Reg. Ed Preschool...Sp. Ed. Preschool

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Reg. Ed Preschool...Sp. Ed. Preschool
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Sat, 07-30-2005 - 10:17pm

I am just full of questions tonight. :)

Is there general consensus here that kids on the spectrum are often overwhelmed by a mainstreamed environment? It seems like I have read a lot of that.

My son is currently in a spec. ed preschool (2x week)and also receives itinerant services. The special ed school is good, but not outstanding. The teacher is good but the three aides in the room are mediocre, which seems to be the case schoool wide.

I have been strongly considering placing ds in a regular preschool (four mornings a week) in the fall, with lots of itinerant support. He would still receive speech 4-5 sessions a week, OT 2 sessions a week, and I would add a spec. ed teacher 3 sessions a week. These sessions could take place at home or at school.

My reasoning is that I believe the whole mainstreaming mantra (least restrictive environment possible). My son has not been in a regular classroom yet and I think we should try that before sticking with spec. ed. I also think the positive peer models might be beneficial. My son does hve social deficits, but I still think he might have more luck gaining skill in this area by practicing with NT kids, who can better support an interaction. Also, if I increase ds to 5x week at spec. preschool, he will lose his home based speech teacher who is excellent and has been critical to his success thus far. If ds goes to reg. preschool she can continue to see him.

FYI....right now my son's only diagnosis is verbal dyspraxia. However, after reading extensively, I do believe he could be on the spectrum and that time will tell. We last saw the dev. ped. in December and won't see him again until March.

However, after reading lots of posts.....I wonder if I am kidding myself. I think he will do fine reg. school, but maybe he will be overwhelmed. He doesn't mind noise, or crowds,so that part should be okay. I guess my main concenrs would be social interactions, level of support.....whether staff has enough training to see things as anxiety driven, not behavior problems. I do feel this is a very accomodating preschool. The director has a child in spec. ed and is very supportive of mainstreaming, accomodating differences, etc. If only I had the crystal ball. Any thoughts??

I considered doing 2x a week at each school, but his teacher thinks that would be too difficult for him.

Chrissy

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Avatar for njbeachma
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2003
Mon, 08-01-2005 - 11:35am

Hi Chrissy,

Thanks for the info. We are moving to the Wilmington area (New Hanover County). I've heard that Cary is the place to be for autism services but we love the coast. They have a TEACCH center based in Wimington, too so I look forward to finding out more.

Thanks again.
Shelley

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-24-2003
Mon, 08-01-2005 - 1:26pm

We considered a Montessori for DS for preschool but the developmental pediatrician and psychologist we talked to strongly recommended against it for a kid on the spectrum because there isn't a strong focus on social skills.

Pat

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 12:34am
I'm in the exact same position and am struggling with the same issues. In fact, my son sounds almost exactly like Katherine's Eric. My son (HFA/Asperger, depending on whom you ask) recently turned 3 and had been getting speech, OT, a social skills/communication playgroup, and special ed teacher through Early Intervention and was doing very well. We moved right after his birthday and he's now been without services for almost 3 months. He's actually doing quite well with us (his family), but the social and communication deficits are becoming more and more apparent the older he gets. He is a very sweet, loving, affectionate child with us, but he tends to "zone out" anywhere else. He just goes into his own world and doesn't respond to anyone else or starts spouting off quotes from his Thomas the Train videos.
We just met with the school district last week for the first time and they want to do all their own testing. However, I'm not excited about anything they could offer. Basically, he could either go to a special ed preschool class or a 50% integrated classroom. They also offer group speech therapy. That's all. I just cannot believe that there is no way he can get speech or OT anymore! He's way too bright and high-functioning to be in a special ed class, but his social deficits are too prominent for him to benefit from a regular class. When we had him in a typical preschool before, the teachers thought he was a very easy kid, no trouble at all- he did the routine things like circle time well, but during free play time, was always off in a corner by himself with his train. But I still don't like the 50% integrated classroom idea, because I'm afraid there's too much potential there for picking up new stims from other kids on the spectrum. Besides, I don't want him to become dependent on things like picture schedules and such- he's a perfectly flexible kid right now as long as you tell him in advance what's going to happen and I don't want that to change.
What I'd really like is for him to be in a typical preschool with a one-on-one aide. I wish I could be his aide myself, but we have another baby and no one else to watch him, so that won't work.
I'm thinking about just keeping him at home for now and continuing to do things like Kindermusik, kids' gymastics, and library storytelling. I attend all of the above with him, even though kids his age are supposed to go without their parents. We are also planning to do RDI with him- have already started some on our own and are planning to see a consultant once we get the money together.
For those who are happy with their school districts, please share! I am seriously thinking that we are going to have to relocate.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 1:40am

I have not tried it but I have a friend who did and it did not work out well for her son. To much change, open ended stuff, etc. However, at the time her son did not have a diagnosis at all and they just thought he was stubborn/willful. It wasn't until his younger brother was diagnosed due to language delay that they put it together. But even then she said that montesorri just wasn't a good match for him or his ADHD brother.

We looked into some similar programs for Cait when she was entering Kindie. We looked at montesorri and private parochial schools. It was a great idea but we could just tell they wouldn't be able to meet her needs. This was regular school age though. Not preschool. It may have been ok for pre-K. We ended up putting the kids in magnet schools, but even they weren't equipped to deal with the kids. Even though they are public schools. My sons school told me point blank that they are not a good school for ASD kids because of the way they are set up.

Our kids are the extreme. They make up maybe 1% of the school population most likely less. Even though 1/166 is a high number it is still less than 1%. In general, special ed students only make up 5% of the population. Most specialized schools are set for a certain population of kids but aren't equiped for the needs of those 1% or 5% who need more individualized programs and education. And even if they are set up for special education it is usually for kids with learning disabilities or similar. They often aren't equiped to deal with kids on the spectrum. If your child could function in a mainstream school without an IEP but tended to learn in a different way that was more in line with the montesorri philosophy, then it may be great. But if not, then it likely wouldn't work unless by some chance they have a great special ed dept. at the school which is not all that likely. The schools actually which tend to be most ready for kids like ours are public schools because by law they have to, or private schools that specialize in ASD's.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2005
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 11:07am

In response to ttcabq & mommylawyer2002:

My son attended a private, mainstream Montessori preschool when he was 3 yrs old, before he was diagnosed. At the time, we felt he had a language delay and hoped that he would catch up from merely being exposed to kids his age. This was not so in his case and after @ 3 mos, the school director suggested that we have him evaluated. It turned out he had deficits in many areas including language, pragmatics, social, etc, etc. The evaluators suggested a therapeutic nursery (I was hoping for a SEIT and lots of therapy) but we went with their recommendation and have been very pleased since. After making the switch to the therapeutic nursery, the difference in my son was like night and day.

At Montessori, he had 1 friend (who it turned out had had Early Intervention Services) and was younger than he. His other friends liked him because he was sweet and he would tickle them, but he could not sustain any kind of conversation, not even answer when asked his name. So, he really existed on the fringe, was never really fully engaged at Montessori. The activities were not structured enough for him, he would wander off from an activity since his attention was short lived, didn't always understand oral directions, and was distracted by a very stimulating environment. Even circle time was difficult. He loved to be read to and to sing, etc, but, because he had (still has) low muscle tone he could not sit comfortably & wiggled a lot. As a result, one of the teachers had to sit him in her lap to support him (take her attention from the other kids). So while he enjoyed Montessori, I do not think he gained much educationally or socially in the time he spent there. You know the Montessori method is very much about the child learning from doing independently which was the exact opposite of what my son required..

At the therapeutic nursery, he had much more support (smaller class, 2 teachers, 2 aids), tons of therapy with excellent therapists, his day was structured and as a result he functioned much better, and eventually more independently. His language exploded. He still talks a bit awkwardly, but confidently. He was able to really focus on his core deficits, including social (lots of facilitated play, eventually did not need so much help from teachers). He has mainly been exposed to children with comparable needs to his but I do not think this has been a bad thing. In his case, I think it has been wonderful. He has a great network of friends who are spectrum, and really get him and what makes him tick. He also spends a great deal of time with NT friends and family so I understand that that type of exposure is mutually beneficial. It allows him to reference/learn from them (not always appropriate stuff in my opinion : ) & NT's benefit from their exposure to him by learning to accept people with differences and to be more tolerant.

He currently attends a small private special ed school where social skills are an integral part of the curriculum and still receives ST, OT, PT. For PDD/Aspergers kids, there are very few options in my area. It's either private special ed or poorly implemented integrated settings in the public schools (25 kids, 2 teachers with minimal training and sporadic therapy, no social skills training whatsoever).

I am glad that we did go the Montessori route initially since it led us to discover things about my son (they really did pick up on his issues right away and I thank God) and to have a point of reference. Even with the progress my sone has made, I still believe that a Montessori school would not work for him. However, on a case by case basis, this may not always apply. Each child is unique and not all Montessori schools, mainstream / inclusion classes are equal. Perhaps in a small enough class with support & therapy, it could work.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 12:55pm

>>What I'd really like is for him to be in a typical preschool with a one-on-one aide<<

There is no reason in the world why you can't request that for him. Indeed, insist upon it. IEP = *Individualised* Education Program. It is supposed (per the law) to be based on the needs of the invididual child, and not based on the range of options the SD is willing to provide at any given time (Regardless of budget, BTW. Money cannot be geiven as a reason to refuse services)

However, I would caution you against an untrained aide, even yourself. You should push for a trained Special Ed teacher to work with your child in the regular classroom. Someone with training will know better what to look for and which interventions may be most suited to the situation. Also, you don't want him to be too dependent on you. You both need your own lives.

It you needs more informtion about special education law, check out wrightslaw.com or ideapractices.org.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com

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