Special Needs Schooling

[YMo7]

Why did you put your child in a 'special school'??

When did you put them in that school? as of kindergarten? or after a few years at a normal school?

What made you decide to put them in that school?

How did you decide? was it a family decision? did your child's existing school recommend it? did your child's doctor recommend it?

[Nowhere]

We are currently going through that same decision for DD, She is curently in a main stream school and her teacher and TA and the princapal are all wonderfull and have gone to evry legth to make it possible for dd to stay in main stream, but Kenz is still stugling hugely she has one on one help with her school work wich is great but she cant seem to play wth the kids I am still going to school wwith her cause of ehr medical needs her teachers are learning them but it will all take time. Another factor that we spoke about wth the pead yesterday is that she keeps getting sick and yes only colds and tummy wogs but for DD they are detramental she has gone SO far back again with her health this last few months. I know in a main stream school its perfectly normal for the kids to go wth a cough and a cold butDD just cant handlle it, where as in a special school they have more of an understanding about how detramental it can be to dd, and also the other SN parents are less likely to send there kids to school sck cause like my Dd it nocks them for six to.

my sugestion wouldd be have a look at the special schools and the ed suport units and you wwll se where your childd fits in, Dd wony be going to a special school but likely ed suport, She is verbal and i feel at the special school although they best meet her health needs ( have an RN there) she wont get the social stimulation she needs KWIM. But for her a ed suport is likely the best of both worlds KWIM

[kiwibird27]

Megan has lots of medical needs and is profoundly developmentally delayed, we had a developmental paed assessment done a few weeks ago and she highly recommened a special school for Megan.

You need to talk to all your childs experts, especially ones with indepth knowledge of your local area, go along to transition to school nights are DET will guide you thru (If your in NSW).

I think u need to find a school that fits your childs needs, its really individual.

Funny thing is New Zealand does it totally different, every child has the right to attand mainstream school, the school is funded and supported to do so... wouldn't it be lovely if our children could be trested like equals here... rather than given limited options due to there capabilities

[myhusbandswife]

My DD is way off school and is in a totally different situation that many of your SN children.

DD is 6 months old with a moderate severe hearing loss in both ears.

We have decided when she is 2.5 she will be going to a school run by RIDBC. Our reason for this being is that she we still be developing her language skills and we want that to ve in the best possible environment.

The RIDBC school are set up tp be extra quiet inside so the children can get maximun use of their aids for learning.

Also there will be other children from the community and other deaf and blind children.

They have speechies, audiologists and teachers of the deaf and blind on hand all the time.

They will prepare her for school so its easier for her when the time comes.

[BeatoNo3]

Hi ladies... Lachie has a few issue profoundly deaf with 2 cochelar implant, peg fed 17 - 24hrs a day, Sever CP are the main issues that will influence shooling... We live in tamworth so its a little bit remote however a have a great SN school.. But my plan is next year he will b 4 in march so he will go to preschool 2 days a week then the year after he will go preschool 2 days a week and early intervention kindy 1 day a week then after that he will go to normal kindy at main stream and unless something indicates he is more suitable for SN school then we will look at that road but for now we hoping main stream... but mayb you can look at early intervention school at school.. coz i kno osme programmes are just as a social based early intervention playgroup if u get me where this will be at school where they learnt to line up within reason and do stuff they noramlly would at big school... but im interested in this thread n will keep n eye on it..

[jenpeterock]

we are still a few yrs off looking at schooling but it is definitly something we worry about. Evie attends a early intervention program for hearing impaired children and when she gets to preschool age they assess her and help us decide whether she would be more suited to a split week, 3 day mainstream, 2 days - at the centre with speechies, etc, etc. or if they think she would cope fulltime.

our depending factors are her speech development which is affected by nerve problems on the right side of her face, if she needs a jaw extraction due to her left mandibal not formed properly also affecting her speech, and really depending how her brain develops and copes with the growing blood vessels on the left side.

atm tho she is physically doing really well, crawling and trying to pull up on things. she is just a very stealth baby, she hardly makes a peep.

has anyone looked in to homeschool special needs?

[YMo7]

thankyou ladies..

well now i feel like an idiot! lol...

my daughter hasn't near as many SN's as your children... i am sorry to hear about your babies! :(

my dd has been on a roundabout of dr's appt's since she was 2. at age 2 they thought she might have had ataxic CP but tests were inconclusive. she is now 8. all the dr's until now have fobbed her off... we saw a new paed last year who did the same but i pestered him for a referral to a neurologist at westmead childrens hospital until he caved in and gave me one. good thing i did coz the neurologist says there is definately a neurological disorder there and she has been undergoing tests ever since to find the cause. dr as a few ideas but wont share until he knows.

the reason we are reconsidering her schooling: among other problems (some i didn't even know myself until the neurologist picked them up), she has an awful lot of trouble co-ordinating her hands.. to the point where she is in year 3 and her writing is illegible. i fill in her homework book for her each day (she tells me the answers) and she uses a laptop at school all day to do her work. this was all going well... until she began to go downhill very quickly this term. she used to be the top of her class in maths and reading. now she has dropped at least 4 levels and is struggling still. this all happened in very quick succession. she is getting at least 75% of her work incorrect and thinks she is doing great! i haven't said otherwise to her. around this same time, she has restarted soiling her drynites at night again as well as weeing so much that the drynites leak! she is also having ear peircing screaming fits in the playground alot more often.

i dont want her to struggle in school. i feel that she needs someone to help her alot more closely at school and she isnt getting that help atm. she is on the waiting list for the spastic centre atm, so perhaps they might be able to help more when she gets to the top of the list?

also, she goes to a private school atm. are there private SN school or just public? and are public just as good?

cheers... :)

[Nowhere]

thankyou ladies..

well now i feel like an idiot! lol...

my daughter hasn't near as many SN's as your children... i am sorry to hear about your babies! :(

my dd has been on a roundabout of dr's appt's since she was 2. at age 2 they thought she might have had ataxic CP but tests were inconclusive. she is now 8. all the dr's until now have fobbed her off... we saw a new paed last year who did the same but i pestered him for a referral to a neurologist at westmead childrens hospital until he caved in and gave me one. good thing i did coz the neurologist says there is definately a neurological disorder there and she has been undergoing tests ever since to find the cause. dr as a few ideas but wont share until he knows.

the reason we are reconsidering her schooling: among other problems (some i didn't even know myself until the neurologist picked them up), she has an awful lot of trouble co-ordinating her hands.. to the point where she is in year 3 and her writing is illegible. i fill in her homework book for her each day (she tells me the answers) and she uses a laptop at school all day to do her work. this was all going well... until she began to go downhill very quickly this term. she used to be the top of her class in maths and reading. now she has dropped at least 4 levels and is struggling still. this all happened in very quick succession. she is getting at least 75% of her work incorrect and thinks she is doing great! i haven't said otherwise to her. around this same time, she has restarted soiling her drynites at night again as well as weeing so much that the drynites leak! she is also having ear peircing screaming fits in the playground alot more often.

i dont want her to struggle in school. i feel that she needs someone to help her alot more closely at school and she isnt getting that help atm. she is on the waiting list for the spastic centre atm, so perhaps they might be able to help more when she gets to the top of the list?

also, she goes to a private school atm. are there private SN school or just public? and are public just as good?

cheers... :)


Hey

from what you have descibed about her I would be thinking to check out a Ed supoet unit whch is a special school with in a school so they go to Ed suport for there coure units but then they intergreat in the subjects that they are able to KWIM, She will then also get to mix with both main stream and none mainstream kids

Most special schools are pumblic schools some catholis schools have an ed suport unit atatched

[bumMum]

there are private special ed units in some schools.
my mum is a special needs teacher and I think the reason maybe to look at special ed units is because the teachers have a special interest in your child and the class sizes are very small plus the work is more tailored to each child.

[YMo7]

thanks... i have spoken to the school today and they are now saying that she cant even keep up when typing on her laptop. i have a meeting with them this thursday. hopefully they can help with the special ed unit... but in the past they have said that they dont have the resources.