My SID Son (4yrs) is going to kindergarten next year?!

[JamesMom]

Old time poster in Dis, but first time here. I was just told about this board last week when I posted about my Sensory son. So, first off, hello!

Now, I had parent-teacher conference with my son's special ed teacher - she is absolute sweetheart and was born to do her job. My son has improved so much in her class.
I asked what the plans were for next year since John will be old enough for kindergarten fully prepared for her to say, no -they'll red-shirt him and give him another year to mature. He has a speech delay, not yet toilet trained and has some behavioral issues. I don't think he'll be ready for full- day (7 hours) "let's pay attention" Kindergarten. She said that we had two choices because state LAW requires all early education students be in Kindergarten at age five. 1) Mainstream Kindy, continuing with OT, PT and speech as needed as well as resource person who will pull him from class to work on specific tasks he might be behind on to "pass" kindergarten (for example, writing his name or counting to 100). she said they would do this even if he isn't toilet trained (what!) 2) Move him to a special ed kindergarten through grade 2 class . The teacher recommended the former.

I am freaking out - I honestly thought they were just going to work with him a bit longer in the non-threatening enviroment of preschool. I have an older NT son who was in Kindy last year and the pressure for math and early reading skills was there -not to mention not having the stigma of pooping in one's pants.

Please assure me that all will be fine - though deep down I know it wil be. I just thought I had more time.

 

[bookwormde]

First welcome, there are lots of parents here who have managed the challenges for their children that you are making decisions about now. There are lots of thread about SID directly and SID in ASD/Aspergers children.

You and your child are very fortunate to have such a wonderful pre-K teacher.

I guess my first question would be where along the path are you with the educational classification process and the clinical diagnosis process. Have you formally requested an IDEA evaluation and has your child been educationally classified under IDEA. If so it is up to you and the IEP team to work on what is the most appropriate educational setting for your child, their decision can override state regulations. Also have you had a broad clinical evaluation of your child, this is very important since while your descriptions could of your child could be strictly from sensory differentials, it is much more likely that some come from other neurological variations.

If your child intellectually (putting sensory, social, executive function IE attention issues aside) capable of doing Kindergarten level work, then once you have an effective IEP in place with the proper supports there is no reason that a mainstream environment would not work and is both from a regulatory and developmental basis the best environment. Now this does require lots of accommodations, modifications and supports including a paraprofessional, but that is what the IEP team is supposed to develop for your child.

For parents of children with neurological variations who are intellectually average or above I always recommend reading Tony Attwood’s “the complete guide to Aspergers” (available on Amazon for about $25) as it gives a broad based understanding most of the variations that our children may have, and allows us to be knowledgeable to notice additional issues which may present so our children can get the best support.

Also your child is “in the range” of where many of our children become “toilet trained” so keep that in mind.

Again welcome, and feel free to ask all the question you need to, we have lots of knowledgeable parents, and a few educators and clinicians who frequent this section

bookwormde

 

[JamesMom]

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Despite having a special needs son since he was about 18 months - I am pretty ignorant of the whole thing. Some background.

DS6 had a speech delay at age 18 months and enrolled him in county Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) strictly for speech therapy in home 1x a week till he caught up by age 3 and 'graduated' the program into regular preschool and is a fully functional first grader.

DS4 also presented with speech delay at 18 months. I thought nothing of it and continued to work with him at home using learned strategies thinking he was like his brother. By 21 months no progress so in came ECI again.

Within a couple of months, John's behavior issues became a focus in addition to just the speech delay. Soon, OT, PT and Psych were called in. It was at this point the 'diagnosis' was made of Sensory Integration Disorder because of his 'rigidity'. I never received paperwork to this effect, I just recall the conversations. Prior to ECI, I thought his 'issues' were just the terrible two's and rolled with it.

John continued in ECI until age 3 when he tested at 15 months for verbal ability. The public school tested him and accepted him for speech delay and threw out the "autism" word, again, because of his rigidity. We had his ARD and an IEP was developed and has been in half-day preschool since.

No additional formal testing or diagnosis has been made. I spoke with his teacher at the conference yesterday (which prompted this thread) whether more formal testing is recommended. But the teacher didn't really see a lot of the SID thing.She was going to check with his OT.

He has made tremendous strides in his 'rigidity' issues and I am not totally convinced the SID fits anymore, but I don't know if it is wishful thinking on my part or timidity to learn the 'truth' and find something worse. He is more open to novel places (still shy around strangers which not be a bad thing) but is very independent and stubborn - which is typical toddler behavior, right? He doesn't need the deep pressure massages or as much tactile stimulation. I think being to communicate more effectively has helped him greatly.

As far as intellect, John is doing great. He can count to 5 (now that he say the words - his vocabulary is growing exponentialy ) and recognizes letters and their sounds. He now speaking in 2-3 word sentences and can put concepts together like up/down, hot/cold, etc.
He needs help with fine motor skills, but he is making great strides.

Thanks for listening - don't know if this answered your question, but this a jungle for me. I have been winging it most of the time...

 

[jerseymom473]

My son, too is speech delayed and attended preschool and recieved OT and speech therapy. He made great progress so was disappointed when he was placed in a LLD kindergarten class and not regular kindergarten. It actually is great, he is in a small class (10 kids) and two aides. He continues to receive OT and speech and attends specials (gym etc) with the regular class. Don't be afraid of special ed kindergarten (if you got that route). Also, do not fear the worst, he is making progress and that is terrific!!! I too often feel like I am winging it , but learn more every day. You are doing a great job!!

 

[KirstenB]

I'm a year behind you, but I'll be nervous this time next year too!!! Zoe is 4, but her birthday is in September. I believe I can red-shirt her, because their school year starts in August, so she'll still be 5 (barely) when she starts kindergarten.

Zoe is still in the 2-4 yr old special ed class. But there's a special ed preK class that meets for 6 hrs a day. She'll be in that class next year. Just as you mentioned being concerned about the length of the kindergarten day, this preK class is longer than the younger SPED classes. HOw long is his school day now? Also, the special ed preschool is in the same building as the regular preschool. During specials, like music, or playing in the motor room, or lunchtime, they merge the "normal" kids with our kids, which is a huge benefit.

 

[JamesMom]

John's preschool is 3 hours a day in the afternoon - Noon to 3. Last year it was 8-11. Next year it'll 8am till 3pm. Both kids will be in the same school. A long day...
Next year they are moving the special ed program off site to make room for the full-day kindergarten (still half day for this year only) so the program will be more segregated.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Hi. I work as a teaching assistant in a special ed preschool class. The rule in our district is that if a child makes the age cut-off for kindergarten, they have to go. They can go to a special ed kindergarten class or a mainstream class, whichever the IEP team decides is appropriate. In Calif, if a child turns 5 by Dec. 1, they are eligible for kindergarten. You can hold your child back a year if you wish, but not if they're in special ed preschool class. All kids who meet the cut-off will leave our class at the end of the year. Some parents get nervous about this, but we tell them that the special ed kindergarten class is really just a continuation of our class. We have mainstreamed a few kids over the years but most of our kids stay in special ed. If we "red-shirt" kids and keep them past the cut-off age, our classes would be huge and not as effective for the kids coming in.

Remember that you are part of the IEP team and will help make the decision about where your son goes next year. If you look carefully at the options and feel that he should remain in special ed, I wouldn't hesitate to keep him there. Go and meet the special ed kindergarten teacher and spend some time observing the class. Do the same in the mainstream class. By the way, in our district, a child who isn't potty-trained is not allowed in a mainstream kindergarten class unless they have a one-on-one aide. I'm a little surprised your district would allow that. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Lachesis00]

**Stupid** question, but do kids *have* to go to Kinder? I thought kids didn't have to start school until first grade?

(((Hugs to you Mommy)))