Diener or kings bury larc for 5 yo with ADHD and pragmatic speech and fine motor

[Anonymous]

Cant decide. Concerned larc is too young as child is on track academically. Kings have been much closer and less expensive. Anyone made a similar decision? Yes spots at both.

[Anonymous]

Can you and child go look at them?

[Anonymous]

We are going to do LARC. I liked that the program is not part of the school and is a separate program. also liked that speech and OT groups are part of the program. Hoping to get a big boost and then decide if we can mainstream or look at a SN placement for the following year.

[Anonymous]

Having toured both, I would do Kingsbury. Diener doesn't offer OT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having toured both, I would do Kingsbury. Diener doesn't offer OT.

They claim to, so I am confused.

I am nervous re my son's age. He will be 6 halfway through the year and is very tall. He can read some words, etc. so he is not advanced but not behind. I am wondering if Diener can provide more tailored academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having toured both, I would do Kingsbury. Diener doesn't offer OT.

They claim to, so I am confused.

I am nervous re my son's age. He will be 6 halfway through the year and is very tall. He can read some words, etc. so he is not advanced but not behind. I am wondering if Diener can provide more tailored academics.

NP. Having attended Diener for one year, they don't provide OT the way that a private provider would give OT--tailored to your kid, one-on-one. I feel like how they present the information about OT is a bit misleading. It's vaguely worded and parents have in their heads a certain expectation b/c they've done OT before. In terms of academics, it didn't seem especially tailored to where my kid was.

I don't have direct experience with Kingsbury, but I did tour. From what I could tell, they offer their programming like Lab School does--small group instruction matched on ability. So working pairs for things like reading or math. A child is struggling with reading isn't going to be paired with someone who is advanced. Like Lab they have OT sessions when skills need to be worked on specifically. That was my impression. You'd need to ask specifically how they offer support.

With Diener, an OT consults and gives recommendations for supports in the classroom, but sometimes the fine motor skills alone can be more frustrating than the subject matter. That's where IMO pull outs for a kid can be more useful and they didn't do that when we were there. If you currently work with an OT, ask them for specific questions to ask both schools. If you had educational testing done, ask questions based on those recommendations. Ask to speak with the OTs.

With many SN schools, there often will be a 2 sometimes 3 age year range in a given class b/c kids learn at different rates and/or may not have been given the prior instruction they needed early on to compensate for fine motor deficits, language LDs, etc. Don't worry about height or age. What matters is building the skills your kid needs.

[Anonymous]

My son is 5, and we haven't done a neuropsych yet. In a few years I think. Hmmm. Fine motor is definitely his biggest struggle. Have to think this through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having toured both, I would do Kingsbury. Diener doesn't offer OT.

They claim to, so I am confused.

I am nervous re my son's age. He will be 6 halfway through the year and is very tall. He can read some words, etc. so he is not advanced but not behind. I am wondering if Diener can provide more tailored academics.

NP. Having attended Diener for one year, they don't provide OT the way that a private provider would give OT--tailored to your kid, one-on-one. I feel like how they present the information about OT is a bit misleading. It's vaguely worded and parents have in their heads a certain expectation b/c they've done OT before. In terms of academics, it didn't seem especially tailored to where my kid was.

I don't have direct experience with Kingsbury, but I did tour. From what I could tell, they offer their programming like Lab School does--small group instruction matched on ability. So working pairs for things like reading or math. A child is struggling with reading isn't going to be paired with someone who is advanced. Like Lab they have OT sessions when skills need to be worked on specifically. That was my impression. You'd need to ask specifically how they offer support.

With Diener, an OT consults and gives recommendations for supports in the classroom, but sometimes the fine motor skills alone can be more frustrating than the subject matter. That's where IMO pull outs for a kid can be more useful and they didn't do that when we were there. If you currently work with an OT, ask them for specific questions to ask both schools. If you had educational testing done, ask questions based on those recommendations. Ask to speak with the OTs.

With many SN schools, there often will be a 2 sometimes 3 age year range in a given class b/c kids learn at different rates and/or may not have been given the prior instruction they needed early on to compensate for fine motor deficits, language LDs, etc. Don't worry about height or age. What matters is building the skills your kid needs.

I take it you did not think Diener was a good fit for your child? May I ask what his issues were?

[Anonymous]

It maybe worth getting an IEP at a public school first and see what kind of supports and services the school will provide: You can always switch to private SNs if there are issues. Certainly, if cost is an issue it makes sense to see what the public schools can offer for free and your DS is so young.

When my kid was 4/5, our public school provided OT and PT for fine and gross motor for things like climbing stairs, playground equipment and dribbling and catching a ball. He also got lots of help with fine motor including using zippers, utensils, handwriting, etc and later touch typing on a laptop, all provided one-on-one. Also, help with pragmatic speech with the SLP but in a small group which for pragmatic speech works well.

At 4, DS had a diagnosis for ASD/Asperger's and developmental coordination disorder. Fully mainstreamed and above grade level academically. We also did private OT but it was useless bc it focused more on "sensory issues" instead of fine motor issues so we stopped private OT.

[Anonymous]

The public school is not going to offer anything. Child has ADHD and dyspraxia but school will not offer services for speech or for fine motor b/c they claim not delayed enough. Child also needs a ton of bevahioral support and would not be able to handle a big class. There are no small classes available in the school district. I could fight them but it would likely cost about the same as tuition at least for this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The public school is not going to offer anything. Child has ADHD and dyspraxia but school will not offer services for speech or for fine motor b/c they claim not delayed enough. Child also needs a ton of bevahioral support and would not be able to handle a big class. There are no small classes available in the school district. I could fight them but it would likely cost about the same as tuition at least for this year.

I would also consider Ivymount's Multiple Needs Program. It will be more expensive than either school you mentioned, but it has a much longer school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public school is not going to offer anything. Child has ADHD and dyspraxia but school will not offer services for speech or for fine motor b/c they claim not delayed enough. Child also needs a ton of bevahioral support and would not be able to handle a big class. There are no small classes available in the school district. I could fight them but it would likely cost about the same as tuition at least for this year.

I would also consider Ivymount's Multiple Needs Program. It will be more expensive than either school you mentioned, but it has a much longer school year.

Really can't do $68K. Child is not aggressive or an eloper, bur needs redirection and can get silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 5, and we haven't done a neuropsych yet. In a few years I think. Hmmm. Fine motor is definitely his biggest struggle. Have to think this through.

Is there a reason you want to delay it? It seems like if you did it now, you could be more confident that the things you're working on for the next few years are the ones that will benefit him most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is 5, and we haven't done a neuropsych yet. In a few years I think. Hmmm. Fine motor is definitely his biggest struggle. Have to think this through.

Is there a reason you want to delay it? It seems like if you did it now, you could be more confident that the things you're working on for the next few years are the ones that will benefit him most.

I called stixrud and mindwell and they said really no point until 7. We do speech, ot, aba, and have detailed speech and ot reports. We saw the camaratas and got a nonverbal iq score. We're comfortable with waiting until learning disabilities can clearly be identified which is they tell me 7-8. We know he has ADHD. We've done the ados.

[Anonymous]

My child has attended both schools. I really can't advise you though as which fit is best for your child. I think they are both good schools, and it sounds like money and location are playing a role in the decision, which is very valid.