Inclusion Preschool for Autistic Son

lindzed · December 2011

Hey girls,

I know most of you know my son Adam has Autism. I've been working with the county and basically calling in every favor from anyone I know to try to get him into a great inclusion preschool for next fall. I really think he would benefit so much from being in a preschool with other normally developing kids his age. The issue I'm running into is of course the waitlist for all the really great places are so long, and the county is only really great at letting me know what's available in our county (I'm strange in Dekalb county, but still City of Atlanta).

I was hoping maybe some of you might know of inclusion (basically means they have special needs children in the same class) preschools in your areas. Maybe your child goes to school with children that have Autism or other special needs. We rent a house right now so I am not at all opposed to moving to a different area for Adam to go to a great school.

Thanks so much!!

to-be-lam · December 2011

A friend of mine has a daughter with cerebral palsy. She attends College Heights (in Decatur), and it is my understanding that she spends a good portion of her day in the regular classroom. They have had a few hiccups with respect to schedules/napping, etc., but for the most part have been pretty happy, and her daughter has made tremendous progress there (obviously a completely different set of needs than Adam will have).

frlcb · December 2011

My son had a classmate with autism last year (atlanta progressive preschool). He and his twin sister were in the class, and this year they switched to a school (somewhere in midtown I believe, a church school) that not only had inclusive classes for kids with special needs but also had a teacher in each class specifically for the kids with special needs. I will try to find out the name.

I also know Ptree Pres has inclusion as well. A friend of mine also has twins, one has special needs, and they are in the same class at Ptree Pres, although I *think* they also have separate classes at times.

I think the one my son's classmate switched to is https://firstprespreschoolatl.org/faculty/

decaturbride · December 2011

Have you looked at Coralwood? I know it is a mixture of special needs children and typical children in the same classrooms. I don't know specifically about autism though. We have friends that had their daughter go there and loved it. She is not special needs, but I have only heard great things about their program. We are actually considering applying for pre-k there next year. It is a public school and accepts kids from different areas of Dekalb. As I understand it, you don't have to be zoned there to apply.

decaturbride · December 2011

I also recommend calling the schools that you are interested in yourself and talking with the principals. I think you'll get more help that way verses going through the county administration.

K&P414 · December 2011

decaturbride:
I also recommend calling the schools that you are interested in yourself and talking with the principals. I think you'll get more help that way verses going through the county administration.

I agree with this. Our school has a SpEd teacher that sits in the regular classroom to help with the different special needs kids.

soon2b3 · December 2011

I believe our school has a very well recognized Special Needs program, Alpharetta Elementary. I don't know a ton about it, so please check it out. They do have a seperate special needs for those that need it pre-K, K and i think a few other higher grade, but they do also have a strong drive towards inclusion.

mingaling2 · December 2011

If I'm not mistaken, I think the Frazier Center in Candler Park is inclusionary:

https://www.thefrazercenter.org/childrens-program

lindzed · December 2011

Thank you all so much for your help!!!! The only one I already knew about was the Fraiser Center (amazing place and we are on the waitlist), so these are tons of great new places for me to look.

susangilchrist · December 2011

How old is your son? Your ticker says 2, but not sure it's right. Coralwood is an AWESOME school for inclusion. It's in Dekalb. It's also public, which is awesome.

FluffyShoe · December 2011

Hi. Lurker here.

I live in Woodstock and my son (3 yrs. old) was diagnosed PDD-NOS, so still on the autism spectrum. I am not close to Dekalb, but I thought I would offer my experience. I enrolled my son in a preschool in E. Cobb (E. Cobb Prep) that wasn't necessarily known as being 'inclusive', but was known to be a good school. This was before he was diagnosed. He was between 2-2.5 when he started preschool and at the time we felt he only had a speech delay. He was also receiving services through Babies Can't Wait (speech & OT) and they would do his therapy in the classroom. It is a wonderful school (my daughter is there for pre-K), but my son's experience there had ups and downs. They have cameras in the classrooms that can be viewed remotely, so I could keep an eye on him throughout the day. There were some teachers that knew how to deal with him and others that didn't. I was determined for him to be in an inclusive environment.

When my son turned three in October he became eligible for the public school pre-school for special needs and we enrolled him. I was surprised at the options available through the school system. Among others, there was the option to have a special ed. assistant attend his private daycare/preschool, as long as it was in the same county as the school system. So, quite literally, he could have his own 'handler' to help him through his day. There was also the option to enroll in a classroom that was inclusive of all special-needs. We opted for the preschool class specifically for autistic children. There was also the option of part-time or full-time. He is in a small class and I have seen an improvement in his communication skills in just a couple of months. They have playtime set up so that the special-ed kids are playing with the normal headstart kids, so he is getting exposure to a good variety of social experiences.

In May of this year he also started attending Summit Learning Center (in Roswell) for ABA Therapy. They have clinic hours available in the afternoons that we attend weekly. ABA Therapy has been the absolute best thing for our son. It's not cheap and if we could afford it, he would attend their full-time school five days a week.

All that said, I think if I had to do the last year over, I would have focused less on the idea of inclusion with normal kids. It was hard to accept the diagnosis and I wanted him to be like every other kid in his class. I realized that at his age, the intense early intervention therapies are the most important thing for him now. Getting him to where he can communicate verbally is our top priority. I do think inclusion is very important, but I think it is less of a priority for us at his age. I find other ways away from school to involve him with other kids - playgroups, playgrounds, etc.

Here is a resource that may be useful for finding a good inclusive environment. I received this business card at some point in EI and though I never used it, I did check out their website:

https://www.qualitycareforchildren.org/index.asp

By law, all private preschools/daycares in GA are required to provide reasonable accommodations for the enrollment of special-needs children. So technically, all daycares/preschools are inclusive. Obviously, the trick is to find schools that have went the extra mile to train their staff. Religious schools are exempt from the law.

This was just my experience with the last year and I hope it helps. Sorry this was so long. Best of luck finding a good program for your son.

lindzed · December 2011

FluffyShoe:

Hi. Lurker here.

I live in Woodstock and my son (3 yrs. old) was diagnosed PDD-NOS, so still on the autism spectrum. I am not close to Dekalb, but I thought I would offer my experience. I enrolled my son in a preschool in E. Cobb (E. Cobb Prep) that wasn't necessarily known as being 'inclusive', but was known to be a good school. This was before he was diagnosed. He was between 2-2.5 when he started preschool and at the time we felt he only had a speech delay. He was also receiving services through Babies Can't Wait (speech & OT) and they would do his therapy in the classroom. It is a wonderful school (my daughter is there for pre-K), but my son's experience there had ups and downs. They have cameras in the classrooms that can be viewed remotely, so I could keep an eye on him throughout the day. There were some teachers that knew how to deal with him and others that didn't. I was determined for him to be in an inclusive environment.

When my son turned three in October he became eligible for the public school pre-school for special needs and we enrolled him. I was surprised at the options available through the school system. Among others, there was the option to have a special ed. assistant attend his private daycare/preschool, as long as it was in the same county as the school system. So, quite literally, he could have his own 'handler' to help him through his day. There was also the option to enroll in a classroom that was inclusive of all special-needs. We opted for the preschool class specifically for autistic children. There was also the option of part-time or full-time. He is in a small class and I have seen an improvement in his communication skills in just a couple of months. They have playtime set up so that the special-ed kids are playing with the normal headstart kids, so he is getting exposure to a good variety of social experiences.

In May of this year he also started attending Summit Learning Center (in Roswell) for ABA Therapy. They have clinic hours available in the afternoons that we attend weekly. ABA Therapy has been the absolute best thing for our son. It's not cheap and if we could afford it, he would attend their full-time school five days a week.

All that said, I think if I had to do the last year over, I would have focused less on the idea of inclusion with normal kids. It was hard to accept the diagnosis and I wanted him to be like every other kid in his class. I realized that at his age, the intense early intervention therapies are the most important thing for him now. Getting him to where he can communicate verbally is our top priority. I do think inclusion is very important, but I think it is less of a priority for us at his age. I find other ways away from school to involve him with other kids - playgroups, playgrounds, etc.

Here is a resource that may be useful for finding a good inclusive environment. I received this business card at some point in EI and though I never used it, I did check out their website:

https://www.qualitycareforchildren.org/index.asp

By law, all private preschools/daycares in GA are required to provide reasonable accommodations for the enrollment of special-needs children. So technically, all daycares/preschools are inclusive. Obviously, the trick is to find schools that have went the extra mile to train their staff. Religious schools are exempt from the law.

This was just my experience with the last year and I hope it helps. Sorry this was so long. Best of luck finding a good program for your son.

Thanks so much! That is a lot of help. I am doing ABA Therapy now and lots of speech and I agree its super important right now. Really what I am hoping to find is somewhere for Adam when he turns 3 (so next fall) that would be an inclusion type program even if its just for a few hours. I don't have many friends with children so its important for me to get Adam around other children his same age.

keg · December 2011

I have a friend whose typically developing daughter is at the Walden School which is associated with the Emory Autism Center and loves it: https://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/autism/Walden.html.

Not a preschool per se, but my DDs are in a inclusion daycare (https://www.elaineclarkcenter.org/) and we all love it.

coffeekitten · December 2011

Look up the adaptive learning center. They provide teachers for students with needs in inclusive settings including prachtree presb, the Jewish community center and Roswell presb.

susangilchrist · December 2011

keg:
I have a friend whose typically developing daughter is at the Walden School which is associated with the Emory Autism Center and loves it: https://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/autism/Walden.html.
Not a preschool per se, but my DDs are in a inclusion daycare (https://www.elaineclarkcenter.org/) and we all love it.

I would "second" Elaine Clark. As a teacher, I've known people who have worked there and it's awesome. Also, Coralwood (which I mentioned earlier) is a school that only goes through kindergarten or so. It starts at age 3 and the entire school is inclusive. Each classroom is made up of typically developing kids and kids with special needs. There are SLPs and OTs on site and it's just awesome. My teacher friends all try to get their kids in.

UGAbride · December 2011

I have a friend who has her special needs son enrolled at Coralwood, and she RAVES about it. Good luck finding the perfect place for him!

kep · December 2011

Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool

https://www.peachtreepresbyterianpreschool.org/adaptivelearningcenter

kep · December 2011

https://www.peachtreepresbyterianpreschool.org/adaptivelearningcenter

maykat · December 2011

to-be-lam:
A friend of mine has a daughter with cerebral palsy. She attends College Heights (in Decatur), and it is my understanding that she spends a good portion of her day in the regular classroom. They have had a few hiccups with respect to schedules/napping, etc., but for the most part have been pretty happy, and her daughter has made tremendous progress there (obviously a completely different set of needs than Adam will have).

Check with City of Decatur. I believe most of the schools are inclusion schools

dbryson · December 2011

I think you live really close to where we did.

In Ridge's first class at Shallowford Pres there was an autistic boy in his class so I know there are inclusion. The class sizes are small and you can choose 2, 3 or 5 days for 3-year old classes.

Also look into Coralwood which is right down the road. I believe if you have a child with special needs you automatically get in (I could be wrong though) and there is a waiting list for the remaining spots.

Did you read the blog I sent you last time? My friend just posted amazing results on B's progress. Crying the other night reading it. Visit for a happy moment.

lindzed · December 2011

dbryson:

I think you live really close to where we did.

In Ridge's first class at Shallowford Pres there was an autistic boy in his class so I know there are inclusion. The class sizes are small and you can choose 2, 3 or 5 days for 3-year old classes.

Also look into Coralwood which is right down the road. I believe if you have a child with special needs you automatically get in (I could be wrong though) and there is a waiting list for the remaining spots.

Did you read the blog I sent you last time? My friend just posted amazing results on B's progress. Crying the other night reading it. Visit for a happy moment.

Thanks! It's hard to figure out becuase Coralwood is only for Dekalb county (which I live in), but I'm also the city of atlanta so its tricky to see if there is a way around that. I did read the blog a few months ago, but actually haven't checked it in a while. I will have to check back in on it for some happy news.

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