I have no idea how to find a preschool or what to do next...

[Anonymous]

OP, stay away from JCC. It is not as accepting of special needs children as they sound. Look at the recent post about JCC NV.

I would stick with Child Find or find a preschool with a small teacher to student ratio.

[Anonymous]

I've been down a similar path as the OP and can recommend some things to do with your child that really helped us. First, I found a really good speech therapist. Second, I found a really good OT. I loved Building Blocks Speech Therapy (they have offices in DC and in Falls Church). The therapists were knowledgeable and completely dedicated to our child. A good speech therapist practice will have many connections with other medical providers that they will be able to recommend for other issues that you may be dealing with. We also found a good occupational therapist, which was a much harder task to do than I would have thought. We had some good experiences with OTs at Georgetown University and at Leaps and Bounds (in DC). I would not recommend Lynn Israel's practice group--too crowded and some of the OTs were very rushed and uncaring. Then, after we had a regular ST and OT appointment schedule we looked into preschools and had difficulty finding the right fit for our child. In retrospect, I should have not sent my child to preschool while we were doing all of this OT and ST because it would have given me more time to focus on the therapies than getting our child into preschool and then dealing with some of the difficulties that the child had in the preschool. If you can, it might be wise to bypass the preschool experience now, focus your energies on the therapies, knowing that many of the ST and OT practices have small group sessions that your child could attend in lieu of that first year of preschool. I learned that when a child isn't ready for preschool, it not only is stressful on the child, but incredibly stressful on the parents, as you are dealing with teachers who can be inexperienced in their ability to handle a child with special needs and may make matters worse. Depending upon what your developmental pediatrician may conclude, you may want to look into the Katherine Maddox program (in Maryland), should that be something that your child may need. It has an excellent reputation and I've had a few acquaintances who said that it made the difference for their child. The downside is that it has a limited amount of slots. Hang in there--you're on a journey that seems really tough now I know, but it will get better as you connect with the people who will be able to help you and your child.

[Anonymous]

I don't live in Virginia so i can't help you there. Many preschools are inclusive of kids with special needs to try to find a preschool that is convenient and then ask. What you are describing is not at all unusual for most preschools.

And don't ask your SLP or OT about a possible diagnosis. They are not diagnosticians and you can't trust their opinion, however well intentioned. I think it violates SLP's professional ethics to even suggest a diagnosis. And OTs will diagnose SPD at the drop of a hat but keep in mind that its not a medical diagnosis, its an OT diagnosis. Sensory issues are a symptom, not a diagnosis. Honestly, this whole vestibular processing stuff is just hoo hoo. I say this having had this sort of thing batted around about my DS. It sounds like your DS has motor planning delays. This is a brain processing thing, not a sensory. It is also the traditional thing for OT before they got into swings and brushing and all that stuff.

I think its great that you are going to see a developmental pediatrician. Thats where you should get your advice for what follows. Your DS may or may not receive a diagnosis -- sometimes there isn't an "it", there's just a list of stuff. Sometimes there's an "it."

My DS had similar delays and is on the spectrum. But he's now 13 and doing beautifully -- has friends, is in a mainstream school and is a real delight. And still has an ASD, but whatever. Don't ask about prognosis, whatever his diagnosis. This isn't cancer. You are giving your DS all the right kind of early intervention and that will make a tremendous difference.