Aspergers starting kindergarten

[Anonymous]

I have a 5 year old son who will start kindergarten next school year. Our home school is Jamestown elementary school in arlington. Waldorf has also been recommended and then there's Langley. Does anyone have any input? It's very stressful. Thank you in advance for all of your help.

[Anonymous]

Same situation but we didn't get a diagnosis (girl) until much later in life, so you are ahead of us. We tried two privates but ultimately found the best service in Fairfax public with an IEP. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Arlington. Best of luck. I wish I could tell you it will get better, but I can't - as DC grew up and more mature behaviors were expected of her, her (now autism) handicaps became more noticeable.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised that anyone would recommend Waldorf for a kid with significant special needs. I know they ban all technology, including assistive tech, until quite late, which can be a problem. I'd be interested in what kind of special needs it is a good fit for.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if this helps but my ds is in 3rd and one of the things I've had to come to accept is that there is no excellent solution, and there might not even be a good one. As a general rule, I think it makes sense to start with your public school with IEP and see how that goes. We started in private and it becomes very intimidating to consider switching back.

[Anonymous]

Like a Waldorf school?

I recommend strongly against it. The spiritual aspects of Waldorf are disturbing. The academics are substandard.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the Waldorf schools in this area well, but in general I think that Waldorf and Aspergers is a bad fit.

Waldorf strongly discourages early reading, and the use of technology, both areas in which kids with Aspergers often do well. It places a lot of emphasis on fine motor skills and pretend play, which are often weaknesses for kids with Aspergers. On top of that many Waldorf schools have a reputation for very loose structure, which is generally a bad fit for kids with Aspergers.

I agree that public school is a good place to start. You'll have access to far more supports, and a more differentiated curriculum. In addition, in private schools you often have a choice between progressive schools, which often have very loose structure, and more traditional schools which have a tight structure, but often aren't forgiving of students who need support to acclimate to that structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know the Waldorf schools in this area well, but in general I think that Waldorf and Aspergers is a bad fit.

Waldorf strongly discourages early reading, and the use of technology, both areas in which kids with Aspergers often do well. It places a lot of emphasis on fine motor skills and pretend play, which are often weaknesses for kids with Aspergers. On top of that many Waldorf schools have a reputation for very loose structure, which is generally a bad fit for kids with Aspergers.

I agree that public school is a good place to start. You'll have access to far more supports, and a more differentiated curriculum. In addition, in private schools you often have a choice between progressive schools, which often have very loose structure, and more traditional schools which have a tight structure, but often aren't forgiving of students who need support to acclimate to that structure.

I agree. We looked at Washington Waldorf for DS before we realized he has Asperger's. We attended their once a week program for 2s. Looking back now that DS is 6, it was the right decision. It would not be a good fit.

DS attends a language immersion public charter since prek4 and it's a great fit. DS is very adroit with languages, loves technology, but needs clear expectations and structure. Has an IEP. No issues at all academically or socially. Try public, you maybe pleasantly surprised. We were. GL!

[Anonymous]

If you are in Arlington, you should look into Flint Hill. They have a learning center on site and my DS has done great there. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

We are in K now and couldn't be happier at Taylor school in Arlington. Of course we only have a couple of months there, but so far very happy.

We went through Child Find and the IEP process last year, and that gave us a lot of opportunity to interact with the staff + we got OT there during our last pre-K year. So by the time we had to make a decision, we felt very comfortable with the people and the approach.

So I suggest reaching out to Jamestown, meet the special ed staff, etc. There is also a Special Ed Parent Resource Center and they might give you ideas on how to connect with people at Jamestown. Don't be shy about trying to get in to talk to the principal, either.

[Anonymous]

My adult brother is Aspy (in is 40's now). I can see how the Waldorf education would've benefited his extreme aptitude for hands-on tasks, like the knitting, woodworking, building shelters, farming. He couldn't play sports and had very delayed gross motor skills but the kinetic learning and group efforts for shelter building, memorizing plays, etc. would've helped him build social skills in ways that his public education never managed.

I've seen a couple of Aspy children blossom at WWS. There are pros and cons for everything and each child is different. I hope this helps you come to a decision.

HTH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous at 18:23 obviously has no experience with Waldorf education, only believing fear-mongering websites he or she has read somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Waldorf Alumn Wins 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Waldorf-educated neuroscientist Thomas Südhof, MD, and two others earned the prize for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic and for solving the mystery of how the cell organizes its transport system.

Südhof, a graduate of the Hannover Waldorf School in Germany, is a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University. Congratulations, Dr. Südhof!

Another German Nobel Prize winner had this to say about Waldorf education:

“The advent of the Waldorf Schools was in my opinion the greatest contribution to world peace and understanding…” – Willy Brandt, Former Chancellor of West Germany, 1971 Nobel Peace Prize Winner.


http://seacoastwaldorfschool.org/waldorf-alumn-wins-nobel-prize-in-medicine/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like a Waldorf school?

I recommend strongly against it. The spiritual aspects of Waldorf are disturbing. The academics are substandard.

This is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like a Waldorf school?

I recommend strongly against it. The spiritual aspects of Waldorf are disturbing. The academics are substandard.

I concur. Your child will be academically behind his peers if he/she goes to Waldorf. They don't even start reading until 2nd or third grade! What the hell is that?

[Anonymous]

OR... your typically developing child will be pushed HARD to read in kindergarten when he or she isn't ready, be told he/she is delayed in reading, and have to enter special reading help. When if that same child had been pushed to read in middle of 1st grade, he/she would have picked it up, given that's a more developmentally appropriate time for children to read. Reading in Kindergarten isn't appropriate, but our "push down" theories of education are even making parents of 4 yr olds think their kids SHOULD be reading, too.

GRRR... Broad generalizations work both ways, you know.