Re: New preschool, big improvement!

[Guest guest]

Great to hear, !

We just enrolled my son, -3yrs, in a Montissori program. He is so young so

I can't know for sure how the apraxia may manifest itself when he is

older/officially in school. He tends to shut down when he has difficulty

figuring something out or completing tasks. So I was fearful that his first

real experiences with school may be negative for him in regards to " keeping up "

with the other kids, and that might create a distate for school/learning. I am

hoping that by participating in a Montissori-based program it will give him the

opportunity to be successful at his own pace and allow him to have a positive

first experience with learning/school. So that he is excited about school vs

fearful or intimidated.

Good good news! We don't start until we move to CO in a few weeks so I'll

report if our experience is as positive a yours.

Sharon

>

> I just want to personally recommend Montessori method to anyone looking for a

new preschool for their kids with speech issues.

>

> I had my son in a two-day-a-week program this summer, but saw no real effect

from it on his speech. I was pleased to see that he would fit himself into their

program and generally not make much trouble, but I didn't think he was really

gaining anything from them beyond some socialization.

>

> He's been in a Montessori program, every morning 8:30-11:30, for about a

month. It's like speech therapy every day!!! They work on phonics and letter

sounds and sing songs and do teaching activities they call works, where each

child works on the task at their own pace. They teach eating and drinking and

self-care skills, they work on sharing and other social skills. I had my

daughter in this school when she was 3 until age 5, and I knew it was great for

teaching " normal " kids, but I had no idea it could do so much for my son's

speech delay (disorder?).

>

> has said his first " real " sentence this past week, at 2 1/2. He said " I

want strawberries " as he drifted off to sleep for his nap. I had to stop myself

from screaming with joy so that I wouldn't wake him. Now, no one but me would

know that was what he was saying ( " Awa saw bay ees " ), and I also credit the EFAs

with helping us SO much along the way, but this constant, daily, intensive

interaction at a Montessori school has truly given him a shove forward.

>

> I'm sure any kind of program that is an hour or so a day of these sorts of

activities would do the same thing.

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