So I made the decision. Yup, I did it. Some people might think how can choosing a kindergarten program be such a big decision? Well until you are in my shoes, I can’t really answer that. I know that I thought long and hard, weighing all the options, asking all the questions and spent many nights pondering. Did I mention the fact that I have been given two doctors, a preschool teacher, a speech therapist and a psychologist’s opinion? Well I’ll start be telling you a little what they said…
In my previous posts I have gone in more detail, but basically Rocco’s doctors suggest regular Kindergarten with keeping on the medication and being pulled out for speech and language services.
His teacher for the past 3 years said, “I reviewed all test scores with the special day kindergarten teacher and we both think that Rocco looks good on paper to start regular kindergarten, but there is something holding us back.” What the test doesn’t show is that she had to redirect and focus Rocco before every question. In a class of 32, the kindergarten teacher would not be able to do this. At least I’m not the only one struggling with the decision.
His speech therapist on the whole thinks Rocco still needs speech services and I agree. You see Rocco doesn’t have a big problem repeating words you ask him to or speaking in sentences on his own, but if you ask him to repeat a 7+ word sentence, he is incapable. Plus he still has some problems with articulation as well.
So what did I decide?
Rocco will start regular kindergarten in August and he will be pulled out of class for speech and language therapy and will also have a “resource” teacher to monitor him in the class one a week. I plan to have a meeting with both the resource teacher and the regular teacher to discuss some 504 things like trying to sit Rocco in front of the class, etc. A resource teacher is someone that will observe Rocco in class and have dialog with the teacher if he seems to be struggling. If he is, she can spend a little one-on-one time with him to help.
I also made sure that Rocco still has an IEP. I have been told that once you exit the program, you would have to go through the long evaluation process all over again to see if he’d qualify for special services. I’d like to avoid that. I also have called for IEP meeting in November. This will give Rocco some time to adjust to a new school and new rules, allow me to have his annual well check visit with his doctor and review medication issues if necessary, and have a parent-teacher conference on his progress. Then if anything needs to change, or if Rocco needs to try Special Day Kindergarten instead then it can all be easily changed at the November IEP meeting. I think I have covered my bases.
Why I made this decision:
I agree with both teachers and doctors that Rocco would be in the top of a special day class and I don’t think he would be challenged enough.
I thought it best to try the hard route first so I wouldn’t wonder if he could handle it or not.
Rocco seems to be maturing a lot lately and I think he would enjoy being around kids at or above his level more.
I’ll be staying active in his progress and even volunteering in his class.
So I can honestly say that I feel good about my decision. Still don’t 100% know it is the right one, but only time can tell. One negative is that because I choose regular kindergarten, he no longer qualifies for summer school. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll find things to keep him busy and on track.
