My 3 y/o gs attended pre-K for the first time last Thursday. He was scheduled to attend all day, but I picked him up around 1:30 because he wouldn't settle down for nap time and was disturbing the other children. I was told that he tried to run from the classroom on four different occasions because he wanted to find his mom. Another problem mentioned was that he refused to walk to the cafeteria and had to be carried. He has never been in a setting like this before, and I am hopeful that his behavior will improve as he gets more used to the setting.

He didn't return until today, and his teacher says that he did show improvement in some areas. He is scheduled to attend on Wednesdays and Thursdays only for the time being and to receive speech therapy. After observing him for two days, his teacher has some concerns in addition to his speech problems. She says that he is extremely impulsive and that he has no regard whatsoever for safety issues. We are aware of this but didn't want to cloud his teacher's perception of him by giving her too much information prior to her seeing him. She thinks he could benefit from occupational therapy in addition to the speech therapy and from attending a half day five days a week instead of Wednesdays and Thursdays only. I believe that she had a behavioral specialist of some kind observe him today. We should be getting more information on this a little later.

We have had a rather difficult time deciding what we think about this child's behavior. We alternate between thinking that a lot of his behaviors are just "copy cat" of his 6 y/o brother and thinking that he does indeed have some issues of his own. His brother was diagnosed a couple years ago with sensory integrative disorder and something on the autism spectrum. The 3 y/o does do some of the same behaviors as his brother, but I often wonder how his behavior would be if his sibling didn't have any of the issues he has.

I'll let you know what the school decides about him, if he has further testing, and what kind of program is developed for him.

By Pamt on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 09:47 pm:

Hope things continue to get better each day. Sounds like he has a good teacher who is really clued in to his needs.

By Cat on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 10:43 pm:

I agree with Pam. Also, five half days a week might be better than Wed & Thurs, IMO. There'd be less time between days he's at school (only Sat and Sun off instead of Fri-Tues). It's a more regular schedule and if he does have some issues, I'm sure you well know schedule is important. His teacher does sound great. Keep us updated on how it's going.

By Kaye on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 01:34 am:

Sounds like you have a great start. I also agree daily half days are best. My son, who had some very similar issues does better with routine routine routine. He is in first grade now and not all better, but considerable different than his pre k years! My only other advice is follow your gut. When my son was in prek 3 it was hard on him, too hard, in hindsight I think we did a lot of damage to him by making him stick it out. I knew deep down we needed to pull him and just didn't want to. So my only advice is listen to that inner voice, if you don't think it is right, then think about what you can do differently!

By Lauram on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 05:06 pm:

I do think there needs to be some more time for him to adjust before you make sweeping decisions. Unless, of course, the behavior is so extreme. It certainly could be- but it also could be him reacting to the enviornment. I would keep my radar up, but just give him some time to adjust. It does take young children 6 weeks to adjust. I'm "looking forward" (LOL) to my six weeks beginning Sept 1st!

By Feona on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 06:47 am:

The 5 half days sound like a good idea. Most of the kids have been going to day care since they were infants or one year old.

DS was in 1/2 days for the summer. He liked playing with the kids. (The teachers were untrained where he went. (kind of like a tutor time or kiddie academy place) (Social worker told me this) Anyway, still think he got alot out of it playing with the kids and following the rules. They didn't coddle ds which was good for him. He had to deal. and he did...

By Lauram on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 09:16 am:

How's it going now?

By Gammiejoan on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 03:38 pm:

Thanks for asking, Laura. According to his teachers, he had his best day yet today. He didn't cry when his mother left him this morning. She told him that I would be coming for him around lunchtime, and this seemed to satisfy him. He started to leave the classroom twice but came back when the teacher called his name. For the first time since starting preschool he ate his breakfast and lunch. I have been picking him up after lunch, and he has been taking his nap here. He doesn't seem to be able to settle down enough to nap at school. I don't believe he has had any further testing done yet, and I haven't heard any reports from his speech therapy. For the time being his days are still Wednesdays and Thursdays.