If you have a SN kid in Waldorf school ...
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Anonymous
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What about Waldorf do you think would work for your son, op? When you visited, did you see any kids who reminded you of yours?
I have read that Waldorf schools tend to not intervene in social conflicts between kids, which can lead to tough situations for some NT kids (I've heard of bullying incidents, though not at Wash Waldorf specifically). This seems like it could be a problem for a kid who needs support socially. |
Anonymous
| Have you looked at Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School? It's a coop so there are lots of parents to help out and they do a lot with social skills. You could work alongside your child for part of the day. It's also half day so you could do therapy for the morning. |
Anonymous
| My dd will soon be graduating from a SN private. I asked the head of the school what she thought of Waldorf for my child, who also needs social support. The head's answer was an unequivocal no. |
Anonymous
We did a co-op for a year at age 2. The special needs were not apparent at the time but we have a significant speech delay. The other parents just ignored my kid as he couldn't communicate when he needed help. None were supportive at the end of the year. We left. I called waldorf and montessori's and except for the we'll take anyone as we want the money schools, they were not at all interested. My kid still has some delays including social. They let us interview and then stopped returning our calls and rejected us (one gave me a huge run around with two interviews and lots of games). We found another school much better. All our therapists said to go to a school with structure and support. None like the laid back approach as these kids need more support and help. |
Anonymous
That's something that the PP made up. The only school that I know specifically list "inclusive" in it's mission is St. Columba's and that's a preschool. Many mainstream privates accept kids with various SNs it doesn't mean that they can actually teach them. If you're looking for a SN school, I'd start here: http://exceptionalschoolsfair.com/About.html OP, I think you're going to have to call the school and tour. Hopefully they will be upfront on whether they can accommodate your kid. |
Anonymous
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OP here...
We've looked into a lot of SN schools and gen ed schools (that said they might be able to accommodate our SN son). I wish we had found one school that screams "this the one!". The SN schools that we visited didn't seem to provide appropriate peer models for social interaction (in the past, this setting made our son talking to the teachers mainly, or both him and the peers were prompted to have a conversation because everyone had to learn to initiate). Gen ed schools (and some SN schools) have a lot of peer models, but don't have appropriate support for ASD kids. We are interested in Waldorf because they seem to focus on engaging the child with the surroundings through art, music and movement. The kids learned "academics" through practical activities (cooking, knitting, making patterns while going for a walk, etc). Again, these are just information I gathered from talking to the schools (I can be completely wrong). |
Anonymous
Have you looked at the lab school in DC? That is geared to SN kids with an emphasis on learning through the arts. |
Anonymous
I'm not that sold on peer models - there are peer models all around us, and if my kid were capable of picking up social cues out of the air, from the dozens of socially typical people he encounters every day, he wouldn't be ASD. He really needs explicit instruction in social behavior that most NT people come pre-wired with (and that many teachers of NT kids, even good ones, just don't understand how to provide). So anyway, that wouldn't be a key consideration for me. |
Anonymous
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Lab school does not take kids on the spectrum.
We tried Waldorf for preschool when DS was 3 yrs old and we did not know or suspect that he has ASD/Asperger's. We went twice a wk for 3 hrs and I went with him. It was fine although in the beginning I had trouble getting him engaged with what was going on b/c he was mostly interested in playing with the doors. We did not choose Waldorf for preK4 and beyond however. While I like Waldorf and knows several adults who went to Waldorf schools through middle school, I echo pps who think it does not provide enough structure for kids with ASD. It's just too loosey goosey and I know if my child went there, DS will be left on the periphery to his own devices. DS is currently a rising 2nd grader at a language immersion school with an IEP for social supports and services, OT and social skills. He does not need academic supports. I am not sure how you can expect a Waldorf school to provide social supports without an IEP. |
Anonymous
| Have you looked at Maddux? All the kids are there for a reason, of course, usually connected to the social support it offers, but all the kids have different strengths and weaknesses. This has meant for us that there are peer models for the kids to learn from in different ways. Plus, lots of adult support to help the kids talk to each other -- a kid talking only to the adults just wouldn't happen. |
Anonymous
That 'a interesting, the lab school in basltomore does take kids on the spectrum. |
Anonymous
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There's been many discussions on this board about Lab school DC not taking kids on the spectrum. You can read about it here:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/368363.page#4810610 |
Anonymous
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OP here: Talked to Lab school and was told they don't accept ASD kids (although I know some parents in this forum seem to have ASD kids there).
Maddux is full. |
Anonymous
Most schools that offer something exceptional will be full this time of year. |
Anonymous
Not sure if the preschool at Maddux is full. OP, did you call Maddux? Also, lots of LDs look like ASD. |