Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we did and it was great. Ours was in Falls Church so I don't have a specific recommendation for your area. If you can do Fairfax, I would recommend looking at the NoVa Jewish Community Center (JCC) on Little River Turnpike. Many kids aren't Jewish so if you're not, I wouldn't let that stop you. What is great about them is that they have a great student-teacher ratio, have experience with a broad range of kids (including SN).

I have heard such great things about the Nova Jewish Community Center! I will check into it thanks!

JCC was great for our SN kid. They are an inclusive model and have a lot of experience. Very good staff/student ratio.

OP here! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's definitely made my decision easier

I have a child with HFA. He wasn't diagnosed until he was 8, but his speech delay was apparent at 3 or so. He was in a typical preschool until age 5 and then started K at a Montessori school. The preschool was awesome. He had a wonderful experience there. They were very patient with his differences. The structure was good for him. The Montessori school was a nightmare. They were not patient with his differences and did not provide enough structure for him.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we did and it was great. Ours was in Falls Church so I don't have a specific recommendation for your area. If you can do Fairfax, I would recommend looking at the NoVa Jewish Community Center (JCC) on Little River Turnpike. Many kids aren't Jewish so if you're not, I wouldn't let that stop you. What is great about them is that they have a great student-teacher ratio, have experience with a broad range of kids (including SN).

I have heard such great things about the Nova Jewish Community Center! I will check into it thanks!

For a speech delay, a regular preschool is fine. For other special needs, it may not be. Our child is fine. At 2-3, you get a huge range of speech. The kids in our classroom talk sometimes to the adults but none talk to each other. I would supplement it with private therapy if you can afford it. For us, that was the easiest solution and the one-on-one works better as there is a stronger focus.

Yes, we did and it was great. Ours was in Falls Church so I don't have a specific recommendation for your area. If you can do Fairfax, I would recommend looking at the NoVa Jewish Community Center (JCC) on Little River Turnpike. Many kids aren't Jewish so if you're not, I wouldn't let that stop you. What is great about them is that they have a great student-teacher ratio, have experience with a broad range of kids (including SN).

OP here, thanks everyone for allowing me to see both sides to putting him in a typical preschool. I really wish his special needs preschool was all year around so I would not have to make this choice .

yes, I did. We did not understand what DS's issues were and were just starting to look into things. If I had it to do again I would not have put DS in a typical preschool. I feel he might be in a different place if I had gotten him services earlier than age 4 1/2. Now, he didn't suffer and is doing ok, but I still feel like it would have helped him to have been in a more therapy intense environment.