C-PALSY Digest - 26 Apr 2001 to 27 Apr 2001 (#2001-117)I'm going to stop lurking for 5 minutes to ask your opinion:

My 3 yr. old is going through his first IEP.  Functionally,he's spastic triplegic, with pretty good use of his right hand.  He has a gtube, moderate speech delay, and is learning to use a reverse walker, but he's not comfortable with it.  His cognitive abilities seem to be at least normal - he knows his ABCs, he can count, recognizes his name in print (and sings with perfect pitch, not that I'm bragging!).  To me, his speech delay is the most pressing concern at this time.

The District is proposing to put him in a special Ed preschool, with 9 other spec. ed. kids, and one teacher with 3 instructional aids.  Two days per week, they bring in 'kids from the community' (we presume that this means kids without disabilities).  They've also told me that Evan would be the most physically disabled child in the class.  I'm concerned that there won't be adequate stimulation for him in a special Ed class - it seems like he really needs to be with peers who talk.

The only other option they admitted would be to put him in a regular preschool with an instructional aide.  They are concerned that the aide will not be able to make the regular preschool room work for him and to meet his goals.  I've heard from other parents that relying on a single instructional aide can be great if you happen to get a good one, or can be a nightmare if the aide isn't good.  Per the school district's assertion, IDEA doesn't allow us to handpick the teachers and aides that work with our son.

Any thoughts or experience you'd like to share?

Thanks,
Dianne