. Try to find a program you think would best suit your DD and then push to have her placed there. Don't wait to hear what they suggest. See if your state provides lists of schools on a web site, I know NYS does.

but I don't think you should totally discount a regular classroom...

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Tue, 10-25-2005 - 12:14am

Thank you for your post. I am still learning so much about the school system here. I appreciate all your info. By the way, who diagnosed your DD with "at risk for Aspergers" I feel like I need another opinion. I am going to work on that right now since the therapists and neurologist have conflicting opinions.

Thanks Again!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
Tue, 10-25-2005 - 9:05am

Dear Rachelle,

Just a quick note to say that it is a wee tad unethical for therapists to voice opinions about dx'es too loudly, as they are not diagnosticians. We have had our son with loads of therapists over the years. He has a borderline spectrum pdd-nos dx from a top diagnostician, but even she has said his dx is questionable. I have had therapists voice opinions, but they have always qualified their answers with their own lack of expertise in diagnosing!

Also, if you do want a 2nd opinion, you shuld consider finding a neuro-psych or developmental pedicatrician with expertise in field of ASD dx'ing. But as others have pointed out, the treatment of education around her strengths and weaknesses is the right way to go here! Dx'es can change as they grow older, the more you can learn about your child, the better.

How your daughter will do in public school is also very much up to the school and the particular teachers she is with. Perhaps you can get in contact with other parents who have had accomodations of similar nature to what your child will possibly require and find out how your school district historically does (at what they SHOULD provide by law...)

yours,

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Tue, 10-25-2005 - 2:11pm

Believe it or not, that DX came from an agency paid for by the school district. (That is unusual BTW, School districts don't like to give out DXes. Not even ones like that which aren't really real, especially in children this young -they usually wait till 7 or 8). Siobhan had been receiving some services from 3yo. When she was transitioning from 3yo -4yo nursery school, I requested another eval, because I thought something was being missed. She just wasn't making the progress I knew she was capable of making.

They gave her the "regular" evaluations, and the evaluators saw her in her regular ed school and all agreed with what I had been saying all along: She *looks* good, does well in testing, but there is *something else* there. I kinda lucked out on the evaluators, who contacted me and asked for my input before they saw her, and were very experienced.

SO on the basis of those inconclusive reports, and backed in writing by one of the evaluators, I pushed the SD to give her another psych eval. This was done at home, and two big things emerged: her scores relative to peers had decreased in the past year, so she was not developing at the rate she should have been. This gave me a very strong point to argue at meetings. Also The psych. did see some red flags through testing her and speaking with me. Not enough for a full DX, but enough to light a big fire under the SD, which had been my goal.

She got a ton more services and has been doing stellar ever since.

A quick note, After the first couple of meetings (with older DS), I was always very careful when dealing with the districts and evaluators to keep very unemotional and analytical and to try to back up information with documentation as much as possible. I.e. to deal with them on their own terms (keep records, have a history available of things we tried, etc. write up notes, try to retain some objectivity etc). I think they are kind inclined to write off some moms as being 'hyesterical' or reading too much into a sitation, so I tried as best as I could to be concerned, but a little detached, if you KWIM. It's not always easy, but I think it helped.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com