Re: delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this?

[Guest guest]

This really depends a great deal on the state and county you are in. In my

state, if a parent doesn't feel their child is ready, they are allowed wait

another year simply by sending the school a letter. Some counties would also

support your decision. Talk to you school district. They might have also have

some other options available.

-

>

> Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive

> are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this

> year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this

make

> it easier to get the school district to agree?

> Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During

> this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

>

> Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We did this for my son & it was one of our best decisions. We received no

Public School services for the year, enrolled him in private Pre-K (a class of

kids 'waiting a year'), and did private OT. My son is much better prepared for

K this year. Not to mention he is physically big & is already 6, so hopefully

that will help keep bullying at bay. I think the most important thing is that

you set goals to achieve during the extra year. Our goal was for our son to

learn to behave appropriately in a classroom. We had a wonderful teacher, who

really took an interest in making our son successful. She went to great pains

to assure his feelings of success (stacking the cards in his favor) and taught

me alot about advocating. Last year our school district said our son would most

likely be placed in a self-contained Austism class & that they would provide

Spec Ed. bus service. Right now we are looking at our son in a regular K class

w/ support & IEP. We definitely made the right decision!

--

>

> Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that

during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)?

Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree?

> Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

>

> Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I find this conversation fascinating, because we are on the other side of the

line - my son will miss the cut off date for kindergarten by 2 days - it never

occurred to me that holding a child back could also be a problem with the

school. My son's preschool has a junior kindergarten type of program, and I know

that lots of parents hold their kids back to attend it, even if they do make the

cut off date. On the plus side for us, since the public kindergarten will not

accept him when he turns 5, the preschool services division of the school

district will have to serve him until he is 6 (assuming we qualify; my son is in

the process of being evaluated right now).

Bridget

> >

> > Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

receptive

> > are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this

> > year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this

make

> > it easier to get the school district to agree?

> > Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

During

> > this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

> >

> > Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I thought about delaying kindergarten and keeping my son in preschool for another year. The school did not recommend this. I made the decision to send him on to kindergarten as it is more challenging than preschool and more like the elementary school process. I figured if he had to repeat something, I'd rather it be kindergarten where the educational and social demands are greater. It is a hard decision to make. Best of luck on whatever you decide!Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®From: "melody_autumn06" <melodyh2006@...>Sender: autism Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:12:20 -0000<autism >Reply autism Subject: delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this? Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree? Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech. Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

[Guest guest]

Also, just a thought...multiple transitions from different schools might be hard.Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®From: "melody_autumn06" <melodyh2006@...>Sender: autism Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:12:20 -0000<autism >Reply autism Subject: delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this? Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree? Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech. Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

[Guest guest]

I realize every state/province is different in regards to these issues but we delayed school by a year ...as do alot of parents with children on the spectrum...and found it to be a great chance for our kids to continue with their secialized programs. All benefited.

delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this?

Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree? Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech. Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

[Guest guest]

We delayed our daughter and the school district didn't seem to mind one way or the other. She went to a regular pre-school instead of an IU8. The school told me I had up until the first week of school if we changed our mind and they would be glad to take her. She then went to kindergarten the next year. We still got services through IU8 while she was in a regular pre-school. RhondaFrom: melody_autumn06 <melodyh2006@...>Subject: delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this?autism Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 12:12 PM

Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree?

Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

[Guest guest]

Our son is a December birthday, so he had to wait a year longer to start kindergarten. But he wasn't toilet training by the time it was time for him to go to kindergarten, so I homeschooled.  After several months, our son was not making any progress and so the school let him start kindergarten and then he repeated the grade again for the next year due to the toileting issues, some delays with social, sensory, and his emotional problems. It did him a world of good. It was in the 2nd round of kindergarten he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, bipolar, sensory issues and anxiety issues and placed on an IEP. He isn't any worse for ware and he loves 3rd grade.

On Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 7:59 PM, bridget <beanniferj@...> wrote:

 

I find this conversation fascinating, because we are on the other side of the line - my son will miss the cut off date for kindergarten by 2 days - it never occurred to me that holding a child back could also be a problem with the school. My son's preschool has a junior kindergarten type of program, and I know that lots of parents hold their kids back to attend it, even if they do make the cut off date. On the plus side for us, since the public kindergarten will not accept him when he turns 5, the preschool services division of the school district will have to serve him until he is 6 (assuming we qualify; my son is in the process of being evaluated right now).

Bridget

> >

> > Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive

> > are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this

> > year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make

> > it easier to get the school district to agree?

> > Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During

> > this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

> >

> > Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

If you want to delay kindergarten for your child (this will be effective next

academic year Sept 2011-June 2012), when should you start talking to the school

district about it? Should we only talk about this in an IEP meeting closer to

the end of this academic year or is it okay to discuss this outside of IEP?

We currently have services with them for prek, speech, OT.

Just fyi, my son's bday is March 31st, so he will still be 5yo at the beginning

of 2011 academic year.

Thanks,

> > > >

> > > > Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

> > receptive

> > > > are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during

> > this

> > > > year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would

> > this make

> > > > it easier to get the school district to agree?

> > > > Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

> > During

> > > > this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

If you want to delay kindergarten for your child (this will be effective next

academic year Sept 2011-June 2012), when should you start talking to the school

district about it? Should we only talk about this in an IEP meeting closer to

the end of this academic year or is it okay to discuss this outside of IEP?

We currently have services with them for prek, speech, OT.

Just fyi, my son will still be 5yo at the beginning of 2011 academic year. He

won't be 6 until March 2012. We live in CA and I was told that school is not

compulsory until age 6 in CA.

Thanks,

> > > >

> > > > Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

> > receptive

> > > > are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during

> > this

> > > > year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would

> > this make

> > > > it easier to get the school district to agree?

> > > > Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

> > During

> > > > this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

We considered delaying Kindergarten for my son whose birthday is 3 weeks before

the cutoff. However, he was diagnosed at 4 1/2, and when the school district

psychologist evaluated him for services and I told her that we were planning to

keep him out a year she was fairly adamant about the fact that he should start

that year (this was in June, school started in August). Her reasoning was that

he was advanced academically already (working at 1st grade level) and she was

afraid if we held him back a year that he would be too bored in school.

Luckily, we got a perfect Kindergarten teacher, so she would have him do 1 of

everything in the centers, instead of the 3-5 that the other kids had to do.

Then he could read a book, or work on cutting and pasting and other fine motor

skills issues that he DID need practice on.

First grade was really hard for him because he was still bored and the teacher

didn't have a clue about how to work with him and was unwilling to negotiate.

We ended up moving him to 2nd grade, which was at least a good academic fit.

He's still behind socially, but at least he's not bored and rolling on the floor

having meltdowns because he has absolutely nothing else to keep his interest.

He's currently in 4th grade and doing well, so for us it was the right decision.

I think you have to look at it on a case-by-case basis and see what your child's

tolerances are going to be. They're always going to be at least a little

socially awkward, but if they're academically ready, how patient are they going

to be with review for an extra year?

>

> Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child?How old is

> your child now? How receptive are school districts to this idea?Some are

> adamantly against it, depends where you are--what state are u in? What if

> you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e.

> class, Speech, OT)?DON'T DO THIS. YOU WILL REGRET IT. Would this make it

> easier to get the school district to agree? NO. They will use this against

> you to deny services when he does start.

> Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

> During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

>

> Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

This was pretty much our story, too. Our daughter's birthday is the day before the cut-off. Here in Ontario, the cut-off is December 31. I stressed immediately about holding her back because I remembered how socially immature I was with an October birthday and being one of the youngest in my class. By the time we had to make a decision, it was pretty obvious we were going to go ahead and send her on schedule. She was 3 when she started Junior Kindergarten. Academically she breezed through. Socially she was fine.

It wasn't until Grade 1 when her social skills started showing a marked delay, although her father and I had suspected for years something was "up." In Grade 2 she told me she liked school, but thought it was tooooooo easy and was bored most of the time. Also, her social skills really started deteriorating. We had her tested last spring which was when she was diagnosed with Asperger's/Autism (she's pretty much on the line, with just a speck more on the autism side, and no, she did not have a speech delay. They psych was looking at other factors). In addition, she scored in the top 2% of her IQ test. No wonder she was ready to go at 3 and bored to death at 7.

We just started Grade 3 and she's been matched with a wonderful teacher who understands her twice exceptionality. Her IEP will be addressing both issues and we have an awesome, and I do mean *awesome* Spec Ed teacher writing it up that has known Kylie since she was a bump in my belly. I have lots of hope for this school year.

Had we held Ky back, I think she'd be extremely frustrated at school. My parents have always said that's why they went ahead and put me in on schedule, too. I was socially miserable, but considering I was capable of doing work far beyond my years, as is our daughter, I would have just been even more miserable not getting to learn and soak up everything. Like my daughter was with me, I was driving my mom nuts trying to learn as fast as I could and she couldn't keep up anymore.

's right. The socially awkward thing is there. It's part and parcel of Asperger's. If the child is academically ready, that needs to be weighed against the other issues. Of course, the bottom line is, you know your child best and yourself best. If academics is not a problem at this point, then it may be worth waiting another year. Here it is nearly 20 years after I graduated from high school and thanks to my old classmates posting their birthdays on Facebook, I'm only just now finding out half my class was born the year before me! In the long run, I don't think it hurt them at all and I honestly never knew the difference (although it might explain why I sometimes felt like I was *a lot* younger than my peers. ;-) .

Cheryl S.

-- ( ) Re: delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this?

We considered delaying Kindergarten for my son whose birthday is 3 weeks before the cutoff. However, he was diagnosed at 4 1/2, and when the school district psychologist evaluated him for services and I told her that we were planning to keep him out a year she was fairly adamant about the fact that he should start that year (this was in June, school started in August). Her reasoning was that he was advanced academically already (working at 1st grade level) and she was afraid if we held him back a year that he would be too bored in school.Luckily, we got a perfect Kindergarten teacher, so she would have him do 1 of everything in the centers, instead of the 3-5 that the other kids had to do. Then he could read a book, or work on cutting and pasting and other fine motor skills issues that he DID need practice on. First grade was really hard for him because he was still bored and the teacher didn't have a clue about how to work with him and was unwilling to negotiate. We ended up moving him to 2nd grade, which was at least a good academic fit. He's still behind socially, but at least he's not bored and rolling on the floor having meltdowns because he has absolutely nothing else to keep his interest.He's currently in 4th grade and doing well, so for us it was the right decision. I think you have to look at it on a case-by-case basis and see what your child's tolerances are going to be. They're always going to be at least a little socially awkward, but if they're academically ready, how patient are they going to be with review for an extra year?

[Guest guest]

...we delayed kindergarten for a year and let our son stay in preschool for an extra year...then when he went to public school 1/2 day (special ed) kindergarten, we also sent him to a pre-first program in a private preschool setting...this worked very well for us and he has now graduated from high school. Hope this info is helpful to you in making your decision...blessings on your day, Gail

( ) delaying kindergarten for one year? Anyone experience with this?

Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)? Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree?

Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea. During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Yes, I actually gifted my son with one more year of preschool versus sending him

to Kindergarten when he was 5. His preschool teacher did a Kindergarten Ready

Assessment on each child and he actually did okay, but there was something about

him that his teacher and I both agreed he was not ready for Kindergarten. This

was before I got a diagnosis of High-Functioning Autism. It took me a long time

to finally get his diagnosis. So at the time when I decided not to send him to

Kindergarten we were still trying to get someone to acknowledge that my son had

some learning/medical issues (autism) and there was much debate, especially with

my husband whether it was in his best interest to do hold him back. But it

seemed that the more people that I talked to, the more they encouraged me NOT to

send him to Kindergarten. I had moms tell me that they never regretted holding

their children back, and moms that said that they went ahead and sent their kids

and regretted it and their kids ended up having to repeat Kindergarten anyway.

The only thing that I think about in my situataion is maybe if I did send him at

5, he might have got diagnosed sooner and gotten the resources that he truly

needed sooner. But, I'm glad things worked out the way they did, because he is

in 1st grade now and getting the resources that he needs. And although I know we

have a long way to go, with a lot of love and support, I have faith that he will

be a successful young man someday! God bless and good luck!

>

> Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that

during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)?

Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree?

> Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

>

> Thanks for any advice, experience that you can share.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

If you are putting him in private preschool, private speech, and private OT,

than you don't even need to ask the school. You just need to withdraw him. You

are basically discontinuing public school services so it's no longer their

issue. The only downside is that when you want him to go back to public school,

you will have to start the IEP process over again.

If you want him to continue any public school services NOW than you need to get

the school district to agree. The IEP should be individualized for each

student. Often SD give more attention to their resources rather than what is

appropriate for the child. The best way to get SD to listen, is to get

" experts " to weigh in on the discusssion. The experts have addtional clout if

they can present test scores, etc. However, the right IEP team will listen to

common-sense without all this effort.

If you anticipate difficulties with your SD, it's a good idea get skills in

advocacy (and special education law) now, while your child is just starting in

the school system. The book " From Emotions to Advocacy " by Pete was huge

for me. His ideas work.

Jill

>

> Has anyone tried to delay starting kindergarten for their child? How

receptive are school districts to this idea? What if you tell the SD that

during this year, you would forego their services (i.e. class, Speech, OT)?

Would this make it easier to get the school district to agree?

> Basically, I think delaying kindergarten for my son may be a good idea.

During this year, I would put him in private school and private OT, Speech.

>

> Thanks for any advice, experience you may have.

>

>

>