1 post tagged “pdd-nos”
This year has been quite a learning experience for all of us concerning Drew's education. I wasn't even sure I wanted him to start school this year. His maturity level combined with his age (youngest in class -- August birthday) AND his PDD-NOS diagnosis from last year really had me doubting my decision to let him start at all. We chose a public school Montessori program for him because I thought that would be the most 'trauma free' transition for him from the self-contained ESE preschool program he was used to. We also chose NOT to continue him in the self-contained environment and instead mainstreamed him into a typical classroom.
Some things worked and some things didn't.
What worked:
He is also academically on target for K5, so the work load is appropriate for him. He might have been bored next year if I held him back. He is really driven to learn and does well when motivated.
I am convinced that the self-directing nature of the Montessori classroom helped Drew deal with the transition. His teacher was able to be more flexible with him when she saw an iminent meltdown approaching. He could stay with 'stations' he enjoyed when other class activities were stressing him.
I am also glad we moved him to a typical classroom. He was 'pulled out' for an hour each day for the services he needed, instead of spending the entire day with an ESE classroom. Drew tends to emulate the most disruptive behaviors of his peers, so a classroom with children functioning at much lower levels than he is would not have been a good environment for him.... which bring me to what didn't work.
What didn't work:
While the Montessori environment was good for him in several ways, it was also detrimental in as many ways. The benefits of the 'freedom' he enjoyed were often overshadowed by the negative behaviors it caused. Having so much freedom allowed Drew to 'float aimlessly' for a large portion of the day. With almost 20 other children in the class, the teacher and her aide's could not devote enough time to redirecting him.
The mixed ages in Montessori classrooms was also negative for him this year. His class was composed of 3-6 years olds. With his tendency to 'behave down', he would often act the same as the 3 & 4 year olds. This would not have been a problem next year because 1 and 2 grade is grouped together.
What we hope to do next year:
We put Drew in the lottery to go to another school. This will be his 3rd school in 3 years, but I hope it will be the perfect fit I am looking for.
This school is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme school. It is VERY structured, but I like the way it is structured. Many 'gifted and talented' children attend this school but it is not exclusive to that bunch. All the children are taught in the same way, but the gifted and talented children are placed in a classroom together. I was afraid that they would not have accomodations for a child with Drew's needs, but they have a resource specialist that is very highly recommended. He will still get pulled out for his services. I am certain he can handle the academic portion. It is the social skills that still worry me.... For example: He can read but can the teacher get him to sit still long enough to read in class settting, Will he meltdown if someone else answers a question first? , etc etc...
It is my hope that Drew will respond positively to the new level of structure and direction. He has matured a great deal over the last few months and I am hoping we have prepared him for this type of transition.
I hope we get in, but if we don't he will go to the neighborhood school. It is a good school too, but I prefer the IB one.
Just trying to get this all out so when I start doubting my choices again, I can come back to this and say Ahhhh...that's why we did this :0)
