Our 7-year old was diagnosed with PDD a month ago and we have been looking at schools in our area under significant pressure to make the choice within a few days.
We have seen three different schools that vary significantly in atmosphere and approach. Here where we live special education classes are intermixed with regular classes in the same school.
The first one (which is probably too far away to be practical) had a small concentrated class that works a lot with the kids in a small group then they join full regular classes for general subjects. The current teacher was very good but she is leaving to take a supervisory post.
The second school has a class of some six kids but the teacher had big problems controlling the group - in short she looked out of her depth. The kids join some regular classes on their own.
The third school has a very impressive teacher who obviously puts her all into her group of 5 PDD kids. What happens is that they attend regular classes in the mornings (with the special education group with them in the class to help). Then in the afternoons they go into their class of 5 kids to learn socialization skills. The aim in this school is to immerse the kids very deeply with the normal classes and this can be a big challenge for some children.
We were very impressed with the first school and had our hearts set on it. The third school is very different in atmosphere, but we sense that it could present a fine balance between the challenge of the real world and a very vibrant teaching atmosphere in the small group.
On balance we feel that the third school is probably the best and that is where are intuition lies. Our child is loud and outgoing but will misbehave when things get tough. He met the teaching staff at the third school and took to them and they to him.
Just wondered if most parents would choose to go with what they think feels right rather than what might seem the safest most logical choice.
We have seen three different schools that vary significantly in atmosphere and approach. Here where we live special education classes are intermixed with regular classes in the same school.
The first one (which is probably too far away to be practical) had a small concentrated class that works a lot with the kids in a small group then they join full regular classes for general subjects. The current teacher was very good but she is leaving to take a supervisory post.
The second school has a class of some six kids but the teacher had big problems controlling the group - in short she looked out of her depth. The kids join some regular classes on their own.
The third school has a very impressive teacher who obviously puts her all into her group of 5 PDD kids. What happens is that they attend regular classes in the mornings (with the special education group with them in the class to help). Then in the afternoons they go into their class of 5 kids to learn socialization skills. The aim in this school is to immerse the kids very deeply with the normal classes and this can be a big challenge for some children.
We were very impressed with the first school and had our hearts set on it. The third school is very different in atmosphere, but we sense that it could present a fine balance between the challenge of the real world and a very vibrant teaching atmosphere in the small group.
On balance we feel that the third school is probably the best and that is where are intuition lies. Our child is loud and outgoing but will misbehave when things get tough. He met the teaching staff at the third school and took to them and they to him.
Just wondered if most parents would choose to go with what they think feels right rather than what might seem the safest most logical choice.
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Israel
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I think the 3rd school sounds like a great option - mainstreaming in the morning is common because alot of kids do better in the morning than after lunch. Unless you saw or heard some major red flags, it sounds like a good fit from what you've described. I'm getting ready to do the same for my two, but with schools closed for the summer I'm limited to hearsay and how the schools look on paper....<crosses fingers>
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Thanks for the insight.
Looks like this is the option we are going for. Funny how we are both in the same position. What really impressed was that the teacher open up the school to show us around even though it is closed for the summer, and brought three of her support staff over to meet our son (all at a moment's notice). Then the next day she let us meet three of the kids at the day camp they are attending at the moment. She then indicated that she and her staffers felt that our son was the right fit for them and that they would love to have him join. I watched as the three kids all sat nicely and happily over dinner for around 20 minutes with a lot of noise and chaos going around, and it struck me that our boy has never sat down quietly to have a meal in his life for even five minutes.
My concern is that we were so positive about the first option until we got this last one. The first option is a smaller very organized school, but the second one is a big noisy school. We feel that the second option -- given the great support -- may turn out to be the best preparation for real life.
.. If only parenting came with a real good handbook! It just took us so long to pin down what was the situation with our son... we kept getting told ADHD but knew it was something much deeper.
Hope your guys school choice gets sorted out.
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>>> the best preparation for real life
Hmm.
Taking care of 'now' is really the best preparation for real life, I think that based on all of the options, the one that best meets immediate needs would be the one to go with.
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In the end we chose the third option. It was the one that best meets the immediate needs and the teacher seems like a real livewire.
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I know most people in here prolly already know this BUT...
extensive research (we are talking hundreds of studies over the last century) has shown that 1) heterogenous social grouping is optimal for social/emotional development - even for gifted kids 2) strictly homogenous academic groupings are most damaging to the lowest performing groups.
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3rd school 1st choice, 1st one 2nd choice....I have 2 sons, aged 16 & 21 who are PDD-NOS. the younger one is also a brittle diabetic for 9 years. Have been a single Mom for the last 10 years. My older one just passed his GED w/ a very hi score. My kids get very little services. I get zip for services. Been thru so much, feel I can tell people what's what. Sorry if I am being obnoxious! LOL!
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I really hope things get easier for you. My wife and I both say to each other that we are so lucky we have each other. Having one child with PDD has stretched us to the limit and has made life very difficult for our other children who feel all the attention has gone to our youngest son.
We are finally getting the sort of help we need. It is there, but because it has taken so long to figure out the problem things are only just beginning to work out. Over here the fact that you have a child with PDD does bring some tax benefits -- which is a help coping with all the medical reports etc. We are also lucky to have friends that are in special education who have been very helpful to guide us in the right direction.
Thinking of you.. you deserve a set of medals!!
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Absolutely, Go with your intuition.I have an eight year old son with autism and my gut told me not to put him where our district offered, and i didnt and homeschooled him until i resolved it and felt great that i went with what i felt was right inside myself. Also, we have done inclusion since our son is two, and this year he is still doing inclusion but we have him in a class thats all autism and i was pretty deadset against this for my son because hes so high functioning, but i found here you can really work on behaviors that need addressing so that they are even more successful in the inclusion piece.Sometimes, the child gets alot out of being a star in a smaller setting rather then trying so hard to keep up in a bigger more inclusive setting all day. And once the child finds themselves, their self confidence goies up and learning can occur more readily then, the behaviors go down.Then being included is fun for them and not like a stressful thing to just work through, but that it is reinforcing in itself.My 2 cents
Also, my post is old looking at the date you posted it, so tell me, how are things going?
Love
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Check out Pivotal Response Training, its the shiznit for kids on all spectrums.Amazing chit mang, Google, University Santa Barbara, Pivotal Response Training, The Autism Research Clinic. The Bomb. Omg
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Hi. Choosing a school is such a stressful decision! You'd think it would be a simple matter of geography, but for Special Needs kids, it's finding the best teacher you can. We moved to this location because the elementary school special ed program is run by an amazing woman who strongly beleives in inclusion and really knows what she's doing. We're lucky. My girl is thriving and it's because of the people. So I would chose the people. Try to talk to them and if you get a good feel, go with it. My girl will be in 6th grade next year, which means transition time and I am mourning the fact she will lose her good program and wonderful teachers. The middle school is awful, so again we are looking around and wondering if it's time to move again. But where? I try not to think that if I chose the wrong school, or I can't find the right setting for her, her whole life will be ruined because she won't get an education. But the stakes feel that high sometimes. Thinking that way is making decisions based on fear, which is never the right choice. So I focus on her strengths, her needs, and hunt for the right people.
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terena,
I hear you so clearly.
We are fortunate to be in a fine charter school that goes to 8th grade, so my 5th grader is safe for a few more years, after that, I just don't know... I have thought of home schooling at that point, high school seems so far away but I know that it's not.
I guess one way that I deal with it all is that my daughter's life is so precarious, I never really know if she'll be around a year from now, so I don't make myself take any of it too seriously, a blessing.
It is inspiring to see parents who know the importance of meeting their children's needs. I love it ... -
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I too stay in the moment as much as possible, while keeping an eye on the horizon. If I get too far in the future, fear can take over. The "what if's" get too loud. But then I've also got to make some kind of plan and figure out what I need to know to make the right choices. As usual, it's about balance.
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