A two preschool solution?

Okay, so short version is my twins were in Early Intervention for speech. Truman is now caught up and has been discharged from ST, Spencer still gets ST and OT. He finally started talking around two and a half years old, and has rapidly progressed to 200+ words (probably a lot more but lost count) and is starting to put two and three word sentences together. His articulation isn't very good and the SLP supects mild apraxia. He may be slightly socially delayed but not really by much, I think it has more to do with his late speech. He is not on the autism spectrum and his receptive language is caught up to his age level.

I am tearing my hair out trying to figure out preschool for these two! I wanted to do Montessori but they usually require five half days a week so it is very expensive, from $1100-$1200 a month for two children! Other preschools have two and three day options but many have waiting lists. Spencer's therapists and teacher think he should go to developmental preschool, but I'm not convinced. Truman could be a typically developing model at the developmental preschool and it would be FREE for both boys. I am not super impressed by the developmental preschool I saw, it is at the University of Washington (the Experimental Education Unit) and it is a well-respected program, but honestly the facility seemed a bit run down and the classroom kind of chaotic, especially compared to the "fancy" schools I toured.

Originally I wanted them to go to the same school, but now I am wondering if we should separate them for this year, and have Spencer go to the developmental preschool and Truman go to a regular preschool. This would be cheaper, of course, then sending both of them to a "fancy" school. But I don't love the idea of splitting them up, and it would certainly be harder on us. My husband thinks I am being silly, all he cares about is "free" so he wants them to both go to the developmental preschool.

Anybody else doing two different schools for you little ones?

 

My girls will be starting preschool in two weeks. They're developing along the same track so it was easy to decide to send them to the same school (a Montessori program). That said, if there was a developmental program available -- especially for free -- and my girls were close to qualifying for it, I would do that school. Kids really don't care if the school is fancy or well kept. As long as it has a good reputation and you think your boys would do well there, I'd go for it. Your one son who could use the extra developmental boost would probably benefit a lot from the program designed especially for his needs, and your typically developing son will probably also get a lot from all of the teachers and professionals who have tons of training in child development.

 

Exactly what I was going to say! Kayci has been in the developmental preschool here for speech and has done wonderfully. I just wish they'd allowed her brother to go too!

 

I would go the FREE route. I am kind of partial to U of W though. (SIL works there and is pretty high up on the food chain. :ibiggrin: ) If you decide it isn't the right fit afterall, you can always change schools next year, right? AND...you wouldn't be out thousands of dollars.

 

We have the same situation, but we don't have the option of sending Karina to the special needs preschool as a typically developing model, because our program doesn't work that way.

So, our options are:

1. Send Karina to the 3's program at their current school, and have Kevan repeat 2's. This is what the school suggests, but I'm not in favor of it.

2. Send them both to 3's, but hire a parapro or facilitator to go with Kevan. His therapists think this is the best option, but their current school isn't wild about it, so I may have to find a different place.

3. Send Karina to 3's at their current school, and put Kevan in the special needs preschool through the county. The problem is he won't be evaluated until July (he turns 3 in June), so we don't know exactly what he qualifies for. And, his therapists would rather see him in a mainstream classroom.


We also suspect both oral and verbal apraxia, although more severe than your kiddo's. He's talking a bit, but we can barely understand any of it. He also has a lot of sensory issues that contribute to some crazy sensory-seeking behavior (he *cannot* sit in circle time or keeps his hands off the other kids), plus some physical delays, although those aren't severe.

I really don't know what we'll do. But, I'm not at all worried about keeping K&K together in class -- I think they actually do better apart. The bigger issue is juggling drop-off and pick-up at two different places, and then driving my older daughter, too.

 

Thanks for your thoughts! Can I ask why your therapists think Kevan would do better in a mainstream program? I feel that Spencer would do better in a mainstream program too, but I'm not sure how to make that case.

 

His oral motor therapist says apraxic children need to be immersed in a setting where the rest of the kids are neurotypical and speaking normally, if they're going to learn that they *must* use their words to communicate.

She also thinks that Kevan is very bright, and wants to put him in an environment where he needs to rise to the challenge. It's amazing how closely he watches Karina, and how much he imitates her -- every two-word phrase we've heard from him (and there aren't many) is something that she says frequently.

I don't know this for sure, but I get the feeling there might be a lot of accommodation in a special needs classroom? Because some of Kevan's issues are behavioral (granted, probably due to his sensory problems), she thinks that putting him in an environment where he has to learn to conform would be good for him (with sitting still for circle time, etc).

I'm still trying to figure out what would be best for him.

Gotta run, but would be happy to discuss this further in a PM!

 

I would take another look at the developmental school. Visit more than once, talk to people that have been through it. My girls go to a free PreK program that is for 'at-risk' kids. It is wonderful. The teacher really is great and is the reason I think the program is so good. Yes, it is chaotic-- but a class full of littles ones should be a bit noisy. I would be suspicious of a class that was silent or really rigid. Total chaos is not okay, but little people make noise and learning is not a quiet experience. There should be clear rules and expectations. 'run-down' has nothing to do with how a high of quality the program is. Again, toys that are not used will stay nice--but does that mean they are not playing with them?? If the floor is spotless, does that mean they are not going outside to play or doing any 'creative play' messy learning?

Worse case, you decide it is not a good fit and move to a private preschool. Best case , it is a good program and you save lots of $ in addition to getting a lot of support for your DS that needs it.

Will the Montessori school allow ST/OT to come and work with your DS? Can you manage a schedule with 2 different routines? Will another school assist with his speech or not (many will not and require you to travel to a public setting for ST)?

I have one DD that gets OT/PT and one more 'typical' DD. They both attend school together and it works out well at this point. They are supportive of each other and wide variety of kids in their class provide both wonderful role models and have taught them to respect and be aware of differences in their friends. Some kids 'struggle' in speech and others in gross motor skills or social skills-- but they all learn to be a lot more patient and accepting of 'differences' between them. It has only been a positive and we have seen an increase in patience in one DD and a much higher drive for independence in my other DD.

It is hard to decide!

 

I had one in the preschool disabled program and one in regular nursery school. They both thrived in their environment. Jonathan was in the self-contained class--by my choice. They cut the inclusion class down to one, so 3's and 4's were together, and the class was too crowded for him, with too much going on. In his class everything was designed to encourage speech--I had to send in a weeks worth of snack at a time, and he had to look through the drawer and verbalize which snack he wanted before he could get it. I would never turn down that program if it is offered. Like the others said, just because something is "fancy" doesn't make it better. I know many people who paid for a prestigious private school, only to find their kids behind the ones in the public school.

 

Thanks everyone. We have the transition meeting today, so hopefully I will know more soon.

I am definitely considering the developmental schools, although I don't even know for sure if he is going to qualify. The child needs to be delayed in both speech and either the cognitive or social areas. I definitely do not feel Spencer is delayed cognitively. He may be a little "delayed" socially, but what does that even mean really? (He isn't on the spectrum.) Sometimes kids are less social than others, I don't know if you can call that a delay. His brother is VERY social, so he sometimes seems shy in comparison. Actually I wouldn't even call him shy, he just likes to do his own thing sometimes. But today at a playdate, he was running around, laughing and playing on the slide with another 2.5 year old. And of course he plays with his brother all the time.

I see the value of a developmental school, but I still have reservations. 1. I am worried about him being "labeled" and never getting out of special education. I know people tell me that doesn't happen, but I can't help worrying about it. 2. I want him to be challenged, and I wonder if a mainstream environment would be better for him. When typical kids are around, he is more social. He doesn't really seem all that social in his current EI class which is mostly delayed kids, some more seriously delayed (autistic, for example) than Spencer. But then, there will be typical kids in the school district preschool, so that will be good. 3. I worry about him being treated differently than his brother by the teachers because he is the one with a delay, even though he is just as capable as Truman. Know what I mean?

Another solution I thought of is having both boys go to developmental preschool (which is just 2-3 hours a day I think) and then also sending them to a community preschool 1-2 half days a week.

There is also a private speech and language preschool that costs $1000 a month (!) and I wonder if I could convince the school district to pay for some of the tuition. It is okay to dream, LOL!

Thanks for letting me talk about this!

 

if they were not twins but just regular siblings, would you have the same reservations? i mean sure, it'll be harder on you as far as pick up and drop offs, but would you really object? if not, then i say let them go sepearately. i think twin fams spend too much time putting the kdis together. most twins would really benefit (thrive!) w/more time apart..... so, if i were you, i would do that. also, though you didn't love the ei preschool, one woudl hope that it would be better able to give him the services that he needs..... right?

nothing is easy! gl w/this,
jl

 

I guess I should have said that Jon was in the disabled preschool for a severe expressive speech delay. It wasn't that he couldn't talk, but that he couldn't express his own needs, especially when stressed or frustrated. When Jon left the program 1 1/2 years later to enter K, I requested a full evaluation. He was listed as having the "behaviors of a highly gifted child". It was never that he wasn't bright, he is, it was that the speech delay was causing behavior issues--they aren't completely gone, but the preschool program gave him ways to deal with that. I am actually having difficulty getting him help with his speech now, because he is so high functioning, that even though he is behind where is should be based on his intelligence, he is still way above his grade level, and therefore doesn't qualify for anything. The fact is most kids with mild delays leave the program with no services at all, and that is the entire point of the program! Would you rather him work this out, now, in pre-K, or be something that he has to deal with in K and first grade?

 

Both of my girls were in EI, receiving speech and physical therapy (late crawlers & walkers). Natalie's delays were more than Brooke and they both qualified for the at risk free preschool in our school district when they turned 3. I had all of the same would they be labeled, etc. thoughts. I went and visited the class, my ultimate decision which was backed up by the school psychologist was to not send the girls there for preschool. The school psychologist thought that maybe they wouldn't thrive as much and wouldn't have good models, since they would both be the "model" students. They both also qualified for speech therapy and Natalie for physical therapy where I bring them up to the school, Natalie has since been released from physical therapy and they have decreased their frequency of Speech therapy, both of them are progressing great. We have them in a regular preschool and they've been doing great. Good Luck with your decision.

 

I hope you didn't infer from what I posted that I think kids who go to developmental preschool are all cognitively delayed! I just meant that in our school district, you have to have either a cognitive OR a social delay along with a speech delay to qualify. It sounds like you can qualify in your district for just a speech delay? Or if there is an associated behavioral problem?

Thanks for your thoughts about the preschool-it does make sense to make sure he gets the support he needs now rather than later. I guess I just don't know what setting will best meet his needs.

 

Update: the transition meeting went well and I felt like they explained the process better. It looks like I need to have a Plan A and Plan B anyway, since we won't know if Spencer qualifies for a preschool until late March. So I will need to apply to community preschools anyway, most of them have deadlines of February to get your application in for the fall.

 

Glad to hear it went well!

We had to apply to a community (pay) preschool as well since we did not *know* if we qualified for our PreK until early August. But a HUGE issue for us was Potty Training. Neither DD was trained at registration last year, and one DD is still not trained. No community preschool would take her w/o a battle (though she would have won due to a medical reason for no PTing). The free 'at-risk' PreK did not matter and they worked with both DDs (one was just newly trained when school started).

A social delay can mean a lot- everything to not potty trained by 3.5, to unable to do self care skills (coat on, shoes on, etc), immature social behaviors (not playing with others, eye contact, ask for assistance, etc), poor communication skills, or non-age appropriate behaviors.

I hope it all goes well!!!

 

I haven't even really tackled potty training yet, LOL! I'm NOT looking forward to it. I am going to try the "Potty Training in One Day" method ("potty party") with Truman in a couple of weeks, as he is more ready than Spencer and my neighbor had success with it. They say it is better to train one twin at a time. Most of the community preschools I am looking at take 2.5 year olds and non-potty trained kids, so that is good.

That is kind of what I mean about "social delay" it seems like a broad and vague category, and there is so much individual variation with kids. I think Spencer is "within the range of normal" for 2.5 year old boys socially, although he does have some quirks. If we wanted him to qualify for the preschool, we could emphasize some of those quirks, you know?

By the way, most people think I am CRAZY for not being 100% about free preschool! They are like, it is FREE, what more do you want to know?!

 

I think you are smart to investigate your options. It is better to make an informed opinion and feel comfortable than just go in blindly (even if it is free). I visited a few PreKs before we decided---and we did go w/ the 'free' PreK but if I had gotten a 'weird' vibe or did not like the teacher we would not have gone, free or not. As it turns out, I LOVE their teacher and think she does a fantastic job. The fact that she works with such a range of kids makes her good---she adapts much more material for each child than most of the *pay* preschools (set curriculum). She does activities that allow for a wide variety of developmental skills- everyone participates. We are lucky!

One of my DD gets OT for 'social' delays- her speech is fantastic and she communicates well but she has odd habits. She is quirky, but that is fine. I love that the class she is in, they are used to working with all sorts of kids. She loves going, she is not 'singled out' for her quirks and actually she has improved and does less 'odd' things since being around so many of her peers. She potty trained really late as well.

 

This is what we are dealing with right now. We are enrolling our twins' to a community preschool to get the slot as they are all have deadline until end of January. My DD pass with flying color thru IEP services while my DS did not; has been receiving ST since 18 mos until he had his transition to school district. The school district did not qualify him for special education but they did tell us that he would be ON the list for 'At Risk' Program. *We did called the other day and verify that he is still on the list. My hubby says he think he should do mainstream and drop from their "At Risk" program. But I told him we would be taking advantage of the free for this year. Our twins will do one more year of preschool (2011) because they missed the cut off date for Sept 1st (their bday is 09/30/06). I do somewhat agree that he should me mainstream but I want us to save his tuition for following next year. It is a hard decision for me.

What I don't really understand is that why wait until this May for his re-evaulation when our school district is registering now?! Because I know I can't be in 2 different place at once for drop/pick up. We are awaiting for the school to give us a call back to see if my DD would be eligble to their regular preschool program knowing they both will be in a different classroom. If so, then it mean it would be a wait n' see until his evaluation.