Thoughts on preschool

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2012

So we're getting close to transitioning out of EI and into the school department and preschool has been weighing heavily on my mind. I've been looking into preschool and he may qualify based on need. If he gets in, he would go 4 days a week, 3.5 hours a day. I SAH so childcare isn't needed. On one hand, I think preschool would be beneficial. My younger child has some mild hearing loss which has delayed her speech so getting some 1 on 1 time with her would be good. On the other hand, he still seems so young to me and I've been thinking of putting it off another school year. His birthday falls late in the year so he will be starting kindergarten 3 months before his 6th birthday so even if I wait until next fall to enroll him, he'll get 2 years of preschool before kindergarten.

If this info helps any--he is mildly apraxic so he while his receptive/expressive language is fairly age appropriate he struggles with articulation, prosody and finding words. He also has sensory issues that have been well controlled with a sensory diet.

WWYD?

duchess0727 · August 2012

My daughter started special education preschool when she turned 3. It has been hugely beneficial to her. She has really progressed in her development and she loves going to school. In fact, she was in summer school and it just ended and she is really sad. I found that being in school was much more effective than EI because of the shorter therapy sessions but more often which is much better for my daughter as well as the continuous reinforcement of all that she needs to learn on a daily basis.

d.f · August 2012

My DS started preschool last year, about 2 weeks before he turned 3. It was actually the preschool SpEd teacher who came to me with concerns (I had him enrolled as a typical student) so our situation is diffferent. But honestly, he has thrived in preschool. He has made enormous progress in every area. For us putting him in preschool at 3 was one of the best decisions we have made. He has a September birthday but our districts cut off is October 1st. We will probably red shirt him so he starts K right before turning 6.

bumpuser511563 · August 2012

I thought DS was quite young to start preschool but the EI therapists and daycare teachers were not cooperating and that was the basis of my decision to continue DS's need for therapy. He was in the 2 1/2 year old class last year and will be in preschool for 3 years!

When he was in EI he had no words and was speech delayed. At the end of the school year, DS had 20 something words out of 50. I don't have any regrets on keeping DS from going to school and it was the best decision DH and I made!

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2012

-auntie-:

I vote for preschool.

If he qualifies for services in the preschool, none will likely be offered outside of school via the district. And you would be establishing a reputation as one who refused services.

The kids who are in preschool on an IEP will gain skills at a faster rate than those at home without services, so his subtle delay could become a significant one in a year.

My school district royally sucks and they don't consider apraxia "special needs" enough to put them in preschool. He'll likely only get offered speech once a week tops (per my service coordinator based on her experiences). I did find an organization in our community that considers apraxia "special needs" and would help us in terms of getting preschool for him/speech services within preschool. I just wasn't sure how much I wanted to fight for this, but based on this post I'm guessing it's a battle worth fighting if it's going to be that helpful.

lite-bright · August 2012

I had no plans to start my DD1 with 2.5 hours of preschool, four days a week. Until we got her autism dx.

Preschool was awesome for her last year. If I could've sent her for actual half-days, I would've done it in a minute b/c the environment was so beneficial. She loved it, she liked the other kids, and we both made some friends. She made such good progress, in fact, that this year she's heading into her second preschool year in a 100% mainstream classroom. Last year she was in a class with a higher number of kids with IEPs, with an extra teacher, led by a SpEd teacher. The level of service was exactly right to help her progress, and get to a typical classroom.

Hopefully I'll feel differently at the end of the year, but I almost wish we could do a third year of preschool. The curriculum (Tools of the Mind) is based on some of the same psych principles as DD1's core therapy and has a very solid research basis for benefiting all types of kids, but unfortunately they don't use it past preschool in my district.

malcivar · August 2012

Chris started going to "school" (center based ABA/speech therapy) 27 days after his 2nd birthday. I was terrified and convinced he was too young. Well, Day 1 on the bus - he was happy as a clam. We got to the school and everyone expected tears as I handed him off to the therapist - not a single one. 2 hrs later, back on the bus and he was cheerful. Now we notice that he seems a little bored when at home. He went in with pretty much 0 words. Now he easily has over 100 and is able to let us know what he wants. He plays properly with toys - total 180 from where he was 8 months ago.

So now that he's going to pre-school, I'm SUPER excited. He's going to be one of the younger ones since he doesn't turn 3 until November but he's allowed to attend since the school has room and it would be less disruptive, they feel, than having him start 2 months into the school term.

I don't know yet how long he'll be there and how many days a week but I'm really hoping it's 5 days a week. Chris really likes the daily routine of going to school.

Don't be worried. Ask a million questions. A good school won't dance around them and should have an open door policy so you can check in on your little one whenever you like.

Good luck.

soontobeahigh · August 2012

DD starts the READY program next week the day after she turns 3. We have our final IEP planning meeting this Friday. Im really hoping she will do great. I chose the actual school setting for her over day care because she will get more therapy this way and she will be around peers like herself.

I say if you can get it, take it!

ABColeslaw · August 2012

I think you should send him. The more speech he gets now the better.

lindzed · August 2012

This was a huge decision for me at about the same age. I talked the preschool into letting us don2 days a week because I felt he was so young, but I have to say it was a huge benefit for us and this year he is going to go 5 days a week because it was so great. I say try it. If you give it a month or two and don't see any real value then you can always rethink it.

Louise06 · August 2012

I would absolutely do it! My DD benefited so much from her SN preschool. Last year, she did 3 full (7 hr) days at the SN preschool and 2 days at a traditional preschool. I only I had known to go through the school district the year before. I was hesitant to send her to the SN school because she was doing well at her other school. However, she gained more skills through the SN preschool.

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