Full-Day Preschool Needed for DC with SN - MoCo

[Anonymous]

Our DS is in a 3-yo PEP Classic class in MoCo and is with a SAHP when he's not at PEP. We'd like to be able to find a full-day option for our DS somewhere in MoCo so he can continue receiving PEP, but we want the full-day option to be able to accommodate him in the afternoon after PEP (he'll be in morning PEP again next year). Our DS has language delays (both expressive and receptive), including many social communication difficulties. These delays lead to behavior issues when his communication isn't facilitated by a teacher. He also needs a lot of structure (not an abundance of free play) in order to maintain self-regulation. He has no PT issues and MoCo does not believe he requires OT. He needs small class sizes (definitely fewer than 15 children) and low student-to-teacher ratios (we prefer 6:1 in a classroom or lower). We prefer a Jewish preschool (any denomination) or a secular preschool not affiliated with any religion. Anywhere in MoCo is fine. If you have personal experience with a preschool you recommend for a child with speech and social communication/behavior delays, please let us know! TIA!

[Anonymous]

LEAP - U of MD is your best option.

We didn't find that many Jewish preschools open to MERLD.

Winchester School has been wonderful for my child but depending on the delays, I'd wait till 4 as the 3 class is larger, and starting in the 4 class it is 8-10 kids or so.

[Anonymous]

OP here. LEAP doesn't accept any children that exhibit behavior issues, even if those behavior issues stem from speech. Plus, it coincides with PEP. It's also not full-time.

We're really starting to feel that one of us isn't going to have a choice but to be a SAHP until our DS reaches kindergarten (in 2018, hopefully). There must be better options somewhere...

[Anonymous]

I could help you if you give up the Jewish thing. Ridiculous, for preschool.

- a Jew

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could help you if you give up the Jewish thing. Ridiculous, for preschool.

- a Jew

OP here. We said that we were looking for Jewish of any denomination or a secular school that doesn't have a religious affiliation. Children pick up a lot of religious aspects of school, and we would rather have a parent at home than our child pick up Christian theology and be even more confused than he already is. If you have experience with a full-day, secular school that accepts children with language delays and behavioral issues associated with language delays, we would love to hear them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. LEAP doesn't accept any children that exhibit behavior issues, even if those behavior issues stem from speech. Plus, it coincides with PEP. It's also not full-time.

We're really starting to feel that one of us isn't going to have a choice but to be a SAHP until our DS reaches kindergarten (in 2018, hopefully). There must be better options somewhere...

Have you talked to LEAP. We went through LEAP for two years. There was a range of kids, some having more behavioral issues and some very clearly related to speech. They are not looking for perfect children. They are looking for children who have language delays. Most kids at 3 have some behavioral stuff due to the lack of understanding via receptive language and not being able to express their needs.

You could hire a nanny. Maybe the Maddox or KTS school but they are very expensive. There are not a lot of good options for language kids. In the summer there are some very expensive language summer camps but other than PEP, LEAP or the expensive special needs school, there is very little. Some privates preschools are more flexible than others. I cannot imagine working between the school and therapies but obviously some do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could help you if you give up the Jewish thing. Ridiculous, for preschool.

- a Jew

OP here. We said that we were looking for Jewish of any denomination or a secular school that doesn't have a religious affiliation. Children pick up a lot of religious aspects of school, and we would rather have a parent at home than our child pick up Christian theology and be even more confused than he already is. If you have experience with a full-day, secular school that accepts children with language delays and behavioral issues associated with language delays, we would love to hear them.

If your child has that many behavioral issues, then its probably best to just do PEP and hire a nanny if you do not want to say home. Any suggestions given, you seem to reject. Most schools expose to all religions. My kid keeps coming home with Christmas stuff which annoys me as I never saw anything for Hanukkah. You can call around to the Jewish ones and ask. JCC and some of the others I called were really nasty. I am not getting what you are looking for. No program is perfect and there are lots of compromises, even if you choose to stay home. In all reality, if your child has that many needs, PEP and private speech are your best options as is LEAP. Dolly Madison in VA is also talked about. It was too far for us to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Have you talked to LEAP. We went through LEAP for two years. There was a range of kids, some having more behavioral issues and some very clearly related to speech. They are not looking for perfect children. They are looking for children who have language delays. Most kids at 3 have some behavioral stuff due to the lack of understanding via receptive language and not being able to express their needs.

You could hire a nanny. Maybe the Maddox or KTS school but they are very expensive. There are not a lot of good options for language kids. In the summer there are some very expensive language summer camps but other than PEP, LEAP or the expensive special needs school, there is very little. Some privates preschools are more flexible than others. I cannot imagine working between the school and therapies but obviously some do it.

I've spoken to LEAP, was on the waitlist, but they told me that the behaviors I was describing aren't the behaviors they would normally want to have in LEAP. MCPS also wouldn't allow us to even discuss the Speech and Language Preschool option at our IEP meeting because of the extent of the behavior (hitting, pushing, and tackling, no biting).

Maybe what I really want is for MCPS to have some PEP parent conference across all the programs so that parents could at least have support from each other. I know there are conferences at individual schools, but we're assigned to a school where the majority of PEP parents are Spanish-only speaking, and we don't speak Spanish. We feel like outside of PEP, it's hard for our DC to have social experiences with peers, which is why it would be nice to have that full-day option that isn't 1:1 with a nanny or SAHP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If your child has that many behavioral issues, then its probably best to just do PEP and hire a nanny if you do not want to say home. Any suggestions given, you seem to reject. Most schools expose to all religions. My kid keeps coming home with Christmas stuff which annoys me as I never saw anything for Hanukkah. You can call around to the Jewish ones and ask. JCC and some of the others I called were really nasty. I am not getting what you are looking for. No program is perfect and there are lots of compromises, even if you choose to stay home. In all reality, if your child has that many needs, PEP and private speech are your best options as is LEAP. Dolly Madison in VA is also talked about. It was too far for us to consider.

We're looking for a program that isn't going to kick him out because he goes on a pushing spree when he has difficulty communicating. It's *really* hard to find schools who are willing to accept a child who requires communication to be facilitated or that has an abundance of structure (minimal free play) to minimize situations where children aren't being paid attention to.

If we send DC to a school outside of MoCo, we lose PEP and all related therapy services. We're trying to keep those because we've been very happy with the support we've received from I&T and MCPS.

We're open to DC learning about Christmas (he learns about it watching Sprout and Disney Junior), but what we don't want is a program where he is taught that Jesus is the Lord, how to cross himself, or other overtly religious sayings or gestures that aren't Jewish.

I'm really curious what program you ended up in. We're also really sorry that some Jewish preschools were nasty to you (although we also know that feeling). No preschool should make families feel unwelcome, and we posed this thread because we have found that negative reactions are so common, it would be nice to get recommendations from families who have been through the process before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Have you talked to LEAP. We went through LEAP for two years. There was a range of kids, some having more behavioral issues and some very clearly related to speech. They are not looking for perfect children. They are looking for children who have language delays. Most kids at 3 have some behavioral stuff due to the lack of understanding via receptive language and not being able to express their needs.

You could hire a nanny. Maybe the Maddox or KTS school but they are very expensive. There are not a lot of good options for language kids. In the summer there are some very expensive language summer camps but other than PEP, LEAP or the expensive special needs school, there is very little. Some privates preschools are more flexible than others. I cannot imagine working between the school and therapies but obviously some do it.

I've spoken to LEAP, was on the waitlist, but they told me that the behaviors I was describing aren't the behaviors they would normally want to have in LEAP. MCPS also wouldn't allow us to even discuss the Speech and Language Preschool option at our IEP meeting because of the extent of the behavior (hitting, pushing, and tackling, no biting).

Maybe what I really want is for MCPS to have some PEP parent conference across all the programs so that parents could at least have support from each other. I know there are conferences at individual schools, but we're assigned to a school where the majority of PEP parents are Spanish-only speaking, and we don't speak Spanish. We feel like outside of PEP, it's hard for our DC to have social experiences with peers, which is why it would be nice to have that full-day option that isn't 1:1 with a nanny or SAHP.

I would wait a year for preschool. In less you put your child at a true special needs, most mainstream are not going to be ok with those behaviors. You may want to try ABA if you can get your insurance to pay for it. We tried it and it wasn't for our child but we just had normal behavioral stuff, nothing extreme. If you want support, try some of the MERLD, late talking and other speech groups on Facebook. They are very supportive. I wouldn't worry about social experiences until later. The focus should be on speech and behavior. Focus on more speech therapy and what other options you have. Supplement with activities such as a parent/child gymnastics class or swim (group sports will be a disaster so focus on individual). Until the behaviors are under control you are going to have a tuff time socializing. Most parents are not going to be ok with your kid hitting, pushing or tackling their child. We'd tolerate it 1-2 times but wouldn't want it happening to our child frequently as then they learn/copy. Maybe you can ask to transfer PEP schools. My kid didn't become social till he really started talking... that is a future skill, not one to worry about now. Sounds like the more difficult thing for you is you not being able to connect with other families and people understand your child.

[Anonymous]

I think you are overestimating the amount of religious learning that goes on even in church affiliated preschools. My youngest is in an explicitly Christian oriented preschool and has never learned to cross himself or that Jesus is the Lord. What does your contact at infants and toddlers recommend? We are in infants and toddlers for a speech delay, and our speech pathologist had good advice about the types of environments that would and would not be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: If your child has that many behavioral issues, then its probably best to just do PEP and hire a nanny if you do not want to say home. Any suggestions given, you seem to reject. Most schools expose to all religions. My kid keeps coming home with Christmas stuff which annoys me as I never saw anything for Hanukkah. You can call around to the Jewish ones and ask. JCC and some of the others I called were really nasty. I am not getting what you are looking for. No program is perfect and there are lots of compromises, even if you choose to stay home. In all reality, if your child has that many needs, PEP and private speech are your best options as is LEAP. Dolly Madison in VA is also talked about. It was too far for us to consider.

We're looking for a program that isn't going to kick him out because he goes on a pushing spree when he has difficulty communicating. It's *really* hard to find schools who are willing to accept a child who requires communication to be facilitated or that has an abundance of structure (minimal free play) to minimize situations where children aren't being paid attention to.

If we send DC to a school outside of MoCo, we lose PEP and all related therapy services. We're trying to keep those because we've been very happy with the support we've received from I&T and MCPS.

We're open to DC learning about Christmas (he learns about it watching Sprout and Disney Junior), but what we don't want is a program where he is taught that Jesus is the Lord, how to cross himself, or other overtly religious sayings or gestures that aren't Jewish.

I'm really curious what program you ended up in. We're also really sorry that some Jewish preschools were nasty to you (although we also know that feeling). No preschool should make families feel unwelcome, and we posed this thread because we have found that negative reactions are so common, it would be nice to get recommendations from families who have been through the process before.

You will not lose PEP, but MCPS will not transport your child but you can. It really sounds best to wait a year as a year with a language kid can make a difference. I'd focus instead on heavy speech therapy. I don't know any schools but the very special needs who will take a child with behavioral issues. Then you risk your child picking up worse behaviors and not getting the socialization as the other kids can't socialize well either. Its a bunch of bad options.

I wouldn't focus on the religious aspects as much as someone willing to work with your child, which is far harder. I would have liked a Jewish preschool but none I talked to even remotely seemed interested on the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are overestimating the amount of religious learning that goes on even in church affiliated preschools. My youngest is in an explicitly Christian oriented preschool and has never learned to cross himself or that Jesus is the Lord. What does your contact at infants and toddlers recommend? We are in infants and toddlers for a speech delay, and our speech pathologist had good advice about the types of environments that would and would not be a good fit.

I get what OP is saying. We were in a church preschool for two and I was volunteering and one teacher, clueless kept demanding my child do prayer hands (not his teacher) and kept trying to force him. I walked in and told her we do not do prayer hands in our home and he's Jewish so he does not understand what you are talking about. They didn't do a lot of religion but it also depending on the teacher. Some very religious teachers pushed it more than others. The director was great about it. I was not ok with my child as he got older being taught that (exposed, yes as others believe but not taught it as our belief).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are overestimating the amount of religious learning that goes on even in church affiliated preschools. My youngest is in an explicitly Christian oriented preschool and has never learned to cross himself or that Jesus is the Lord. What does your contact at infants and toddlers recommend? We are in infants and toddlers for a speech delay, and our speech pathologist had good advice about the types of environments that would and would not be a good fit.

I get what OP is saying. We were in a church preschool for two and I was volunteering and one teacher, clueless kept demanding my child do prayer hands (not his teacher) and kept trying to force him. I walked in and told her we do not do prayer hands in our home and he's Jewish so he does not understand what you are talking about. They didn't do a lot of religion but it also depending on the teacher. Some very religious teachers pushed it more than others. The director was great about it. I was not ok with my child as he got older being taught that (exposed, yes as others believe but not taught it as our belief).

Of course, but theOP is ruling out any religious preschool without looking into the degree to which they incorporate religion into the classroom. Considering that he has needs that are notoriously hard to address in a mainstream preschool setting, I think she should be a little bit more open to different options and then rule them out one by one if they are too religious

[Anonymous]

we would rather have a parent at home than our child pick up Christian theology

You should stay home.