Re: Son starting kindergarten. ADVICE?!?

[Guest guest]

how old will he be in October? If he's still going to be 5 you also can

consider delaying kindergarten for one more year to provide that extra year of

therapy and developmental time. I'm more concerned about the amount and type of

therapy he is receiving and what goals are set for him both long and short term

in his IEP that he is still so delayed at 5 years old. It seems we are hearing

about this more often and that is concerning. Did you just find this group?

Please provide some information on who is working with him on his speech goals

both through his school and private. Also does he currently have any

augmentative communication such as simple sign or simple PECS even (picture

exchange) There is more and more positive feedback on the iPhone app for late

talkers -not sure if you can afford that but it's far less expensive and

cumbersome then some of the complex augmentative devices...and it's cool (that's

so important for kids too)

Are you aware of the speech/therapy matrix which would provide a professional

idea of how much therapy would be appropriate for him to receive from the school

based SLP (this would not include what you do private)

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/therapymatrix.html

Is he receiving individual/one on one ST or group? He for sure needs one on one

as his impairment just from what you wrote (and if you check the above matrix

which was developed for school based SLPs and was used at least at one time by

ASHA (since it's now closed for some dumb reason to the public they've done a

great job of keeping all the important info secret from parents and

pediatricians!!! Argh!!)

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/therapyintensity.html

Does your son show any frustration? Does he have friends and play appropriately

with them? Does he prefer groups or one on one playdates? What are his

favorite things to do? Sometimes as our kids get a bit older you can

incorporate therapy into his interests. For example one school based SLP took

his therapy session to the basketball court! (Khalid's) And this student went

from nonverbal to -well look for him on the talking page more recently

http://www.debtsmart.com/talk

Below are two links that can help on the kindergarten issue -but again I don't

know if that should be your main concern. To me your main concern is does your

son have appropriate diagnosis, therapy and placement because if he did why is

he making so little progress?

From our http://www.apraxia.org group at Facebook -click to become a member here

too!

Research: Reason to delay kindergarten

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=115029735601 & topic=8863

What age to start kindergarten for a " late talker " | Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=115029735601 & topic=7690

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I don't know your child's diagnosis, but, from just this post I agree with you

that Kinderarten is not the right place for him right now. I am currently

exploring the possibilities for my daughter. Here in our district, I have the

choice of regular Kindergarten, J-K, or Journeys (a Kindergarten with a gentler

slower pace...meant for kids who have never been to preschool). At the end of

Journeys, the kids can go on to regular Kindergarten or 1st grade depending on

how they are doing. Does your district offer these options? I also recently

(October) switched my daughter to a speech therapist with extensive experience

with brain damage. The techniques she uses and the strategies she has given my

daughter are nothing short of a miracle. I bring this up because you mentioned

memory issues. Mine had word retrieval issues, problems with generalizations,

and would " lose " a word seconds after being taught. This new therapist is

rewiring my daughter's brain (my take on things) and it's working beautifully.

Oh, and at the same time, I (with the help of a nutritionist) changed her

nutrition and supplements. Hope my experiences can help you a little.

[ ] Son starting kindergarten. ADVICE?!?

My son is five and has had speech and special instruction since he was two. This

s his third year in preschool at a school meant for kids with disabilities.

hey want him to go to regular kindergarten. He is understood about 10% of the

ime just by words. He can give a general idea of what he is talking about by

ointing or gesturing what it is. He cannot say his name or anyone else's info

f he needed to. He seem to have a good memory. After three years of preschool

e still can't consistantly count to five. They say by October in kindergarten

e should be able to count to thirty. How is he going to be able to do that if

e still (after three years of practice) can't count to five. He also can't say

is abc's at all. He refuses to say his abc's at all. When he does try he can't

emember a b c. He'll just start saying randon abc's. I'm really lost on what to

o. There's no way he can do kindergarten at the moment. I'm considering

omeschooling. My family (who is also spends a lot of time with) completely

gree with me on the fact that he is really not ready for kindergarten beyond

ust the speech disorder. Some advice would be great!!

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Does your state offer Pre-K and could you consider doing this for another year?

I know a lot of mom's that do Pre-K with their children an extra year before

Kindergarten. There are always a few kids in Pre-K that don't talk much

because they are still so shy at 4. Just a thought.

[ ] Son starting kindergarten. ADVICE?!?

My son is five and has had speech and special instruction since he was two. This

is his third year in preschool at a school meant for kids with disabilities.

They want him to go to regular kindergarten. He is understood about 10% of the

time just by words. He can give a general idea of what he is talking about by

pointing or gesturing what it is. He cannot say his name or anyone else's info

if he needed to. He seem to have a good memory. After three years of preschool

he still can't consistantly count to five. They say by October in kindergarten

he should be able to count to thirty. How is he going to be able to do that if

he still (after three years of practice) can't count to five. He also can't say

his abc's at all. He refuses to say his abc's at all. When he does try he can't

remember a b c. He'll just start saying randon abc's. I'm really lost on what to

do. There's no way he can do kindergarten at the moment. I'm considering

homeschooling. My family (who is also spends a lot of time with) completely

agree with me on the fact that he is really not ready for kindergarten beyond

just the speech disorder. Some advice would be great!!

[Guest guest]

,

I see some more knowledgeable folk than me have given you apraxia and

kindergarten advice. I'm going to offer you some homeschooling advice.

My son (who has mild but definite verbal aparaxia) would be in kindergarten this

year. He went to Head Start and it was wonderful. But in the end, I chose to

homeschool him.

This wasn't all that difficult a choice for me, because I already have other

children I'm schooling at home. I also have some experience with the school he

would be attending, and while of course I cannot say for certain, I am nearly

positive that putting him in such an environment would have quickly led him to

see himself as deficient, without any real guarantee that there would have been

enough of an academic gain to compensate for such a blow to his self-esteem.

But that's not really relevant, only background, you might say. What I really

want to advise you is this: check out the homeschooling laws in your state. Some

are quite enlightened, some are hideously authoritarian. Find some homeschoolers

in your area, and talk to them. These will most likely be the people you'd be

hanging out with. Anybody your son takes to? Anybody else with a kid in a

similar situation? It doesn't necessarily have to be an apraxic child, just

someone who has had to make this decision with some of the same factors. Also

bear in mind that while people's reasons for homeschooling are as varied as the

children they school, so too are their styles, curricula, goals, and results.

And this, too: nobody who homeschools does it to meet public school

expectations.

Good luck to you. Feel free to email me privately if you need help figuring out

where to look.

:esther

[Guest guest]

My son will be 6 in March and after 2 years in a fabulous preschool, I 'home

schooled' him this year. This has been my best decision ever!!

 He has developed so much this year and I am planning on enrolling him in

Kindergarten in the fall. He is so much more 'ready' for school than he was!

Follow your instincts and give your baby the time he needs to develop.

A friend of mine has told me that 'red shirting Kindergarten' was the best

decision of her life! 

I believe that in the case of a speech disorder/delay or other developmental

delays, it's amazing what can happen in year of nurturing and development!! 

Good luck with your decision!!

AJ

 

ps. find a local home school group and check out their regular activities!