Tonya Said:

PDD-NOS (mild autism) : homeschool or preschool?

We Answered:

first, I'd like to say an IQ of 80 is Low Average (depending on the type of IQ test he had). Retarded begins at 69 and below. There's a world of difference, so I want to start there. Secondly, IQs at that age are notoriously unstable. Like you said, many 3 year olds don't like to talk to strangers. In our system, we don't even give formal IQ tests, the results would be based on an adaptive behavior scale completed by the parent. You should have done that, too. How did you rate him on the Vineland or ABAS? Did you do a CARS or GARS rating scale? (those are for autism). If you suspect that and you told the evaluation team, you might have done these scales. Review your report to see.

Anyway, chances are when he's evaluated for regular school you'll get different results. Especially if you get him the service he needs. Most of the kids in preschool special ed in my state have communication issues like your son. You need to broaden your idea of disability, it's not only the kids with severe needs who get services. You can ask the school what kinds of classrooms they have and visit them. In fact you should do that anyway. And from what you said, it sounds likehe could use sociaization help, which homeschooling won't give him- and I have to ask, is there a 'homeschooling' preschool program?

If the child is shy and does a complete turn around (that is rare, but happens), the school can adjust the child's IEP and he can be placed in a classroom with more typical children.

Alicia Said:

Where can I get help for my daughter to start talking?

We Answered:

whurly...is right, have her hearing checked. even if she is non-verbal for the test they do a special audio exam like they would for infants.
but my experience has been ( I am a mom to a 5 1/2 yr old son with DS who has been considered non-verbal).....keep her in speech therapy through the school district, keep up the good work on talking slowly and explaining objects...read a lot to her and have her find things in the book. if you have not started already teach her sign language (it saves a lot of frustration on both your parts) a good site to learn the basics is www.signwithme.com this will not slow her speech down, but will help her associate with her words.
my son will be going into full inclusion kindergarten in a few weeks and he has limited speech at this point... just this past year is when his talking really started to take off....just keep going with your daughter, it is going to take a lot of time.

James Said:

Have you considered the other side of adoption?

We Answered:

I just thank God someone is willing to give these children a chance they would otherwise not have.

Mitchell Said:

I'm looking for a book I once read about a boy with Downs Syndrome...?

We Answered:

Naked Without a Hat by Jeanne Willis
Life isn’t going so well for 19-year-old Will. His mother is always nagging him about the lucky knit hat that he never takes off; his mother’s boyfriend has forbidden Will to play “Wild Thing”—the only song he knows—on the guitar; and he just got fired from his job at Burger King. But Will’s luck changes when he moves into a flat with Chrissy, James, and Rocko and gets a new job at the local park.

At the park Will meets Zara, a gypsy girl whose family is camping there illegally. Will has never been happier. Until his mother threatens to ruin everything by revealing Will’s childhood secret. Is Will and Zara’s love for each other strong enough to survive?

Mark Said:

Special needs preschool ( PDD-NOS ) or homeschool?

We Answered:

My son is on the PDD scale, though not diagnosed with Aspergers or any other specific disorder. He spent two years in a public special needs preschool and I thought their program was wonderful. He was in a class of 10 kids with a teacher and 2 aides, so the staff/student ratio was very low. They were able to interact very closely with each of the students according to their individual needs. Several of the kids had social problems, but play and interaction was very directed by staff and my son felt comfortable there.

Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists were brought in 1-2 times per week each to work one on one with kids who needed it. They play with the kids and if you watch them work, you wouldn't necessarily know the kids were in "therapy" since they were having fun. The best part for me was that since it was funded through the public school, I didn't have to pay for any of these services.

Now my son is in a regular kindergarten class and is very overwhelmed. I want to remove him and start homeschooling because I feel the school is no longer providing for his needs. I am glad he was able to go to the special needs preschool because they were able to do so much for him that I literally couldn't at home since I didn't have the same resources. If he had stayed home with me, he would have ended up further behind. This may not be the case with you, but I just wanted to share a positive personal experience with a special needs pre-school.

Dolores Said:

Why are some people inhumanely attacking disabilities?

We Answered:

Dolly, I can't honestly and forthrightly answer this question because then I would be pointing out the mentally handicapped liberals that post most of the vile attacks against disabled folks on here.

Bertha Said:

my son has fragile -x syndrome what are some good ways i can use to potty train him ?

We Answered:

the school shoudl be helping with this

1 technique is to allow them to sit for a while to give them time to urinate or have bm in the toilet

the other is to only put them on for a minute so they don't get the idea tahts its just another chair

when tehy have success they are rewarded with a special item reserved just for potty triaing (food, toy, etc)

som children need to be put on a times schedule..instead of on demand...