The Never Normal

So I did my first tour of a special ed preschool today. (sans Jonah – my dad came over to babysit.)

I was very impressed…this particular school, Wildwood, transitions kids out when they can be matriculated into regular schools, but if the kids are too severely disabled, they can stay right where they are all the way to age 21. Here is what I liked about the school:

The tour guide/admin person who showed me around has an autistic son who went there until he aged out, so I am dealing with someone who understands what it’s like to parent an autistic kid, and also someone who had a good enough opinion of the place to keep that kid there all the way through.

It was clean and everyone was friendly.

Good student-teacher ratio: maximum of 9 kids in the preschool class, with one special education teacher, 4 assistant teachers, 1 part time social worker, 1 speech therapist, and occupational therapy, music therapy, & physical therapy teachers all available onsite.

Large, bright rooms partitioned off so kids could do separate activities….small doored-off room adjoining for quiet time or one-on-one teaching opportunities.

State-of-the-art equipment including touch-screen computers with voice output, etc.

Awesome play areas both indoors and outdoors

Opportunities for social inclusion (on the preschool level) with onsite community daycare kids who spend some time each day with the disabled kids.

Parent support groups available with social opportunities and volunteer opportunities within the school (some parents spend one day a week with the class, and this is encouraged but in no way mandatory)

They do not stress one particular system of teaching or methodology but rather stress individualized programs that seem consistent, creative, and child-directed. They use visual schedules, Picture Exchange Systems (PECS), and signing, among other things.

Today when we visited the classroom they were making fruit salad. As the Wiggles would say, “yummy yummy!”

All of the kids were seated with smocks on, and they all looked happy about being there.

The day goes from 8:30am – 2pm and they help teach toilet training, staying with you at the grocery store (they actually take the children out two at a time or so to practice everyday things like this), tooth brushing, getting dressed, you name it.

And they have ONE opening for January.

I am still going to tour the other places but I am definitely applying.