Well then.
After a lengthy discussion with the Special Education nurse for our school district and a second opinion from another special ed nurse, I am learning about school options for Georgiy.
Basically, because the child turned 5 on December 9th he has aged out of the preschool early intervention stuff 'round here. So he can go to Kindergarten with a one on one aide perhaps, or a special day Kindergarten class IF there is one available which may not be the case.
Kindergarten. The child wears a size 2T and is in diapers full time with no signs of potty training readiness at all. He has no real expressive language at all. He looks and acts developmentally exactly like a child who just turned two.
KINDERGARTEN?????
I fail to see how this is helpful. Maybe I am missing it.
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I can't remember what it is your son has. Do I remember that he has DS? Because my child is developmentally 6 or 7 years old, does that mean she should not be in a 6th grade classroom with her peers? If your son has DS, he is going to ALWAYS be behind. It won't change. But, it's not a reason to not put him with his same-age peers. He's going to learn A LOT from him. So WHAT that he's so tiny? There are lots of kids with DS who go to school MUCH smaller than their peers, my daughter included. When she started kindergarten she was 22 pounds, and barely in 3T clothing. But size certainly isn't a reason to hold them back. Neither is his lack of toileting ability. There are a lot of kids who have disabilities who are FOREVER in diapers. Believe me, your son will not be the first, nor the last child to start kindergarten wearing diapers. What I AM sad to hear is that where he goes depends upon if there is space available. I wish all districts in the country were required to HAVE the necessary programming available for our kids. I'm lucky to live in an area that does, and feel so very fortunate. I wish all our kids had it too.
Leah, you make very good points. My only concern is that my son has even ever had the chance to learn the preschool stuff and do the things appropriate for a preschooler and I feel that going straight to a mainstream K class with his peers will be skipping too much that he still needs to learn. I think he will catch up very quickly, I just think regular Kindergarten is a bit too much too soon right now. Pre-K sounds better to me, honestly. You are so very right though, it all depends on space available and there is such a lack of programs.
Yes, there is that. But, will a year catch him up? Probably not. I agree, Pre K would be a better option, and certainly something many districts have available. Honestly, I'd look very closely at your school district and what they have to offer for him in the next 2-5 years. What they don't have now could very well be an indicator that they'll be lacking for him once he's into the primary grades. Tough stuff to think about, that's for sure. It'ts tough, this business of parenting a child with a disability. When do you push, and when do you pull back? Just know that that are a lot of us out here willing to toss ideas around with you, and help you weight the pluses and minus'.
I know it might seem daunting,& overwhelming but you can homeschool Georgie just like you do your other little one. I've found a wealth of knowledge is out there to help us parents do the job..not only in schooling, but with physical, speech, and occupational therepies. I've homeschooled my 4 typical children and I do all Eli's therepies with the help and teachings of great books and DVD's to guide me. I plan on working with my Nika once he's home too. I can't imaging him coming home only to be sent to the schooling system away from us. Praying for peace for you and direction for sure!! (Lord know's we all need it!)
Alysha~ How did you figure out what to get for speech and other therapies? I am happy to keep plugging along with the school system, but I know full well our school system is in sad shape here so your idea might be where we end up.
Hiya Anna~I did LOTS of online searching and asked LOTS of questions at our National DS association. I have to tell you that the response I got from the NDSA wasn't a great one..they strongly urged me to go thru the state and utilize all I could. I pondered it for a bit till I ran into a woman who had her son going thru all his theripies thru the State & at age 3 when they wanted him to be in school she decided to keep him home. Her social worker turned her into the state claiming she was being neglectful of her son's well being. Her son was removed for 6 weeks from her and then returned with a "sorry." After hearing her horror story I knew for sure I wasn't ever going to even put myself or my Eli in that position. I have to admit sometimes I wonder if I'm doing what's best for him..but I feel confident he's going to be okay..just like my typical monsters. Nika's 3 & like Georgie, very small and described as "signifantly delayed". He just started sitting up by himself so I know I have alot of work ahead of me. Check out blueberryshoes.com, that's where I found most of my dvd's (I bought them on ebay though cause their a pretty penny thur dealers),for speech check out bumblebee.com (again bought the full set on ebay) It's for kiddos with speech issues but not designed specifically for children with DS. The company is really pleased to know it's recived so well by children with DS. It's dated, but Eli doesn't care. 'Your baby can read' has had a great result with Eli, whose 2. He watches it & responds to the words now like "clap". Amazing. For good indepth education for yourself check out Woodbine House. They have tons of educational reading and how to books..these are the books I use for Eli's PT, OT and even his ST. It's overwhelming at first, but now it's getting easier & I love that the things he's learned are because I taught him. Another great bonus for you is his older brothers & sister. Without any guidance their teachers to him and just playing with him is schooling him. Eli learned to clap to a beat by playing paty cake with his 8 year old sister. Something I hadn't even thought of. So I hope this has helped. You can do it!! "I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!" Go get em'!
I teach special ed and have had many kiddos just like your son in my class. Special ed means he will work at his own pace, on his own goals, but kindergarten can be a great social piece for his education!
I am TOTALLY with you. My Bryce is "lucky" to have a late Sept. birthday, which makes him have a total disadvantage, even if he was not delayed. They are saying because he turned 4 BEFORE Oct. 15th, that he should be with kids that are almost a full year older. Bryce is also wearing a 2t, basically non-verbal and takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Our special ed. dept. is pretty much a joke (believe me, I worked there last year). I really believe as long as he's getting contact and interaction with other children, he is getting as good of an education that our school could offer.
School will always be there and it's my decision as his mom to enroll him when HE is ready.
Seriously, do what is best for you and your family - mother does know best :)
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