That is the question!
Caleb's special day class (SDC) teacher called me today to see what we were thinking about Caleb starting kindergarten in the fall. She said that he is clearly not ready for kindergarten in the fall (which we realized and anticipated), so he could either go to a SDC kindergarten or stay another year in preschool with SDC preschool services two or three days a week. I told her we would keep him in preschool for another year, and that SDC kindergarten wasn't an option. Either he's ready, or he's not.
She then went on to make sure that I understood that when we reach this point next year, we won't have an option–Caleb will go to a special ed. kindergarten if he hasn't caught up.
I really feel like Caleb's delays are due to his inability to hear for four years. He's only had his aids since September, and then there was a month of adjusting to them. He's only really been receiving intensive services since January. I really don't feel like his delays are cognitive, but she kind of made me feel like I'm not seeing the real picture.
Here are things I attribute to Calebs delays: hearing loss, being young (he won't be five until the end of May), being a very active boy, being a second child, color-blindness (which still hasn't been formally established). Cognitive deficits don't even factor into this list.
Within the last couple of weeks, he's begun to be able to sit down and focus on a more academic book or go over his homework. These are new benchmarks for him, and his language explosion continues. I just feel like he needs more time to make up for four years of not being able to hear. Am I way off-base??
2 comments:
Nope you are right on base! the teacher thinks that she might know, but she isn't with him outside of school. Give him the 3 months outside of school and he will be good to go. He has gotten so much better since he received and adjusted to his hearing aids, so by the end of next year, he will be goood to go :-)
You are right on. You know him better than anyone else. What difference should it make to your decision for this year what may or may not happen at the end of next year?
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