Re: Special Ed Preschool vs. Typical Preschool?

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My son is 12, and was diagnosed with AS at 8. However, from around 18 months of age I knew he had issues, and those issues qualified him for early childhood special ed. His major issues were pragmatic language, sensory, and social. He had very well developed language but could not carry on a conversation smoothly, and was baffled by any vagueness in the language (he was about 4 before the use of "he" versus "she" finally made sense to him). He also could not function in groups, and seemed lost and out of control most of the time.

When he started preschool, the only option for special ed in our area was a self-contained classroom. This was an absolutely phenomenal experience for my son. His spec ed classroom teacher "got" him, and was able to focus so closely on his needs that within a very short time he was able to function effectively in the classroom. The OT and language therapy that he was able to get in the classroom as part of his regular day was very effective, and everything they did focused on socialization, and development of skills he would need in kindergarten. They focused on the academics plenty, but in a setting that worked constantly on remediating my son's weakness, and accomodating what they could not remediate. He was in that classroom for a year and a half (ages 3 and 4). When it was time for his pre-K year, we had the option of keeping him in that contained room, or moving him into a classroom of 12 NT kids and 6 spec ed kids, team-taught by a reg ed and spec ed teacher and an aide, with all the same therapy minutes, etc. Very reluctantly we moved him to that class as I thought it would be more similar to what his Kindergarten classroom would be, and it was. It was a good year for him, and he made some social gains, but I never felt that he was as well understood in that classroom. He seemed to tread water rather than make the huge leaps of progress that I had seen him make the previous year and a half. It may be that his progress would have been the same even in a spec ed classroom, but I've always regretted the decision to take him out of the special ed class sooner than I had too.

So, my advice is to do anything to get your son into early childhood spec ed. That is the time they can do the most good at "rewiring" your child's brain, and the individual attention to each child's very specific needs can't be beat.

Peggy

In a message dated 2/9/2011 1:41:42 P.M. Central Standard Time, tracyjohnson70@... writes:

I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very "normal". So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I sent my son to a special ed preschool based on the schools suggestion. I was

totally against it at first, but they talked me in to it and it was the best

year he ever had. He only had one time out the whole year and they never had

behavioral issues with him! They had lots of visual aids and schedules than a

normal preschool, so it was more structured. They also did things geared around

therapy motor skills, speech, etc).

My son was only going for speech at this point and it was the teacher at this

school that suggested aspergers. All the teachers at this school had

masters/bachelors degrees in special ed compared to many preschool teachers who

have no degrees.

After 1 year at the school they suggested- put him in a typical preschool as he

was not being challenged enough academically...he was constantly in trouble and

not getting along with others. At the special ed school he was higher

functioning and wanting to " mother " the other kids. I think he learned a ot

from that, considering he has a hard time with empathy (something the typical

preschool told me he lacked).

My opinion...put them in the environment you think they will be most comfortable

with. My son has not been comfortable since that year at the special ed school.

If I had to do it again...I would pick his comfort over academics. He has many

more years to succeed academically.

--- thInl , " " <tracyjohnson70@...> wrote:

>

> I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social

skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're

working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very

" normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool

or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure.

Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the

benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP

meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you

are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be

the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love

to hear your thoughts.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'd highly recommend the spec ed preschool, especially if it's an integrated

one. My son attended an integrated preschool 5 days/wk. The NT kids were there 3

days/wk. Because the school was integrated it was at the same academic level as

any other preschool. Plus " academics " in preschool are mostly social skills and

a few preliteracy skills - beginning to recognize numbers and letters. The

support that my son received at preschool was wonderful. (I was shocked at how

much the support dropped off in kindergarten and elementary school.)

My son also attended a regular preschool during the afternoons a couple days a

week because I was working. Even though the staff did their best to provide

extra support (went to integrated school to observe and train) it just wasn't

enough. Although there were no behavior issues there were many times that I

found my son sitting in a corner by himself when I went to pick him up that day.

Luckily it was limited to 2 days/wk.

Caroline

>

> I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social

skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're

working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very

" normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool

or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure.

Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the

benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP

meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you

are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be

the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love

to hear your thoughts.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

my 11 yr old is a highly functioning AS. but yeah, the social skills are no go. he goes to regular classes and the gifted program. the only thing is the other kids dont understand why he says or does certain things so he gets teased. he does not want to go into the special ed class due to the school feels he would do better in reg class and does not need extra help. so right now he sees 3 doctors to help out with the social skills and adhd/ocd and anxiety.

From: <tracyjohnson70@...> Sent: Wed, February 9, 2011 1:18:54 PMSubject: ( ) Special Ed Preschool vs. Typical Preschool?

I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very "normal". So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.Thanks,

TV dinner still cooling?Check out "Tonight's Picks" on TV.

[Guest guest]

It is such a hard decision to make! We just went thru this with our son. We had him in a private preschool. The teacher was very understanding and worked well with him, but after a few months he was still struggling with transitions and paying attention (attending). Academically he is very bright, has been reading for over a year, knows all the prek basics like shapes, sizes, colors,etc. His main areas of difficulty are social and back and forth conversations/descriptive and expressive skills, with some sensory issues that cause attention challenges.

He truly enjoyed the private preschool, and was eager to go every day. But I felt he was not progressing along. Another parent of an older child with AS suggested getting started with the school district. So we looked into it. At first I truly had a hard time with it, afraid of putting him in a special ed situation when academically he is so high functioning, super friendly, always wants to help, etc.

I chose to put him in the spec ed preschool because they incorporate conversation skills games EVERY DAY and they follow a schedule which helps him alot with transitioning. The first few weeks were a little rough, but now he is doing great. He talks about some of the kids in his class. Somedays he says his school day was "good but hard" and other days he says "fun".

His teacher recently told me she was going to recommend him for regular kindergarten when they do the reviews this spring. I am excited about that, but also worry about the environment he will be in and how understanding they will be of some of the areas he struggles with.

I think for us, the special ed prek was the right choice. It is closer to what he will be experiencing in Kindergarten with the classrooms/bathrooms/hallways/gym etc. And I have noticed a marked improvement in communication for him, he has always been verbal but pragmatic speech is awkward.

What I told myself when I switched him was, give it a little time and see how he does. You do not have to keep him there if it isn't working for him. Our private prek teacher was very willing to take him back if the schools prek didn't work out.

His class is comprised of children with different disabilities, but there are a handful of other children who are cognitively at his level so he has some peers to make connections with.

Some schools incorporate speech, occupational therapy, adaptive skills, and others into the childs day while there. They fully evaluated him and determined what was appropriate from their evaluations findings for him.

This was our situation. And it is very hard to decide. I would talk to the typical preschool you are interested in and see what experience they have, or even and understanding of what AS is.

Let us know what you decide!

Take care,

P.

mother to Tyler just 5yrs old (AS) and Dylan almost 3yrs (NT)

From: <tracyjohnson70@...>Subject: ( ) Special Ed Preschool vs. Typical Preschool? Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 11:18 AM

I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very "normal". So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I really think there is no right answer b/c some special ed classrooms

are great and some typical are great and some not. My daughter

attended special ed preschool at 3 but even in the higher functioning

class she was in she still had the highest verbal skills. So though

teachers were there to coach her through everything she could still

only practice as much as the level of the peers in the classroom. So

it was more like individual social skills training without the ability

to practice.

In contrast the following year she was in a regular 4k class with a

shared aide (the special ed aide was there for her and the 3 other

special ed kids) and she made more social progress that year b/c she

had peer modeling.

However in the school district we are currently in the special ed

class is actually larger (20 kids as opposed to the max of 10 she had)

but it is half special ed and half regular ed peer models (though

frequently they use borderline kids to fill some of these, it still is

higher functioning than special ed). So that might have worked

better.

Otoh some typical teachers aren't going to coddle, help them through

interactions or have time to deal with a special needs child. Others

may be willing to jump through hoops. So really you're going to have

to visit the classes, talk to teachers and decide what will fit your

son best depending on what you learn

On 2/9/11, <tracyjohnson70@...> wrote:

> I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social

> skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but

> we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He

> appears very " normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special

> education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support.

> We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how

> did you decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the

> drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in

> a different school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school

> we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go

> the special education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

>

--

Sent from my mobile device

-mommy to Emma, Becca, ,

, , and Leah

[Guest guest]

Thank you for posting this topic, ! We are in very much the same situation

as you - our son, who is 3 1/2, was just diagnosed with AS and I am starting to

wonder if we will need to move him from his private preschool for next fall.

Although it is a great program overall, I have found that they are not very open

to making special accommodations, and I am concerned that it may not be the best

place for the next 2 years. I meet tomorrow with my son's teachers to find out

if they are willing/able to make any of the accommodations recommended by the

psychologist who made the dx. Please let us know what you decide!

Bridget

>

> I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social

skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're

working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very

" normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool

or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure.

Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the

benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP

meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you

are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be

the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love

to hear your thoughts.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Bridget,I'm so glad to know I am not the only one faced with this dilemma.  I will keep you posted.  It's a really tough decision.  Our behavioral therapist and OT say our son belongs in a typical classroom with support, but some days I'm not so sure.  My husband and I are really big on academics, but this is one time we have to not make that the priority.  Now our main focus is working on his social skills, getting him prepared to navigate and handle himself in the classroom before he gets to kindergarten.  And we have a little over a year to do that.  But we really are still perplexed as to where he belongs.  He's going to a parent's morning out program and doing great...listening and behaving but I think the classroom environment will definitely be more challenging and we want to get him ready for that as much as we can.  So we'll see...

On Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 7:59 PM, bridget <beanniferj@...> wrote:

 

Thank you for posting this topic, ! We are in very much the same situation as you - our son, who is 3 1/2, was just diagnosed with AS and I am starting to wonder if we will need to move him from his private preschool for next fall. Although it is a great program overall, I have found that they are not very open to making special accommodations, and I am concerned that it may not be the best place for the next 2 years. I meet tomorrow with my son's teachers to find out if they are willing/able to make any of the accommodations recommended by the psychologist who made the dx. Please let us know what you decide!

Bridget

>

> I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very " normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am so glad I have this group to turn to for support!  Thank you for all your responses... please keep them coming.  I truly appreciate it.  You all have given me some good feedback and a lot to think about.  I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

Thanks again! 

[Guest guest]

,

My son is 5, has Aspergers, and is in a public school kindergarten. Prior to

that he attended a large daycare (Kindercare). My daughter is 4, is borderline

cognitive impaired. She previously attended Kindercare but is now in the public

school special ed preschool full time.

Our preschool is different from some others that people have described. There

are about 12 kids but only one or two are NT. The others have various issues

like down's syndrome and autism. My son learned much more about socializing with

NT peers at Kindercare (still not very good at it though), than he would at

preschool. He is bright, and didn't have any behavior problems at daycare (he

has had problems in Kindergarten).

My daughter needs/craves a lot of attention and is academically challenged, but

is sociable, except when her behaviors get in the way, so special ed was the

best thing for her. Also her behavior gets bad in response to change, so they

are having her spend some time in Kindergarten each day, so she will transition

better in the fall.

I have heard that some kids learn bad behaviors from special ed kids, so that's

something to bear in mind.

My daughter used to do the preschool a half day and go to daycare a half day.

Perhaps you could start with that and see how it goes.

Having said all that, I would go to the meeting and see how it goes. If they

don't offer you the other school that you want, you might not want to proceed

further anyway.

>

> I am so glad I have this group to turn to for support! Thank you for all

> your responses... please keep them coming. I truly appreciate it. You all

> have given me some good feedback and a lot to think about. I'll keep you

> posted on what we decide.

>

> Thanks again!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I was wondering, if the integrated school was part of your school district or is

this private? How do we go about looking for integrated preschools. Is there

some website or association that lists these type of schools in the location

you're looking at?

Thanks,

> >

> > I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but social

skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language but we're

working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He appears very

" normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special education preschool

or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We really aren't sure.

Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you decide? What are the

benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP

meeting can you request your child be put in a different school than the one you

are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be

the right match for our son if we go the special education route. I would love

to hear your thoughts.

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

The integrated preschool was offered through our school district. Most towns in

my area offer some sort of integrated preschool. On the one that my son attended

there was a wait list for the NT kids because the preschool was so highly rated.

> > >

> > > I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but

social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of language

but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a conversation. He

appears very " normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put him in special

education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool and get support. We

really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same position and how did you

decide? What are the benefits of special education preschool and the drawbacks?

Also, during the IEP meeting can you request your child be put in a different

school than the one you are being assigned? We visted the school we are assigned

and felt it may not be the right match for our son if we go the special

education route. I would love to hear your thoughts.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I had a meeting with my son's private preschool today, and I have decided to

keep him there. I told them about the official AS dx (we only got it last week),

and also about the recommendations that the psychologist had made. I have found

in the past that they were not always open to trying techniques that were not

their own ideas (very caring, but married to their system), but this meeting

went better. By incredible happy coincidence, the local Autism Society did a

training session at my son's school the day before the meeting (I learned about

the upcoming training last week and scheduled my meeting to be the day after!),

so I think that helped them understand about making accommodations. There are a

few specific trouble spots that my son routinely has like circle time and lining

up, and the teachers agreed to brainstorm about some modifications they would be

comfortable implementing (this was a very big step forward).

The thing that really clinched my decision to keep him in his current private

preschool was that they agreed to allow his developmental therapist to come work

with my son in the classroom. There was no hesitation on that at all, which was

a huge relief. I also liked the way they talked about the continuity in the

upcoming classrooms he will have for the next 2 years of preschool, as well as

some of the routines that are already in place in the upper classrooms that they

feel will be very beneficial to my son. I really, really like the program at

this preschool, so I am very happy that they are willing to make some

accommodations so we can keep my son there and meet his needs.

Good luck with your decision!

Bridget

> > >

> > > I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but

> > social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of

> > language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a

> > conversation. He appears very " normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put

> > him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool

> > and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same

> > position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education

> > preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request

> > your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned?

> > We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match

> > for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your

> > thoughts.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bridget,That is great news!  I'm so happy for you.  What a relief.  Hearing that gives me hope!  I'll keep you posted on what we do.  Thanks for the update.  Good luck with everything!

 On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 3:10 PM, bridget <beanniferj@...> wrote:

 

Hi ,

I had a meeting with my son's private preschool today, and I have decided to keep him there. I told them about the official AS dx (we only got it last week), and also about the recommendations that the psychologist had made. I have found in the past that they were not always open to trying techniques that were not their own ideas (very caring, but married to their system), but this meeting went better. By incredible happy coincidence, the local Autism Society did a training session at my son's school the day before the meeting (I learned about the upcoming training last week and scheduled my meeting to be the day after!), so I think that helped them understand about making accommodations. There are a few specific trouble spots that my son routinely has like circle time and lining up, and the teachers agreed to brainstorm about some modifications they would be comfortable implementing (this was a very big step forward).

The thing that really clinched my decision to keep him in his current private preschool was that they agreed to allow his developmental therapist to come work with my son in the classroom. There was no hesitation on that at all, which was a huge relief. I also liked the way they talked about the continuity in the upcoming classrooms he will have for the next 2 years of preschool, as well as some of the routines that are already in place in the upper classrooms that they feel will be very beneficial to my son. I really, really like the program at this preschool, so I am very happy that they are willing to make some accommodations so we can keep my son there and meet his needs.

Good luck with your decision!

Bridget

> > >

> > > I have a son who's nearly 4 with AS. He's very high functioning, but

> > social skills are an area he needs to work on. He's got great use of

> > language but we're working on helping him use it better and hold a

> > conversation. He appears very " normal " . So I'm very torn if we should put

> > him in special education preschool or should he go to a typical preschool

> > and get support. We really aren't sure. Has anyone else been in this same

> > position and how did you decide? What are the benefits of special education

> > preschool and the drawbacks? Also, during the IEP meeting can you request

> > your child be put in a different school than the one you are being assigned?

> > We visted the school we are assigned and felt it may not be the right match

> > for our son if we go the special education route. I would love to hear your

> > thoughts.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>