how do you figure out where to send your kid to school?

[Anonymous]

Our charter has no problem providing fidgets (or chairs) during circle time. No fight for an IEP, either, as he clearly needed it.

However, no one told me to see a dev ped. Not his pediatrician, not the school counselor. Not the psychologist who did he psychoed eval.

But I did and it was quite useful. The Dev Ped was not very focused on diagnosis either, but gave useful advise and a report. It can't hurt. Children's takes insurance spit would t be expensive. Get on the list now--what do you have to lose except your co pay and a couple hours of your life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured Harbor last school year and it looked like an absolutely wonderful place. We checked in with a lot of parents and they all gave rave reviews about the individual attention the kids get.

It's true that Harbor doesn't have any special curriculum or services for kids with ADHD, ASD, LDs etc. like at places like Lab, Auburn or Commonwealth.

However, they have teachers who take the time to learn about children's individual needs and implement plans that parents provide.

Many of the parents who send their SN kids to Harbor have private therapists anyway and from what we've heard the school has been very accommodating in putting any supports they recommend into the school day.

That's the biggest advantage over public school. In public school you have to fight to get them to do little things like let your kid fidget during circle time. They act like it's a lot of trouble for them. At Harbor they work with you to figure out a way to make this happen so that the child thrives. In the end it means happier kids who love to go to school.

They don't have a lot of kids who are SN but the ones that they do have are usually able to go to mainstream privates or public school classrooms after they graduate which says a lot to me.

You can't generalize like that. For K at our public charter, my DS with SNs was in an inclusive mainstream classroom with 3 teachers, 1 head, 1 assistant and 1 bilingual Sp Ed, with 17 kids. Got all his accommodations, including fidgets, preferential seating, etc, and OT, PT, Speech therapy and social skills classes all for free with an IEP. Sincerely doubt any mainstream private school can/will provide anything near that.

Immediate PP. Consider yourselves very fortunate. Your experience is far from the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured Harbor last school year and it looked like an absolutely wonderful place. We checked in with a lot of parents and they all gave rave reviews about the individual attention the kids get.

It's true that Harbor doesn't have any special curriculum or services for kids with ADHD, ASD, LDs etc. like at places like Lab, Auburn or Commonwealth.

However, they have teachers who take the time to learn about children's individual needs and implement plans that parents provide.

Many of the parents who send their SN kids to Harbor have private therapists anyway and from what we've heard the school has been very accommodating in putting any supports they recommend into the school day.

That's the biggest advantage over public school. In public school you have to fight to get them to do little things like let your kid fidget during circle time. They act like it's a lot of trouble for them. At Harbor they work with you to figure out a way to make this happen so that the child thrives. In the end it means happier kids who love to go to school.

They don't have a lot of kids who are SN but the ones that they do have are usually able to go to mainstream privates or public school classrooms after they graduate which says a lot to me.

You can't generalize like that. For K at our public charter, my DS with SNs was in an inclusive mainstream classroom with 3 teachers, 1 head, 1 assistant and 1 bilingual Sp Ed, with 17 kids. Got all his accommodations, including fidgets, preferential seating, etc, and OT, PT, Speech therapy and social skills classes all for free with an IEP. Sincerely doubt any mainstream private school can/will provide anything near that.

Immediate PP. Consider yourselves very fortunate. Your experience is far from the norm.

Of course we consider ourselves fortunate. Our charter gave us everything recommended in the psychoeducational eval that the school did at no cost to us with some tweaking by our Ed consultant and Dev ped. But the point is, you don't know what you are going to get until you have gone through the process. Like pp, we had no problems getting an IEP.

Don't write off public schools simply bc they are public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child was fine in pre-k, but the intensity and expectations ratchet up quickly in K. Sad but true. You may not have issues today in the bubble that he is in, but you may find that K is a whole new ballgame. I think it's good that you are looking now at what K will bring. But I found that The school setting is more of a challenge for my child than the academics.

I also think you should see a dev ped. The constellation of issues you have described warrants a professional who can look at the whole child: not just OT issues... The entire picture. You may not get a diagnosis but a dev ped knows all the issues that need to be monitored.

This was our experience exactly. Mainstream pre-k was fine, but the shift to kindergarten was dramatic and not good. We went to Maddux for 1-2 and can't say enough great things about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This group has been mentioned from time to time. (we were with another, but this one had come highly recommended from DH's co-worker).

http://www.weinfeldeducationgroup.com/

It's just our experience but we would not recommend them. A huge waste of money. The only good thing I'll say about them is that it really got us advocating better on our own. In terms of deciding what school, have whatever testing you need done and google/visit the various schools.

Can you elaborate on why their services weren't helpful? We're thinking about using them.

[Anonymous]

Have read your posts previously and do appreciate them. However, you and your son are very lucky. Not every public school is terrible at providing help for special needs schools but a lot of them are. If a private is mainstream they wouldn't offer OT, PT, speech and social skills of course but the accommodations are easy for them to give and I've seen kids at a number of mainstream privates who get these kinds of things.

Anonymous wrote:

You can't generalize like that. For K at our public charter, my DS with SNs was in an inclusive mainstream classroom with 3 teachers, 1 head, 1 assistant and 1 bilingual Sp Ed, with 17 kids. Got all his accommodations, including fidgets, preferential seating, etc, and OT, PT, Speech therapy and social skills classes all for free with an IEP. Sincerely doubt any mainstream private school can/will provide anything near that.

[Anonymous]

Your child was disruptive PP. That's very different from a child who deals with his or her issues more internally. Those are the kids who have more trouble getting an IEP.

Anonymous wrote:

Of course we consider ourselves fortunate. Our charter gave us everything recommended in the psychoeducational eval that the school did at no cost to us with some tweaking by our Ed consultant and Dev ped. But the point is, you don't know what you are going to get until you have gone through the process. Like pp, we had no problems getting an IEP.

Don't write off public schools simply bc they are public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured Harbor last school year and it looked like an absolutely wonderful place. We checked in with a lot of parents and they all gave rave reviews about the individual attention the kids get.

It's true that Harbor doesn't have any special curriculum or services for kids with ADHD, ASD, LDs etc. like at places like Lab, Auburn or Commonwealth.

However, they have teachers who take the time to learn about children's individual needs and implement plans that parents provide.

Many of the parents who send their SN kids to Harbor have private therapists anyway and from what we've heard the school has been very accommodating in putting any supports they recommend into the school day.

That's the biggest advantage over public school. In public school you have to fight to get them to do little things like let your kid fidget during circle time. They act like it's a lot of trouble for them. At Harbor they work with you to figure out a way to make this happen so that the child thrives. In the end it means happier kids who love to go to school.

They don't have a lot of kids who are SN but the ones that they do have are usually able to go to mainstream privates or public school classrooms after they graduate which says a lot to me.

You got all this from the TOUR? PP, you are full of sh*t. You also don't know anything about where the SN kids "end up." If the school told you this, that's bordering on breach of privacy and extremely unprofessional. Harbor teachers are in general lazy and don't implement anything for SN students. Seriously, are you a plant from the school faculty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your child was disruptive PP. That's very different from a child who deals with his or her issues more internally. Those are the kids who have more trouble getting an IEP.

Anonymous wrote:

Of course we consider ourselves fortunate. Our charter gave us everything recommended in the psychoeducational eval that the school did at no cost to us with some tweaking by our Ed consultant and Dev ped. But the point is, you don't know what you are going to get until you have gone through the process. Like pp, we had no problems getting an IEP.

Don't write off public schools simply bc they are public.

He was not disruptive and had no behavior issues or FSA/behavioral plan until 2nd grade. Had the behavioral plan for 3 months then the school stopped using it bc it wasn't needed. He has been at the same school since prek4.

[Anonymous]

^*FBA and BIP

[Anonymous]

OP, there is a new special needs charter in DC that opened this year. Have you checked that out?
No experience obviously but worth investigating.

[Anonymous]

Whooa there PP. Stop judging.

Four is still young and OP sounds like she's doing a lot for her son already.

Some kids who have meltdowns at that age are perfectly fine later. Sometimes is is the environment.
Our own DC used to have a lot of rigidity in routine and would meltdown one to two times a week or so at drop off in preschool. Then we switched schools he almost melted down one morning because his routine was off and the teacher raised one eyebrow and said something neutral but firm to him and that was that. No more meltdowns in the mornings.

OP, a diagnosis can be useful because it provides a frame from which to look at certain behaviors and it can help with insurance and getting services in public schools, but it's by no means necessary if you already know where his challenges lie.

It sounds like he's young for his grade and in a mainstream religious private. Is this right? Have you tried to look at Junior K programs in the area? Those tend to be very nurturing and can often be very similar to pre-K but with more academics. That might give you more time to see if he grows out of his behaviors.

Good luck, OP. Thinking of you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. for the PPs who say i am in denial and i know in my gut what is wrong...back off!! i have an older daughter who has zero issues and i have a son who has issues. i am not blind nor am i in denial. i have advocated for my son and gotten him the help he needs. it is working.

not every child needs to see a developmental ped.

not every child has a diagnosis.

not every family is going through what you went through.

my kid is happy at school NOW. the school he is at works for him. we want to replicate that environment because he is graduating. he is only 4 and he is functioning well and i want to keep up the support he needs. i don't "know" anything in my gut about him, i am not in denial that he has some challenges. but not all challenges equal something greater. when the time comes, IF we all think he needs it, he will get a work up.

OP, if you sought out EI and an OT and are wondering in the SN forum where to send your kid to school, then YES you are in denial that your kid doesn't need to see a developmental pediatrician. They are not infallible, but your are probably trying to avoid getting a diagnosis that actually finding a one.

Not every family goes through what you're going through that's true, we get our kids in to see a developmental pediatrician early, so we knew what support they needed.

[Anonymous]

Nope, not a plant. I talked to a lot of parents. A lot of them. Clearly you had a bad experience and I believe you that it was bad. But things may have changed since your child was there. I also believe you that there are probably some lazy teachers. I did concentrate on talking to parents in the one grade where DC would have gone in to and come to think of it I think at least one if not both of them were relatively new.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured Harbor last school year and it looked like an absolutely wonderful place. We checked in with a lot of parents and they all gave rave reviews about the individual attention the kids get.

It's true that Harbor doesn't have any special curriculum or services for kids with ADHD, ASD, LDs etc. like at places like Lab, Auburn or Commonwealth.

However, they have teachers who take the time to learn about children's individual needs and implement plans that parents provide.

Many of the parents who send their SN kids to Harbor have private therapists anyway and from what we've heard the school has been very accommodating in putting any supports they recommend into the school day.

That's the biggest advantage over public school. In public school you have to fight to get them to do little things like let your kid fidget during circle time. They act like it's a lot of trouble for them. At Harbor they work with you to figure out a way to make this happen so that the child thrives. In the end it means happier kids who love to go to school.

They don't have a lot of kids who are SN but the ones that they do have are usually able to go to mainstream privates or public school classrooms after they graduate which says a lot to me.

You got all this from the TOUR? PP, you are full of sh*t. You also don't know anything about where the SN kids "end up." If the school told you this, that's bordering on breach of privacy and extremely unprofessional. Harbor teachers are in general lazy and don't implement anything for SN students. Seriously, are you a plant from the school faculty?

[Anonymous]

NP. They tend to be very... how shall I put this? Diplomatic. If the school is screwing up and you need to handle things in a delicate way I would use them. If you need a pitbull kind of person to fight them for services I would try a different group.

If you are in MCPS or considering MCPS Rich Weinfeld can be helping you navigate the system as he knows the key players, the schools and the options that may be available to you. Weinfeld formerly worked for the district so part of why he's so successful is his prior relationships. I don't know much about how they operate in DCPS though. They could use a different style there.

I also don't dismiss the possibility that it could be just the consultant we used. They have a lot of people and maybe you could explain what you're looking for and they can match you up with someone who is a good fit.

Anonymous wrote:

Can you elaborate on why their services weren't helpful? We're thinking about using them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. They tend to be very... how shall I put this? Diplomatic. If the school is screwing up and you need to handle things in a delicate way I would use them. If you need a pitbull kind of person to fight them for services I would try a different group.

If you are in MCPS or considering MCPS Rich Weinfeld can be helping you navigate the system as he knows the key players, the schools and the options that may be available to you. Weinfeld formerly worked for the district so part of why he's so successful is his prior relationships. I don't know much about how they operate in DCPS though. They could use a different style there.

I also don't dismiss the possibility that it could be just the consultant we used. They have a lot of people and maybe you could explain what you're looking for and they can match you up with someone who is a good fit.

Anonymous wrote:

Can you elaborate on why their services weren't helpful? We're thinking about using them.

We use Rich to help with our IEP and have used him for several yrs. The most helpful part is his classroom observation and report to see if the IEP is working and tweaking the iEP. We like that he is diplomatic which works for us since our DC charter is generally cooperative.

At our last IEP meeting, we brought Dr David Black to explain the results of the Neuropsych eval. Our school followed all the recommendations.

When our DS was about to be expelled last yr and we were looking at alternatives touring the schools ourselves was the most helpful and you don't need a consultant for that.