Can Catholic school work?
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Anonymous
| I have 3 boys in catholic school, the first two in the elementary school and the 3rd in the attached daycare. Our 3rd son has been found to have serious developmental delays, at nearly 3 years old he is non-verbal and not yet walking. The school has offered to work with us but they don’t seem to have any expertise and we have been working with our doctors and the county for physical and occupational therapy. Has anyone had any experience working with a catholic school to get special education or should we be looking at a different option entirely? |
Anonymous
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I think you need a different option and strongly urge you to start with your local public schools.
It's good that they are willing to try, but they have no training or expertise. I would not want my child's teachers / caregivers to be learning on my child. |
Anonymous
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Given the magnitude of the delays you are talking about, I would work with your county infants and toddlers (or what ever it is called now) to get services and placement.
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Anonymous
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I'm sorry, OP, but I do not think Catholic school will be able to give your son what he needs, though they may be well-intended.
We had to take our then-third grader out of Catholic school two years ago because of dyslexia. Even though they were willing, I realized they actually knew bupkis about it. At first, I just thought I wasn't communicating enough or asking properly or advocating for my daughter properly, and then my husband and I just realized, 'You know what? They won't, because they can't." Ugh, it was so frustrating to us. |
Anonymous
The OP said they were getting services from their county in her post. |
Anonymous
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There are public preschool options for kids with serious delays, which may be a better fit for your kid for the time being. It’s too soon to say what your future options will be.
My aunt whose youngest was born with Down syndrome and ID found an inclusive youth group. It was local and was years ago, but even though her child couldn’t do catholic school, he participated in many typical ways, eg first communion etc. |
Anonymous
You can get county services when you attend a private school, but depending on the services and the county, your child might have to be transported to the home school to receive the services. Honestly, at this age, I would go public. As your child gets older and you have a better idea of what delays are present and you may have private providers you work with, you could consider a Catholic school that is able to do inclusion (should that be necessary). |
Anonymous
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Can anyone offer the type of profile that a Catholic or small religious school would help?
I have a child with language issues that simply needs a bit more 1:1 direction than what is offered in a typical, large public classroom with just one teacher. Literally just someone to get him started on his seatwork, and help him when he gets stuck. His current teacher cannot do this. We are in kinder (no other behavior issues, but in speech therapy). |
Anonymous
| Yes, depending on the need. We've looked at them for our child and yes, I think it could work well. But, I don't see a Catholic or most privates able to handle a non-verbal/non-walking child much past age 3 or 4. I would pull him from school and get him intensive private services as the county are probably minimal and at this point he needs significant services. |
Anonymous
Pp, it probably depends on the school. I know of a small catholic school that allowed a 1:1, but I don't think it's the norm. You're going to shop around and also have a really good handle on you kid's needs. If you're vague, that makes it hard for a school to know if they can help. Has your kid seen a developmental pediatrician yet? If not, start there. |
Anonymous
My niece has an Autism diagnoses. Catholic school works fine for her as a lot of her challenges are social. My nephew has developmental delays for speech as well as other items. Catholic school has worked good for him as the public school forced him to start on time. They were able to hold him back through private school and have the flexibility to enroll in public school in the future at a grade that is better aligned with him. |
Anonymous
| Where are you located? |
Anonymous
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OP - At 3 with the challenges noted your DS coukd benefit from the preschool setting for students epithet Soecial needs where the teachers and assistants woukd be working based on his IEP to develop his speech, gross and fine motor skills daily. The teachers woukd also have the training to do preacademic skills appropriate to his level one on one or in very small ratios.
Two years from now of you felt it beneficial to have yourvDS to another year of preschool or even a ore-K program the Cathiolic child care or school might be a workable setting. Right now your child might benefit from "a team approach" on site with teachers specialized in working with his age group. You may still do well to also do private therapies, too, for a time. To give him the widest option in learning settings in the future may best mean a setting different from his siblings now. |
Anonymous
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For a child like yours, you absolutely need teachers with thorough training and experience. If you haven’t already i’d suggest working with the county and doing additionsl speech and OT/PT on the side. You did not mention speech above, but that should be a priority. You might also want to consider a program like the LEAP preschool at UMD.
Good intentions aren’t going to be enough. |
Anonymous
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This Catholic school was the first in the country intended to be inclusive. They have been helping other Catholic schools set up for inclusive education. Your Catholic school could might be interested in reaching out to them.
http://www.immaculataclassicalacademy.com/ |