Wanted to share our great Inclusion experience at North Miami Montessori

[Guest guest]

Hi listmates,

Just wanted to share our experiences at my son's new school. In the beginning of

the year we placed him in a Mckay religious private school with a shadow for

Kindergarden, and it was not a good fit for him. The school and teachers were

great and very supportive, but it was hard for my son to sit and listen to

teacher instruction for long periods of time in a typical education model. So

after the first week I moved him to North Miami Montessori. He loved it so much

he didn't want to come home and cried all weekend that he wanted to go back! His

class has 15 kids, 1 other child with Autism and 1 child with down's syndrome.

The rest of the children are typical, and they are all taught how to engage with

children with ASD and even be " teachers " to them. One classmate even did hand

over hand instruction naturally to show my son how to use the paper towel

dispenser. His teacher is amazing and includes him in everything from holding

the flag during the pledge of allegiance, to passing out materials to the class.

I love that each child works on their own developmental level, and my son is so

relaxed and not pressured to conform in this atmosphere. He is so busy all day

with his lessons, that are all so hands on and sensory-based learning.

I was told that Montessori might not work for ASD kids b/c it is too

unstructured. But if you start at the level the child is at, and he gets to

choose what he wants to do, then he WANTS to learn. He gets so busy with his

lessons that he doesn't even want to go to recess sometimes, which used to be

preferred for him.

Just wanted to share, b/c we went to look at so many school settings and had

such a hard time making a decision with so many conflicting opinions on what

kind of teaching model is right for our kids. For us, this has worked great! Our

son is happy and learning and has typical peer models who are very patient and

have been exposed to other kids like him. Right now he has a full-time shadow,

but our hope is that by next year we will be able to fade it out.

Shiri

[Guest guest]

How terrific!! I am so happy it is working for you and that your child has such a dedicated and intuitive teacher!Congrats! s Mahler

Hi listmates,

Just wanted to share our experiences at my son's new school. In the beginning of the year we placed him in a Mckay religious private school with a shadow for Kindergarden, and it was not a good fit for him. The school and teachers were great and very supportive, but it was hard for my son to sit and listen to teacher instruction for long periods of time in a typical education model. So after the first week I moved him to North Miami Montessori. He loved it so much he didn't want to come home and cried all weekend that he wanted to go back! His class has 15 kids, 1 other child with Autism and 1 child with down's syndrome. The rest of the children are typical, and they are all taught how to engage with children with ASD and even be "teachers" to them. One classmate even did hand over hand instruction naturally to show my son how to use the paper towel dispenser. His teacher is amazing and includes him in everything from holding the flag during the pledge of allegiance, to passing out materials to the class. I love that each child works on their own developmental level, and my son is so relaxed and not pressured to conform in this atmosphere. He is so busy all day with his lessons, that are all so hands on and sensory-based learning.

I was told that Montessori might not work for ASD kids b/c it is too unstructured. But if you start at the level the child is at, and he gets to choose what he wants to do, then he WANTS to learn. He gets so busy with his lessons that he doesn't even want to go to recess sometimes, which used to be preferred for him.

Just wanted to share, b/c we went to look at so many school settings and had such a hard time making a decision with so many conflicting opinions on what kind of teaching model is right for our kids. For us, this has worked great! Our son is happy and learning and has typical peer models who are very patient and have been exposed to other kids like him. Right now he has a full-time shadow, but our hope is that by next year we will be able to fade it out.

Shiri