Anyone had their kids attend the Bear's group in Rockville?

[Anonymous]

My son, who is 2 1/2, has been advised to start the Bear's group in Rockville. I'm curious if anyone had any experience with it and what were the results? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We did one of these groups but I think it had another name, also run by MCITP. The point is to prepare your kid for a preschool environment. I preferred having therapy hours at the Rockville center, which got some of the therapists out of my house. Plus, my kid responded better in a class environment. I thought the sessions were well-run and my kid enjoyed them. It was also my first experience seeing my kid as part of an SN environment. It was interesting to me to see other kids to compare limitations and strengths.

[Anonymous]

Yes we did that group. It was interesting. There were no major break throughs. Does your child have sensory and language issues?

[Anonymous]

OP here - He does to an extent. He's got some social issues, doesn't really know HOW to play with kids, although doesn't mind them. He's also delayed in receptive language. Has great memory but doesn't process directions very well. So they thought this would be a good thing for him to try. He's in a regular pre-school now and has some speech therapy. This is in addition. I'm a bit spetical but waiting to see if anything will help. We've only gone 3 times so we need to give it more time to have a better opinion.

[Anonymous]

I did it with my son for a few months and thought it was fine. For him it was more useful than the at home therapy. Sometimes it felt like there were too many adults in the room, but overall my son liked it and it helped introduce him to things like circle time, etc.

[Anonymous]

We did it for a few months too. It was okay.

[Anonymous]

Agree that it's a good intro to pre-school/circle time. However when we did it last spring and summer, my child was already in a full day daycare/preschool, so it was of limited benefit. I was pulling him out of his regular school 2 mornings a week to go to the Bears group, where they were doing similar activities, but with more adults present. If your child hasn't been in a school setting yet, I think it would be more beneficial.