Special Ed Preschool?

[Green Vixen]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry to be posting so much lately, but I don't know where else to turn. We just found out my youngest ds qualified for the school district special education preschool in our community. He qualified with expressive speech, articulation, personal/social and daily living skills delays. The preschool starts the day he turns 3 and is 2 1/2 hours, 5 days a week. During the week he will have 1 hour of specific speech therapy they will pull him out for. The class will have one special ed teacher and two special ed aids for 10 special ed students, and two normally developed peers.

 

Has anyone had a child go through this program? How did it fit in with homeschooling them later on? Did you think it was helpful or worth it?

 

I have a couple of concerns about sending him, the two biggest ones being that I think 2 1/2 hours a day is a lot for a 3 year old. Second I am not sure if he and his twin sister are going to have some separation issues from being away from each other so much.

 

Thanks for any input, this is all so new to me!

 

Marisa

[wapiti]

It's good that the speech is a pull-out.

 

I can only tell you about our experience - when my boys were in special ed preschool several years ago for speech delay and general developmental delays, the speech therapy was a few minutes here and there rather than dedicated time, and IMO that was useless. The special ed preschool had a great teacher/student ratio. They started toward the end of a school year after their third birthday, and finished out that year. Then I started them again the following August. However, I wasn't happy about the speech, and my boys seemed bored, so after a couple weeks, I pulled them out, put them in a montessori preschool and private speech therapy. One of the best decisions I ever made - they made fantastic progress, and their preschool teachers (they were in separate classrooms) helped them develop their strengths as well as improve their weaknesses. They are bright and now are ahead of grade level in most areas - in some areas way ahead. FWIW, the Montessori method was originally developed to serve a special needs population.

 

I would not worry at all about the separation of the twins - they'll be fine. Like any change, it takes a little getting used to. For my guys, separating from each other was no big deal, and was probably a good idea, to keep them from comparing themselves to each other (they do enough of that at home, trust me. ds who couldn't talk knows his weaknesses). Separating from me was a whole other story LOL, but it didn't take them long. (FWIW, all of my kids have attended a 3 hour per day/5 days per week preschool. The fifth one, who just turned 3 in May, starts at the same preschool on Monday.)

 

Good luck - hope it works out well!

[AmyinMD]

This sounds similar to the program my son attends. He is in a class with 12 children (6 typical and 6 special needs). Last year there were 3 classroom assistants so I assume it will be similar this year.

 

I'm pretty lukewarm about it after 6 months in the program. My ds really hasn't made any progress so far and the school has not been very helpful about making any changes to the program for him. We just hired an advocate to go in to try to change his IEP goals. If you do go through with it spend a lot of time discussing those goals because that is what they will work with in the classroom. I wasn't sure what kind of goals to ask for at ds's initial meeting so just went with the standard goals. They are too hard for ds and getting them changed is proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. For example one of his goals is to answer questions with a 2 word phrase. He rarely answers questions period and if he does he usually repeats the last word you say or says no. The speech therapist is stuck working on this goal that is several steps beyond what he is capable of. Needless to say he has made no progress with the speech therapy.

 

I have observed ds in class twice and it really seems like an okay program for most kids. The teacher and assistants all seemed very involved and try to make things interesting for the kids. However it just isn't set up for my child's particular special needs. I'm planning to leave ds there for at least this school year even if we can't get any modification to the goals (we should be able to because of the lack of progress). It gives me a 3 hour break on school days to work with my other children. He is extremely high needs and I'm constantly checking on him because he can destroy things quickly. I know he's safe at school and they are trying hard to work with him even if he isn't responding to them. He's also one of the youngest kids in the class which I don't think helps. All of the typical kids are ones that are going to K the next year so ds was 2 years younger than a lot of the kids in the class last year. He was no where near ready to be working on Kindergarten readiness skills which is the focus of the class.

[PrincessAriel]

We were lucky as we dealt with a wonderful director of Early Childhood special ed. from the school district. My dd was 3yo and was attending a private preschool 2 or 3 mornings a week (can't remember for sure anymore). The preschool wasn't even in the same district as we lived in but she traveled there monthly and kept in contact with us and the preschool teacher. They felt it was a better fit for her rather than their own program. The OT would also visit dd on site and it worked well for all of us. We were happy with the services and care for our dd. Sometimes they do make allowances. Good luck deciding.

[Crimson Wife]

My youngest is in an Early Intervention preschool. She started out in the less intensive class (1:3 ratio, 12 hrs per week) in March but in June she moved to the more intensive program (1:2 ratio, 20 hrs per week). They do PECS (picture communication) and have more visual support in that class, and it does seem to be helping her. Her preschool has twice per week pullouts for ST and OT, though she actually doesn't need the latter. She enjoys doing the OT activities and it's not like it's going to hurt her any.

 

At 3, she'll transition to the district program and I don't know much about what that's like. I do worry about what will happen if she still needs ST when she gets to kindergarten age. Our district does have an independent study program, but I don't care much for it since you have to use the district's curricula.

[Dobela]

I was once a teacher in early childhood special education schools. Each ohne is as different as a snowflake. Each center has its own personality. Most kids love what they are doing. Everything is usually play based and with the better ratios, the kids receive lots of personal attention. In our state the teachers have to have extra certification to teach in preK special ed and the assistants receive specialized training as well. I saw some kids make tremendous progress, and others not so much. The only effect it should have on homeschooling later is to help the child have success so that teaching the child later is easier.

 

That being said, you really need to stay on top of the therapies and progress made. I worked with some of the best therapists I have ever known. I also worked with some of the laziest when supervision was not as it should be by center directors. While a lot of therapy is done as children are available, there is a loose schedule that the therapists will use so they can see every child they need to see. After the first week or 2 you should be able to know when your child is most likely to have therapy. If she is to get 1 hr a week, then ask the teacher to see the logs or ask if your child was taken that day. You should have a copy of the goals and objectives at home and be able to see progress in those. It may be slow, but it should be present.

 

You can ask for and have scheduled a review at any time. That is your right as a parent. If you feel there isn't being enough progress, then you can ask why. If you are the parent who is regularly asking for progress notes and asking for activities you can do at home to work with your child, then the schooling will be more successful.

 

Be on the watch for things like frequent teacher or aid turnover. That may be a sign of low morale and bad working conditions for staff which may be passed on to the kids indirectly or create situations where the ratio is not as good as it should be.

[NittanyJen]

This type of program was our o ly truly positive experience in our school district. The PT who worked with our son became his biggest advocate and supported us along the path of getting his true dx (the WHY he had his delays). His classroom teacher was fantastic and gave him individualized attention.

 

His class was mixed special ed and neurotypical children, though it was targeted and funded for the special ed crew.

[dsmama]

My son will be starting preschool this fall, 3 hours, four mornings a week. I hope it will be a positive experience, and I hope it wills be for your little one, also!!

[Green Vixen]

It's good that the speech is a pull-out.

 

I can only tell you about our experience - when my boys were in special ed preschool several years ago for speech delay and general developmental delays, the speech therapy was a few minutes here and there rather than dedicated time, and IMO that was useless. The special ed preschool had a great teacher/student ratio. They started toward the end of a school year after their third birthday, and finished out that year. Then I started them again the following August. However, I wasn't happy about the speech, and my boys seemed bored, so after a couple weeks, I pulled them out, put them in a montessori preschool and private speech therapy. One of the best decisions I ever made - they made fantastic progress, and their preschool teachers (they were in separate classrooms) helped them develop their strengths as well as improve their weaknesses. They are bright and now are ahead of grade level in most areas - in some areas way ahead. FWIW, the Montessori method was originally developed to serve a special needs population.

 

I would not worry at all about the separation of the twins - they'll be fine. Like any change, it takes a little getting used to. For my guys, separating from each other was no big deal, and was probably a good idea, to keep them from comparing themselves to each other (they do enough of that at home, trust me. ds who couldn't talk knows his weaknesses). Separating from me was a whole other story LOL, but it didn't take them long. (FWIW, all of my kids have attended a 3 hour per day/5 days per week preschool. The fifth one, who just turned 3 in May, starts at the same preschool on Monday.)

 

Good luck - hope it works out well!

 

Thanks for your reply! We have our meeting with the teacher in a couple of weeks and I will ask her how the speech therapy will fit into the class schedule. Would you recommend he be pulled out for it? The language delay is definitely his biggest issue and I think once that improves the other behaviors will follow. I really want to make sure he is getting his full two 30 minute sessions a week, so maybe I will need to put my foot down if it becomes an issue.

 

I wish we could send him to a Montessori school! We only have one in our town and it is very expensive! I also don't know how he would do in a "typical" classroom, he is very independent and a little quirky :lol:.

 

Thanks again!

 

Marisa

[Green Vixen]

This sounds similar to the program my son attends. He is in a class with 12 children (6 typical and 6 special needs). Last year there were 3 classroom assistants so I assume it will be similar this year.

 

I'm pretty lukewarm about it after 6 months in the program. My ds really hasn't made any progress so far and the school has not been very helpful about making any changes to the program for him. We just hired an advocate to go in to try to change his IEP goals. If you do go through with it spend a lot of time discussing those goals because that is what they will work with in the classroom. I wasn't sure what kind of goals to ask for at ds's initial meeting so just went with the standard goals. They are too hard for ds and getting them changed is proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. For example one of his goals is to answer questions with a 2 word phrase. He rarely answers questions period and if he does he usually repeats the last word you say or says no. The speech therapist is stuck working on this goal that is several steps beyond what he is capable of. Needless to say he has made no progress with the speech therapy.

 

I have observed ds in class twice and it really seems like an okay program for most kids. The teacher and assistants all seemed very involved and try to make things interesting for the kids. However it just isn't set up for my child's particular special needs. I'm planning to leave ds there for at least this school year even if we can't get any modification to the goals (we should be able to because of the lack of progress). It gives me a 3 hour break on school days to work with my other children. He is extremely high needs and I'm constantly checking on him because he can destroy things quickly. I know he's safe at school and they are trying hard to work with him even if he isn't responding to them. He's also one of the youngest kids in the class which I don't think helps. All of the typical kids are ones that are going to K the next year so ds was 2 years younger than a lot of the kids in the class last year. He was no where near ready to be working on Kindergarten readiness skills which is the focus of the class.

 

Thank you, thank you Amy for your reply!!! I had no idea how important the IEP goals are and that they are set in stone! The initial meeting to find out if my ds or his twin sister qualified was completely overwhelming. They wanted to go over the IEP's and I was still processing his severe language delays :001_unsure:.

 

We met the teacher yesterday and she said we will be meeting to complete the IEP and go over everything before he starts. My dh and I are going to discuss them this weekend, before he goes out of town, so we make sure we have exactly what we want them to focus on.

 

My ds will be turning 3 two weeks after the class starts so he will also be a little younger. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

 

Thanks for all the information and sharing your experience with me!

 

Marisa

[Green Vixen]

We were lucky as we dealt with a wonderful director of Early Childhood special ed. from the school district. My dd was 3yo and was attending a private preschool 2 or 3 mornings a week (can't remember for sure anymore). The preschool wasn't even in the same district as we lived in but she traveled there monthly and kept in contact with us and the preschool teacher. They felt it was a better fit for her rather than their own program. The OT would also visit dd on site and it worked well for all of us. We were happy with the services and care for our dd. Sometimes they do make allowances. Good luck deciding.

 

Wow, I'm so glad they were willing to work with your dd!!! The school district we're working with is not flexible. I asked about not doing the preschool part and just doing speech therapy and they said that wasn't an option. It is a package deal, you either get all of it or none of it :glare:. We were thinking about doing private ST but the waiting list is over a year long and we are PSCing in the next 9 months. We're going to give the preschool a shot and if it doesn't work we'll just pull him out. Thanks for you reply!

 

Marisa

[Green Vixen]

My youngest is in an Early Intervention preschool. She started out in the less intensive class (1:3 ratio, 12 hrs per week) in March but in June she moved to the more intensive program (1:2 ratio, 20 hrs per week). They do PECS (picture communication) and have more visual support in that class, and it does seem to be helping her. Her preschool has twice per week pullouts for ST and OT, though she actually doesn't need the latter. She enjoys doing the OT activities and it's not like it's going to hurt her any.

 

At 3, she'll transition to the district program and I don't know much about what that's like. I do worry about what will happen if she still needs ST when she gets to kindergarten age. Our district does have an independent study program, but I don't care much for it since you have to use the district's curricula.

 

Thanks for your reply Crimson Wife! Both my twins are doing an early intervention program since they turned 2, but it was just a speech therapist coming to the house once a week. The preschool program your dd goes to sounds very interesting!

 

Like your dd I'm not sure what will happen to my ds when he starts K if he needs ST? Luckily his birthday is in early September so he will miss the K cut off and will have an extra year! Hopefully by then both of our kids will be talking our ears off and we won't have to worry about it :001_smile:!

 

Marisa