John Michael will be 3 in a few weeks. We've been checking out a couple different preschool options in our school district last week and this week. It's been very helpful for me to picture him in a full inclusion classroom with 15 typically developing kids and 5 kids with special needs. Both classes I've seen each have a little girl with Down syndrome and some other kids with special needs.
On one playground, there were many trikes like the one above. John Michael can't yet pedal, but he's trying. But the coolest thing was that a few trikes had an extra seat on the back, like a fixed trailer, and one little boy gave John Michael a ride all around the playground. It made me so happy to see the kids fully included and accepted. A win-win for both sides.
The second school I visited had a really neat, small playground. John Michael really blossomed yesterday. When the teacher turned on the slippery fish song, he tried to keep up. It went too fast, but he did his best. He also liked sitting next to the kids and interacting with them.
I had a chance to talk with both teachers while the kids were on the playground. Both have backgrounds in special ed, both thought he was really cute and were very encouraging.
John Michael's IEP meeting is in 2 weeks. We visit one more school tomorrow. Unfortunately, all the school options are a good 20 minutes away. While I'd envisioned a private preschool setting for John Michael where his 3 older sibs went, I think this is a great start for him since he will need extra help at first. He will also have speech and adaptive PE onsight. Adaptive PE will help with stair climbing and building strength for trike riding, but doesn't take away from playing with the other kids on the playground. I'm starting to feel a bit more at ease with the whole school thing.
I'd love to hear other peoples' experiences with starting preschool for their child with Ds.