preschool disabled???

[mickeymousefan]

I hope this is Ok to post here since it is non disney.

My DD will be 3 in April and will be cycled out of early intervention. She has a severe speech delay with debatable mild SID. Becaues of her speech delay and because she was born with multiple birth defects, they are recommending that she enter the preschool disabled program in our school district. I am a little wary of this, because I dont really know what that involves.

Has anyone had any experiences they would like to share with me. I know that I am my child's advocate and that I need to make sure she gets the services she needs but I dont know where to begin.

 

[Ali]

My son was in the same position back in March, but he has a PDD-NOS diagnosis and SID. He was in early intervention and I had NEVER let anyone care for him other than me, and once my mom. So I was very NERVOUS about letting my little 3 year old go to school for 4 hours a day with people I didn't know. So, I waited to change his schedule until Summer school. On that first day they asked me to bring him in and say goodbye and leave - saying it would be less stressful for DS. I was just about hysterical and in tears so my DH had to come too, and I left him to do the hard stuff.

Anyways - My FEARS WERE UNFOUNDED. DS has done very very well with the school program - we are acyually debating on increasing his week to 5 days instead of 3. There is no sensory based physical therapy, or occupational therapy because it all must be Educationally appropriate. That we miss. I was concerned that DS would be picking up bad habits from the lower functioning kids, and that did happen in the form of innapropriate noises and hitting himself in the head (copying other kids). That has since changed because the kids changed when school styarted in the fall, and now he has a new teacher that I don't have a lot of confidence in because she is totally new and didn't know what an IEP is. So we'll see what happens.

But, overall, DS has grown in his language skills, playing WITH kids skills, ability to converse skills, and all of that is from being around other kids and other adults who don't treat him like a baby like I still tend to do.



Good luck - it's a hard decision, and I didn't think I would make it that first day, but I did, and now he loves going to school and I love it too.

Alicia

 

[Michigan]

It sounds like your school districts early intervention program ends at age 3 and they the PPI (Pre-primary impaired) program starts. Our school system does it based on the school year and not on the childs birthday.

My oldest DD soon to be 15 with spina bifida and hydrocephalus was in early intervention and then I put her in my Church pre school.

My youngest DD soon to be 7 with spina bifida and hydrocephalus was in early intervention and then in the PPI program from September-December and then they decided that she would be better served by being mainstreamed into the Head Start Program. She is now in a regular ed 1st grade.

The PPI program is like regular preschool with more 1 to 1 and special services like speech and PT/OT. By having your child in a PPI program you will know the correct placement for her when she enters kindergarten and any services that she needs will already be in place.

 

[mickeymousefan]

thank you both so much for posting replies. I think I will have an open mind and give it a try. Maybe a change in strategy will make the difference for her.

 

[Tissa]

I have one son with Cerebral Palsy and the other one is Atuistic. The both started school when they turned three and I have to say it was the best decision I could have made. They loved it! It also helped with their speech and potty training. I couldn't imagine what things would be like if they hadn't started so young.

 

[luv that cruise]

I can't believe I am responding to this as it seems like yesterday when I was asking myself the same question. My son is almost 12 and was diagnosed over 10 years ago with PSS-NOS. He didn't talk, threw tantrums (among other things) and couldn't understand verbal language. The public school painted a dim picture and seemed threatened by any input I had. After a horrible year, we placed him in a private preschool with a full-time aide/facilitator. This year he is in the same private school getting B's with minimal modifications in 6th grade. Most of his peers don't know he has a diagnosis and love him for who he is. Follow your heart and know that you will make mistakes. There will be failures but they will help you learn to recognize the successes. Find the right educational and social setting where you AND your child feel comfortable. I've always had this intense fear that I would wake up one day wishing that I had made another decision 5 years ago. The trouble is that it takes TIME to see how decisions work out. It's not been a bed of roses, but so far no regrets!

 

[luv that cruise]

Okay - I should learn to type. His diagnosis is not PSS but rather PDD. Sorry! PSS is MY diagnosis - positively sorry speller.

 

[minkydog]

I so understand your dilemma. We went through this with our youngest son,too. When he turned three (in april, also)I just was not ready to "give him up to strangers." My son is severely mentally handicapped and autistic. He was fragile, could not walk, talk or feed himself. I thought. "What if he gets sick and they don't know it? What if something bad happens, like a fire or a tornado? How can I know they will love him?" I about made myself ill with worry.

Finally, when he was 3-1/2 someone who loves me a lot convinced me to give special needs preschool a try, just for a few weeks. I interviewed the teacher and visited the classroom and was pleasantly surprised--it was a lot more like regular preschool than any sad little special ed class. When we brought Christian to school the first day, the teacher immediately gave me back his bottle, saying "We don't use bottles here." I was like, you don't understand, he won't drink. She said he'll drink.And a month later she sent all the bottle supplies home and he never used them again.

As a result of preschool, Christian began to "wake up" to the world. He becan to vocalize. He started using a walker. He began to sit straighter and make choices. His teacher was a God-send to me. She really believed in him and fought to keep him in her program when the administator wanted him out. The physical & occupational therapists poured there heart & souls into him; they felt so strongly that there was "someone" inthere just waiting to break free.

Today Christian is a happy, healthy, strapping 9yo who runs, laughs, plays piano, jumps in puddles, goes camping, swims, feeds himself, rides the bus, and is fairly potty-trained. He is still very handicapped, but I credit his preschool experience for giving him (and me!) the kick-start he needed to overcome what was predicted to be a pretty dismal life. It made me realize that raising a child with disabilities often requires a team. I would encourage you to try it.

BTW--none of my worries ever came true. In fact, the one day they did have a minor fire at school, my son's special ed class was the only one allowed an upclose tour of the fire truck and the firemen. WooHoo!

Cathy--mom to Christian, the Amazing Wonder Boy (9)