About four weeks ago my three year old grandson started attending a pre-k program for two days a week. We were concerned that his speech was not developing normally, and testing confirmed our suspicions. In addition we felt very strongly that he needed the socialization aspect of the program. Some of the problems he is having at school seem to me to be fairly typical behavior for a three year old while other behaviors have me more concerned. He doesn't like to sit with others in a group setting and will run from the room at times. The main thing that has me concerned, however, is his aggression. He has hit other children on a few occasions but hits the teacher and her assistant frequently. He gets very angry when they try to get him to do something he doesn't want to do and reacts by yelling and/or hitting. Right now our approach and his teachers' approach is to use timeout with him when he exhibits any of these behaviors. Timeout is difficult to use with him, though, because he will get up if not physically held. Do any of you have any suggestions?

By Lauram on Friday, September 3, 2004 - 02:38 pm:

It sounds to me like he needs a full eval. The speech issues are most likely just the tip of the iceberg. I would suggest getting an outside eval done if that is financially feasible, or else request in writing a PPT. (Is he in a public school preschool or is it private? If it's private- you can request the board of ed in your district to do it.) I would strongly advise outside people becoming involved as well so you can get to the bottom of this quickly and get him some early intervention!

By Gammiejoan on Friday, September 3, 2004 - 04:43 pm:

Thanks for your response, Laura. I'm thinking the same thing. He is attending a public school. I'm going to talk more with my ds and dil about this.