DownSyn Forum

[Mya's Mom]

I would love to hear from parents who have experienced both self-contained classes and full inclusion. Mya is in Kindergarten for the second time and is self-contained most of the day, but (last year) would go into the gen. ed. kindergaten for about 30 minutes a day. I'm struggeling with the decision this year on Mya's placemnt. She is starting off full time in self-contained but we are meeting soon to discuss inclusion. My struggle is this... Mya gets pulled for her therapies and I don't want to add more confusion to her day. Her best friend is another little boy with DS, also in the self-contained class. She relates better to those kids and likes the teacher and the assistants. And I do feel she is making progress there. With that said, I firmly believe in inclusion. I know the rational and have read the articles to support it. I would love to hear from those that have experienced both. I keep going back and forth.

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Emily
mom to Mya, 5 years old (3/16/06)

[TheBradyBunch]

I would place her where she thrives personally. Regardless of studies and articles, you just do what works for YOUR child. Noah is entering K this year, and we are starting out with inclusion. He will be out of the class for a huge part of the day though between toileting and tube feeding. I don't want tube feeding done in front of the other children, at all, I think it's better for Noah's dignity. In the class I just want him to be as normal as possible.

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Mom to: Nicholas (May/02), Nathan (April/04), Charlene (June/06), Noah (DS, ASD) (May/07), Jesse Lynn (July/08 ), Tessa (Apr/10), Kaitlyn (Jun/12)

"Sometimes the things we can't change end up changing us"

[Dylans_Mom]

Dylan is going into 1st and we are keeping him in the self contained class room. Honestly I think it is what is best for Dylan. He is extremely smart, knows what he needed to know for Kindergarten and his IEP also has 1st grade goals. What holds me back is his speech and potty training. His speech is still very delayed. He gets 1 on 1 educational learnings, I can't imagine him getting a 1 to 30 learning he would get lost and lose focus. He gets pulled to go into a regular class for calendar time, gym and art class and any other group activity that they think he will benefit from, but his educational learning will remain with the self contained classroom.

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Sandy (Dylans_Mom)
Mom to Hailey 3/2002, Dylan (ds) 12/2005

[Tigger]

Talitha is fully mainstreamed but gets a lot of one on one help in her classroom. She only gets 3 aide hours a week but has help from older kids and other volunteers as well as her teacher.

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Karyn
Mum to Nikki (Jul 89), Stefanie (Sep 96), Joel [June 98] and Talitha (DS) (Nov 05) AVSD/PDA repaired 23 March 06

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14

[TracyR]

I wrote this on another thread recently. This is our experience.

Ezra is in a special needs day care. So far it has been the very best thing for him. I don't think Ezra would have ever gotten the amazing opportunities he got in his daycare, in a regular daycare. Everything is geared to his level, all the children have their "needs", he gets his nebulizer treatment there (we have to do it a few times a day every day, so they do one there) and there that is just normal, par for the course in a special day care. The teachers are specially trained, they sign with the kids (though not as much as I'd like...they really only use basic signs), and they have all the special equipment there. The walkers, the GoTalk, the flexi cut cups, and a nurse on staff for medical emergencies which always makes me feel better. I just don't think he would get this level of care and be where he is today in a regular daycare. Of course, school is different, but we still have a while until then. I guess it really will depend on him.

[lola]

My daughter is in mainstream kindergarden without any assistant. I had been 100% for mainstream schooling, but I am not so sure anymore. While the small children are nice to her and there actually is not such a big difference, I don't believe that children in school will be so nice too. She is a loving and trusting girl who wants friends and like to be dominant, I am afraid the being in regular class will break her spirit. Maybe it is more us who can't accept
that their child is in special education school, maybe it is more about our ambitions than the good for child. I want my daughter to have friends, to be able to enjoy the school, when she will start fancy boys, to be able to go with them to cinema etc. In regular school I am afraid that she will be pushed around, ignored and made fun off, children can be cruel. Well, it is hard to decide what to do:( Maybe in USA the inclusion system is very good and children are more friendly, in our country it is not usual to send children with DS to school, so it might be harder than for you. (In the kindergarden they don't know that she has DS, but we won't be able to hide it in school)

[Annieo]

John started out fully included in a regular kindergarten classroom (and I loved that his school was willing to just throw him in there and see how he did). After a few weeks it was obvious he couldn't do what the other kids were doing and both he and the teacher were getting frustrated. He started spending more time in the self-contained classroom and that's where he really started to learn.

I sometimes feel guilty about the fact that he isn't fully included since that seems to be the gold standard among moms of kids with special needs, but that's just not what works best for John. He is learning and thriving and does great in the self-contained classroom. He does still spend time in the regular ed. room (morning meeting, art, music), it's just not where he's getting the most/best academic instruction.

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Ann, married to Tim, mom to Sally, Mark, Jane, John (12/02, DS), Paul, and Alice
www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbremer

[lespring]

Angela was fully included through 2nd grade when the gap between her and the started getting much bigger. Where we were living didn't have a self-contained program so there weren't any other options. Everyone had to make it work.

Third grade we moved districts. That was about the time her behavior started to tank as well, and mainstream just wasn't working for her at all. We also had to shorten her to 1/2 days by the end of that year.

Axel has been in self-contained and this year (4th grade) will be joining his mainstream peers for art, phy ed, recess, music, some science (hands on things) Axel is a new English language learner so really benefits from the self-contained environment for the language part, but he also needs to hear typical peers talking. When he came to us 18 months ago he knew...nothing. Not a thing. Not a color. Not a shape. Nothing. Not even in Serbian. Now he is it about a mid-kindergarten level with many things. His communication is 90% sign and he's starting to finger spell simple words (like "on", or "in".) so this his HUGE growth that wouldn't have happened for him without the instruction in the self contained classroom.

Asher is in a building that doesn't have a self contained classroom. For this year he's doing full-iclusion kindergarten, and we'll revisit things in November to see how things are gong. Rumor has it the self-contained classroom he would be attending (within the district but two towns away) has a new teacher who is phenomenal. I may be more willing to consider a change after observing that teacher in action in a couple months. We'll see! Asher is also a new English learner. He has NEVER heard children talking until coming to us 9 months ago. He has just started babbling. Prior to this he was SILENT, so I'm praying being in the mainstream classroom with kids who talk will encourage him to continue exploring the use of his voice. His morning will be an uninterrupted session of 1/2 day kindy, then he'll eat lunch with the 1st graders (many of whom he knows) then he'll do afternoon kindy when he will get is pull-out services and some repeat of some of the morning activities. Two days a week he'll come home early which is when we access private services. We're doing pretty intensive therapy with both boys and I pull them both out of school on those days.

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~Leah~

My mom's blog
http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to visit MINE!
http://itsmylifemom.blogspot.com/

mom to Rob 26, Noah 25, Tyler 23, Bryon 23, Angela 16 (DS), Axel 12 (DS, adopted from Serbia 12/2012, AAI w/fusion) Asher 7 (DS adopted from Serbia 12/2011, AAI non-fusion)

[kctahoe]

Charlie did preschool in a self-contained class. Now he has started kindergarten and he is in self-contained for 90 minutes, and included the rest of the day.

The whole thing is really emotional for me. It has not been smooth sailing, we are working out some kinks, getting him a 1:1 aid. The school is really on board, though, and that is fantastic.

I think what is hard on me is at his preschool he had true friendships, and at his new school... I sincerely hope he will, but I am so worried he will not be accepted. He has not had the amount of support he needs as yet, and the hiring process for a 1:1 is dragging on. He is interested in making friends, but his speech is very difficult to understand, and he has just been very overwhelmed since school began. I was just thinking tonight of the self-contained class we were offered (it was a long bus ride, and we decided no on that because we wanted to be involved in his school) and how he would be with his old buddies there, and probably learning more than he is right now. And yet it is early, and his classmates ARE accepting of him, if not friends yet. And once the 1:1 aide is in the picture, she/he will be able to help Charlie navigate the included environment much better. He is thriving in those first 90 minutes of self-contained class time, though, so I am also wondering if it would be worth cutting back on inclusion time to certain activities where he would not be so lost without an aid.

I think it is just finding that balance that is good for your child, and there is no reason at all to feel bad about choosing what seems to fit her best... at least that is what I am telling myself about Charlie.

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Kim. Wife to Ray, Mommy to Charlie (DS), Calvin, and Miles.

[grantsmom1]

I think every kid has a combination that is best for them. Grant is included 80% of the day, and pulled out for some reading, math, therapy, etc. I see lots of great things come from being in the regular classroom, and it has been working great for him at this time (1st grade). He is able to learn from the normal lessons to some point, is a friend, has role models, etc. I'm open to adjusting as we need to each year, but I think even if a self contained classroom ends up being the best place for him as he gets older, the exposure to other kids is still important to get a feel for what life will be like after school. How did your meeting go... did you make changes?

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Robyn
Grant (6/06 DS), Logan (12/08 )

[Amy]

We live in a tiny town.. in a large county. There are very few options in self contained class rooms.. They are all "life skills"
They convinced us to let Austin in a self contained class room in kindergarten.. he was with kids that were moderately to severely delayed. He completed their academic program in 2 months. (and that was only 1 hr a day they were actually concentrating on reading and math).
But this was before his diagnosis of PDDNOS. After that, they moved him to a homeroom for kids with Autism. He also got a one on one aid. He now spends half and half with Special Ed resource room and Regular Ed. His Special Ed teacher has a son the same age. He and Austin are in the same class, so he always has a buddy. Austin is included in Social Studies, Science, Music, Computer (at which he excels ) He also eats lunch, has PE and recess with his regular Ed class. They love him.. His teacher is wonderful to include him with his Kindle. His Math and Reading are in the Resource Room/ Autism Home Room. I won't say I'm thrilled with the academics. He is not challenged enough in reading.. probably too much in math.
And to get this combo .. we had same "hellish" IEP meetings. But it is working for now. I don't expect it to work next year. Like Leah, I can see that he will be 'left' begind too quickly. I forsee that he will be more and more in a self contained class room. Unfortunately, most of the other children are 'included' in his home room, so he will be lonely during those times. By middle school, I feel we will move him to a private school not too far from us. Our lovely state has a special ed scholarship if we can prove our school system can not meet his needs. And they can't. By Middle School they don't even do academics it will be totally Life Skills. We'd like to try with Austin and Academics as long as we can.

I don't know if this rambling post helps at all.

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Keep the Faith, Amy
Mom to Kristin (26) Jessica (24) Rebecca (21) Rachel (16) Sarah (14) Hunter (11) & Austin (7) DS