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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP. [/quote]

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input. [/quote]
 Look, I don't say this to be unkind, but I would be surprised if she got it. Many children who are on track developmentally do not get offered a spot. The schools you listed gain nothing from taking a child who needs extra help and care for the same tuition as a child who doesn't. I would suggest applying to schools that cater to kids who need a bit more attention, or [b]public where you could probably have and aid[/b].[/quote]

Hahaha. Clearly you have never been through the IEP process if you think this level of need will get an aide. The OP would be lucky to get 30 minutes of speech and 30 minutes of OT once a week.[/quote]
Well, in public they are required by law to meet students development needs they are not in required at all in private .[/quote]

NP. There is a HUGE gray area though. The standards can be very low and the goals can be set very low. Public schools want to see students "make progress" not necessarily "meet their potential." In any case, only extremely needy hard-to-manage kids would get an aide and likely only in K or 1st.

I have a child with a very serious writing disability (think under 1st percentile) and his IEP allowed for 30 minutes per week of OT. Needless to say, this was utterly inadequate and thankfully I recognized it immediately and left. Not saying the "pressure cooker" elementaries are the right place either... it's hard to find places where a child can grow in confidence, where his strengths are acknowledged and encouraged and where the weaknesses are addressed (or at the very least supported). Some people can do that in public but many cannot. My friends who's kids have serious LDs but who could not afford to pay for services privately ended up having to send their kids to special needs high schools (Lab and so on) whereas mine is in mainstream now.[/quote]

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