If you have a SN kid in Waldorf school ...

[Anonymous]

How do the teachers integrate your kid into the classroom and make sure your kid interacts with the peers throughout the day?

My son has autism, with strong academics but needs help with social skills. He was in gen ed private school but for the next school year, we're considering to place him in the mixed-age Waldorf kinder (4-6 yr old), which seems to emphasize on socio-emotional growth of a child (which my son is really lacking).
To most people, he seems like a happy, friendly kid, talking and playing creatively. However, the reality is, he likes to play by himself or with adults.
I'm curious to know whether parents have seen Waldorf teachers work with kids who needs to be taught social skills more explicitly.

[Anonymous]

No Waldorf!

Run like hell. They're going to blame that kid's problems on the kid. It's a cult.

Read this:
http://www.mothering.com/forum/12-personal-growth/683104-life-after-waldorf-support-group.html

[Anonymous]

Someone I know had her kid at Acorn Hill and was very happy. I don't know if the Sangamore Road school is as accepting.

P.S. Waldorf isn't a cult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone I know had her kid at Acorn Hill and was very happy. I don't know if the Sangamore Road school is as accepting.

P.S. Waldorf isn't a cult.

It was founded by the founder of a religious cult movement and is designed to further belief in that religious movement. It's a cult. It's a cult just as much as Scientology schools are cult schools. People have very bad experiences with Waldorf schools because of their cultish ways. Read that thread from Mothering for stories to make your hair curl.

http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2012/11/what-every-parent-should-know-about-steiner-waldorf-schools.html

http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Religion-or-Philosophy-Critics-say-Waldorf-3302817.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

[Anonymous]

As of a couple of mths ago, all of the 3 Waldorf schools in the area had a few spaces left for the mixed-age classrooms.

[Anonymous]

You cannot expect a school that is not designed for it to provide your DC with a therapeutic environment. Its very easy to think that because its alternative, its the right kind of alternative. Wrong. If you want your child to be educated in a therapeutic setting, you should choose a therapeutic school. Those are the only schools that will actively reach out to your DC. If you want your DC to be educated in a school that will tolerate his eccentricities and provide a safe, though not actively, therapeutic environment, there are hybrid mainstream schools inclusive of kids with SN. But unless the Waldorf school you are looking at has staff members special trained in accommodating the social needs of kids with ASDs, it will not happen.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I really would love to get parents honest opinions who have/had SN kids in Waldorf schools (pros and cons). Please don't make it as a debate post. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

To 16:04 post … which schools are "hybrid mainstream schools inclusive of SN kids?" (newbie here, just moved from CT).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You cannot expect a school that is not designed for it to provide your DC with a therapeutic environment. Its very easy to think that because its alternative, its the right kind of alternative. Wrong. If you want your child to be educated in a therapeutic setting, you should choose a therapeutic school. Those are the only schools that will actively reach out to your DC. If you want your DC to be educated in a school that will tolerate his eccentricities and provide a safe, though not actively, therapeutic environment, there are hybrid mainstream schools inclusive of kids with SN. But unless the Waldorf school you are looking at has staff members special trained in accommodating the social needs of kids with ASDs, it will not happen.

+1

This was exactly our experience with Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I really would love to get parents honest opinions who have/had SN kids in Waldorf schools (pros and cons). Please don't make it as a debate post. Thank you!

Go read the Mothering thread that I posted. Multiple people posted there about their experience with SN kids in Waldorf schools. They didn't have good experiences.

[Anonymous]

Waldorf pretty much explicitly says they don't want special needs kids. When I called to talk to them earlier this year the woman who answered the phone, and worked at the school (in Bethesda) told me she had to find a new school for her daughter with mild issues because Waldorf does not accommodate any special needs. That pretty much says it all.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that Waldorf is very unstructured, which is generally the opposite of what SN kids need, depending on the issue.

[Anonymous]

I think there's a 40 min period of unstructured times in Waldorf schools for the kinder class, which is really hard for SN kids who craves routines/structured period. However, the unstructured period is when a lot of social opportunities happen, which is a golden time for SN kids to learn social skills (with appropriate support).
Just like a kid who's struggling with math, needs to get more time working on math problems to practice (he may hate it, but that's how he can catch up).

[Anonymous]

I remember calling the 3 Waldorf schools and some Montessori schools last year. I didn't hear them say they don't want kids with special needs, but I also doubted how they could accommodate SN kids.

[Anonymous]

Don't do Waldorf if your child is above average academically. He will be bored out of his mind with the whole "free spirit" BS at those schools.