Pages

Monday, January 19, 2009

Decisions Decisions

Schooling. What to do, it constantly is on my mind on what we should do for Elizabeth. Elizabeth was eligible for JK this September but we did not enroll her. Elizabeth continues to go to her Nursery school 3 mornings a week and we are very happy with the school she is in, her classroom has 7 children which I love. With Elizabeth still in pre-school she continues to receive pre-school services at our Children's Center she receives OT, PT, AVT, Speech (for feeding) and a resource consultant for pre-school. Her therapy is direct and usually every 1-2 weeks, although it is fading. Once Elizabeth is enrolled in the school board she loses these direct services and will be seen sporadically at her school (no parental involvement) for consultation with her teachers. We can continue our private PT as our insurance covers the cost which is great but Elizabeth needs OT and Speech which we do not have insurance coverage for.

The other dilemma is what age group should she be paired with? If Elizabeth was born at term then she would not be eligible to start school until September 2009. My thinking is to hold her back and put her where she should have been but this requires a fight from us to do so. Elizabeth is so scattered in her skills I do not know where to put her. Elizabeth's gross motor and self help skills are still in the 12-16mths range, her language and cognition is beyond her age but her social and emotional skills are still behind. I know she will understand the curriculum but will other children understand her and can she keep up with physically active peers? So many questions.

We do have the opportunity to keep her in her pre-school (for a monthly fee) as they have a kindergarten class with a low ratio but as her Pediatrician says enrolling her in the school board now will ensure she gets the assistance of a aid as she has many safety concerns.

Any ideas? I need all the help I can get.

5 comments:

Ellen Seidman said...

Hi. Are you sure Elizabeth would not get any OT or Speech if you enrolled her in the school? That doesn't sound right to me! You could arrange for a meeting with the school's coordinator for kids with special needs and have a discussion with him/her about yoru concerns, have you done that yet? And have you spoken with the therapists (who have been there/experienced that with school placement)? This sounds like a decision you could use some professional guidance on. My district couldn't accomodate Max's needs, so he got sent to private school once he aged out of Early Intervention at age 3....

Anonymous said...

Hey Ang, I say listen to your heart, many people feel their children are ready for schooling at a young age and enroll them, but most parents forget to consider 'how will my child cope in grade 6? or grade 10? Being "older" has many advantages, and if that is what you feel is right, the fight will be worth it. We choose to keep Scott back from the school system till he was 6 and even though I had to file a form, it was worth it! You know Elizabeth the best and you know what is right for her. You are doing a great job! (and she is great fun to have tea and nuggets with at Grandma and grandpas).
Susanne

Melissa said...

I am going through the same thing right now. Nathan has to be enrolled next month if he is going to attend JK next September. I am not sure he is ready.

Kellars Mommy said...

School has been a huge weight on my shoulders these last few wks. I wish I had advice for you, heck I wish I had advice to take, I have no idea what I am going to do..Good luck on your decision..

Anonymous said...

hi, Isabelle & Hannah's dad here.
I, myself wasn't born early, but I was born on Sep.1, which is right on the cusp. my mom held me back, and I think it was a great idea and I definitely benefited. Its worth the fight. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!