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AnotherOne
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17 Jan 2012, 2:06 pm

I am not visiting this place for a while now since we kind of resolved the problem; nevertheless I decided to leave a post just in case people want to try to solve the same problem. Anyway, if you don't like public school system you may want to try "immigrant" schools. These are basically private schools that are typically connected to some other community/nation but are open for all. We have found a refuge in such school where our child is well-integrated, accepted and taken care of. The approach is different, no more countless and fruitless meetings with bunch of school staff, or principal calling for every little thing. It helps that they are small one class/grade but I believe that they have a different understanding and are much more open to diversity. And they have great academics, possibly Language arts are subpar because many teachers and students are bilingual.

Anyway I wanted to share this in case someone needs it. Good luck to you all.



Gnomey
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17 Jan 2012, 4:58 pm

Thanks for the tip. I am not sure where I will put my daughter at time. But this will have some consideration.



angelgarden
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17 Jan 2012, 10:18 pm

I think that is a fantastic idea. I have worked at international or bi-lingual/tri-lingual schools--both inside and outside of the USA for over 10 years. Typically, the environment is much more flexible and understanding of a variety of children who have different ways of thinking. Children dealing with two languages or two cultures need a more creative, flexible and understanding approach to their education. Kudos.



butterfinger
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24 Jan 2012, 4:16 am

Just wanted to chime in that for our son who has not been officially diagnosed but shows signs of ASD and ADD (no hyperactivity), Montessori has been great. We moved him from the standard system where he was isolating himself, crying a lot, withdrawing for hours when he got home. Now he loves school and the fact that he can self-direct for a good chunk of the day and focus on what he is interested in. The small class size and quiet atmosphere seems to keep him well-grounded and he is way ahead of the other kids his age in abilities. Might be worth considering for other kids with ASD.



Mama_to_Grace
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24 Jan 2012, 5:44 pm

butterfinger wrote:
Just wanted to chime in that for our son who has not been officially diagnosed but shows signs of ASD and ADD (no hyperactivity), Montessori has been great. We moved him from the standard system where he was isolating himself, crying a lot, withdrawing for hours when he got home. Now he loves school and the fact that he can self-direct for a good chunk of the day and focus on what he is interested in. The small class size and quiet atmosphere seems to keep him well-grounded and he is way ahead of the other kids his age in abilities. Might be worth considering for other kids with ASD.


This is our exact experience as well. Except we are in a Reggio Emilia school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach
Very similar to Montessori. This school has been amazing with my daughter.



momsparky
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24 Jan 2012, 8:35 pm

We had DS in a language-immersion private preschool before he was diagnosed, and they were great with him. I think being around teachers who assumed he couldn't speak the language was extremely beneficial, as they tended to overemphasize facial expressions, etc.

A word to the wise about Montessori: while it may work well for some kids, it didn't work at all for me. Since I didn't like to show I could do steps in a task that didn't interest me, even though I was a capable reader in preschool, I chose instead to spend the ENTIRE day "washing the shell" (they had a seashell that you could pour water on and rub with a sponge.) Since one of the principles of Montessori is self-directed activity, I chose the same activity over and over and over and over; nobody could dissuade me from it.

Not that I was autistic, or anything (/sarcasm.)



angelgarden
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26 Jan 2012, 10:30 am

Mama_to_Grace wrote:
butterfinger wrote:
Just wanted to chime in that for our son who has not been officially diagnosed but shows signs of ASD and ADD (no hyperactivity), Montessori has been great. We moved him from the standard system where he was isolating himself, crying a lot, withdrawing for hours when he got home. Now he loves school and the fact that he can self-direct for a good chunk of the day and focus on what he is interested in. The small class size and quiet atmosphere seems to keep him well-grounded and he is way ahead of the other kids his age in abilities. Might be worth considering for other kids with ASD.


This is our exact experience as well. Except we are in a Reggio Emilia school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach
Very similar to Montessori. This school has been amazing with my daughter.


Very interesting to hear! We just enrolled or son in a Reggio Emilia kindergarten. Have a hunch its going to be very good. EspeciAlly all project/creative stations.



Mama_to_Grace
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26 Jan 2012, 5:08 pm

angelgarden wrote:
Mama_to_Grace wrote:
butterfinger wrote:
Just wanted to chime in that for our son who has not been officially diagnosed but shows signs of ASD and ADD (no hyperactivity), Montessori has been great. We moved him from the standard system where he was isolating himself, crying a lot, withdrawing for hours when he got home. Now he loves school and the fact that he can self-direct for a good chunk of the day and focus on what he is interested in. The small class size and quiet atmosphere seems to keep him well-grounded and he is way ahead of the other kids his age in abilities. Might be worth considering for other kids with ASD.


This is our exact experience as well. Except we are in a Reggio Emilia school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach
Very similar to Montessori. This school has been amazing with my daughter.


Very interesting to hear! We just enrolled or son in a Reggio Emilia kindergarten. Have a hunch its going to be very good. EspeciAlly all project/creative stations.


I've found it's really a good environment for my daughter in that they appreciate and respect her for her strengths and allow her to explore her interests in a way that helps her learn. The only issue has been that the whole approach is a bit unstructured, but if you guide the teacher on ways to implement structure they listen! A key element of their philosophy is that the parent knows best and the teacher is a co-learner or learning facilitator and not a dictator.



BrookeBC
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27 Jan 2012, 10:31 pm

This is really interesting. I'm choosing a school for kindergarten thru grade 6 right now. Her community school has a large Mandrin program (over half the school) and an enlgish program. There is alot of diversity in the school which I really like and the staff were very nice. My concern is that my daughter has significant language delay. Her speech therapists don't think it will be the best fit for her, thinks exposure to the 2nd language could confuse her and delay her progress. My other option is the community Catholic school, I'm considering it even though we're prodestant.