Tough love at music class pays off

[Guest guest]

is aging out of EI soon. We are terrified. For some very solid

reasons I refused the local integrated preschool. Our OT agrees it is

the wrong place for him but has warmed me he must go somewhere. I have

him set up to go to my daughter's preschool in Sept. They get his needs,

have dealt with kids like him before, and he likes it there. Problem is

I can't get him in any sooner. OT impressed upon me that he needs

something now, needs to be around other kids, hear how they talk, learn

to fen for himself, etc. as he now has the ability to make every or

nearly every sound and he is holding back. She is correct. I've been

spying on him and have gotten reports from therapists and hubby that he

keeps slipping and letting out words that he refuses to say in front of

me. I am not insulted. Hey, you have to be smart to be a manipulator,

right? Still, he is soon to be 3 and I am soon to be 41 and it is time

the inmates stop running the asylum. In an effort to address this I

requested that he be bumped up from his current music class, a mommy and

me thing, to the big kids class. First week we did it he rolled up in

the corner and cried the entire class while everyone else danced and

sang. Week 2, with OT's permission, I sent him in there with his sister.

He stayed in the corner, cried for 2 minutes, and then stopped. When

they opened the door for a little girl to go potty he cried again to see

if he could get me in there and stopped after they closed the door and I

never showed. Week 3 was yesterday. Guess who joined the class, smiled

(did not speak) and had a great time? I am in search of an interim

preschool and hope that goes as well:)

Incidentally, there is a boy at music class, Max. He just turned 3, is

very chatty and a really neat kid. When I met him it dawned on me that

is really behind in " forthcoming " speech due to his past

inability not to make the words. A few minutes after I thought that his

mom mentioned that he just turned three and just started talking. He was

an easier case than , and not apraxic but he never spoke at home

until he aged out of prek 2.5 months ago. She put him in preK as

suggested by EI (private as he did not qualify for integrated) and he

never spoke at home until he went there and never spoke at preK until 2

weeks ago. Lastly, she said he was initially diagnosed as autistic by a

pretty good neuro I almost went to. Luckily she knew her boy and found a

great neurodevelopmental pediatrician who really knows all delays, not

jus speech and targeted what was and was not Max's deal and autism was

not part of it.

[Guest guest]

-My little guy is turning 3 in Feb. Here in NY he can start preschool

at 2.9mos. That would have been this month! I considered sending him

for 2 days a week just to give mom a break! I knew he was not ready

and I plan on spending the next few months doing mom and me classes

where they slowly separate 3yr olds from the moms to get them ready

for preschool next fall, they send us into another room for coffee!

Cool! I don't know if the cut-off date is in NJ? he did 9mos of EI

just for speech and caught up by last August- thankfully!