There are good suggestions here--childfind and other preschools. My best friend went through this (in another state)--moved from typical preschool to an inclusion, small preschool and the difference was enormous.

When we were told that our son was not a 'good fit' for our daycare, we ended up having a nanny for a year and it definitely helped. Group care was too much for our son, who couldn't handle both the stimulation and didn't know how to get his needs met except through hitting, screaming and biting. I'd say a 60 percent improvement once removed from group care, and then another 20 percent through behavioral modification (ours really), working with a dev. ped. and a nanny willing to work hard with us. Plus maturity. almost 2 years later and he's doing great in school--for the first couple weeks I kept waiting for "the call." it hasn't happened. No biting, no hitting, no aggression. He loves schoo, has friends and charms the teachers. He still has meltdowns and difficulty staying on the rug, etc, but teachers have been helping him with those.

Good luck to you. It is so disheartening, scary, exhausting when you feel like you don't know how to address your child's needs, when this behavior seems to have no cause, and when you feel like others (preschool) have given up on your kid. But plenty of kids get kicked out of preschool or daycare--often times it ends up being for the best, once you can find the right situation. Until then, try not to despair. I think our son picked up so much on our anxiety and on the teachers' reaction to him.....

Anonymous wrote:You may want to contact Childfind and look into what public options maybe available where you live. Maddux is selective and usually does not take kids with behavior issues like aggression.

Definitely contact Maddux and do not get scared away by this poster and how exclusive she reports Maddux is. At Maddux they are highly trained to support a child with delays and it could very well be that in the right environment with the right support your child won't be biting and hitting. The training of preschool teachers varies widely and I have met quite a few parents with NT boys who were kicked out of preschool. Let the people at Maddux, you and your child decide if it's a fit and don't get discouraged by a random poster telling you they don't accept any children with behavior issues. My own nephew went there and he had plenty of behavior issues in preschool prior to Maddux. Maddux was a great match and they really helped him, Before he was just in the wrong environment. They really are pros at Maddux.

Anonymous wrote:OP are you sure that you'll be kicked out? My ds was hitting and biting last year. Sure school wasn't pleased and it was a rough time all around but we were never kicked out. Has school said something?

They are trying to work with him. But I feel at this point he is a targeted kid. Last year he had emotional regulation issues and had many tantrums. This year it's hitting and biting. It just seems that once we get past one issue, another one surfaces. Sorry, I tangents, no I'm not sure he'll be kicked out, but I would like to have a back up plan in place in case it does happen.

How did your school handle the hitting and the bitting. Did your child eventually learn that this behavior is not okay?

OP are you sure that you'll be kicked out? My ds was hitting and biting last year. Sure school wasn't pleased and it was a rough time all around but we were never kicked out. Has school said something?

OP here--His aggression issues are hitting and biting.

To the poster whose child did the Lourie center and PEP: was it 5 days a week, full time? I've already spoken with the Lourie center and I understand that their program is from 9-12. Would PEP be from 12-6? How would he get there?

We were not kicked out but made to feel very uncomfortable at a preschool in Rockville. I wonder if it is the same one. We ended up at white flint children's house. They were amazing.

My DS was kicked out of a preschool for behavioral issues after 4 weeks. We had just changed from a Montessori school as it wasn't a good fit. He was already receiving services thru childfind for speech therapy. We had also just started assessments at The Reginald Lourie Center. I couldn't find a placement for that spring (i'm a SAHM) but because he already had an IEP a meeting was called, testing was done and he qualified for The PEP program thru MCPS. But that was only a half day so he went to The Lourie Center for the rhe other half of the day. I would start now by getting testing done and go from there.

If Maddux is a good fit, you might want to talk to them about a mid-year start; I know that has sometimes been possible in the past.

You may want to contact Childfind and look into what public options maybe available where you live. Maddux is selective and usually does not take kids with behavior issues like aggression.

It depends on whether your child's behavior is aggressive/disturbing for the other children or not. That is the line for most preschools. Many will work with other issues.

What kind of discussions have you had with the preschool? It is far better to be proactive and upfront.

We were nearly told to leave our Montessori preschool because of my son's developmental delays (turns out he has high-functioning autism and ADD, but we did not know that at the time). He was kept in because the Montessori director took a shine to him and because none of his issues were aggressive or disturbing to others. He ended up doing really well for the 3 years he was there, Kindergarten included.

I would say that socially, my son benefited from preschool much more than the other therapies we had him in (group play-based, OT, PT, speech, you name it). The strict Montessori environment was incredibly challenging, and at first he understood none of it, but I am so grateful his teacher saw his potential and kept him. It took a year for him to adjust.

Stay strong OP!

Ivymount has an outreach program where they can come observe your child in preschool, and work with his teacher to implement specific strategies and plans. Sort of a consultation. Would his school be open to receiving help/consultation?

Kingsbury has a new preschool wing at their school and is taking 4 year olds starting in January

Anonymous wrote:Are you doing OT or any play-based therapy?

Depending on the issues and what you are doing to be proactive in helping, there are schools that will admit kids who are "asked to leave" other schools.

We are seeing a dev ped. So far no recommendations have been made for other therapies, but once I have the recommendations I will implement as soon as possible. I should have the recommendations in 2 weeks.

Are you doing OT or any play-based therapy?

Depending on the issues and what you are doing to be proactive in helping, there are schools that will admit kids who are "asked to leave" other schools.

How do I handle this? It hasn't happened yet, but I can see the writing on the wall and am trying to be proactive. I work full time and don't want to be called in on a random day to be told it is our last day and have no where to put my child. My child has social issues but it not on the spectrum. I'm going to apply to Maddux for the fall but Sept 2014 is a long way from today. I'm in Rockville. Does anyone have some good suggestions for some full time preschools that are prepared to handle behavior issues? Or should I just hire a nanny?