Lots of our kids seem to be starting preschool, so I'm wondering what kind of program your 3 year old child is/was in.

Mine isn't up there. Austin will be attending preschool two mornings a week at a local church preschool with typical kids.
amy

I take it this is a private preschool, not something through the school district?

Callum is currently in a private preschool where he is the only child with special needs (mainstreamed), however that's all changing in a months time when he starts preschool throught the school district.

I'm really trying to see what kind of placements the school districts are offering to our kids

Dylan will be going Monday-Friday 8:40 to 11:10, mixed class.

I want to be able to select TWO! LOL

We did a split program with Angela. The first year she was in special ed. preschool. The second year she went 2 days a week to special ed. class, and 3 days a week to a regular classroom. She got NO services in the regular ed classroom at my insistance. I wanted that to be a totally 'normal' experience. So she went the other 2 days a week to special ed and got her ST/OT/PT etc.

Anna will be attending a private mainstream nursery school that we selected and are paying for. She will also be getting services through EI and then CPSE at home and a seit teacher at school one day a week.

Cameron just started an early intervention center called Project HELP at the local university. They service children 15m - 3 yrs. They have typical children too. We love it for Cameron.

Abby is going to attend this October at our local public preschool where there will be a mixture of children in the classroom. I don't know what the ratio is.

I typed in mixed class. But in reality is designed to be a class with only at most 6 special (IEP) students and up to 6 non iep models. This year we started school with 2 ieps (Melea and her one friend - speech only) and 4 models. Eliza will join part way through year .

It will never have more than the total of 12 (6 and 6) and their are two aides and one para professional. SO I really feel it is more specail education .

Jane

Matt's starting mainstream school nursery next month - he'll be the only one with a defined special need. And will be the school he'll be at for the next 8 years, all being well.

Peter went to a special ed preschool. It was a wonderful, gentle place. The teachers were incredible, but if I had to do it over I would have him in a mainstream program the year before kindergarten. Peter went to this school for 2 years and the summer before he went to Kindergarten he went to rec camp that was held in his K classroom with his K classmates and he did incredible well. He had an aide with him at all times. In the 6 weeks that he was there he grew in leaps and bounds. i don't know if it was coincidental or not but it was incredible to see.

John's going to preschool three mornings a week. (Because of his medical issues, he didn't start last year at age three and is now just three months away from turning four.) One morning a week it's just the special ed. kids (six at most). The other two days they add six typical kids. This is through our local school district.

We moved across the country from CA to NC for our preschool. Crazy? Maybe. But, it is really what we felt God was telling us to do. Our school is a 5 start developmental day school. All of the therapists are on staff and there are also nurses on staff. They also have higher sanitation standards than the school system. They are very loving and have been with us every step of the way.

Kids actually graduate on at 5 years, but due to the repeated hospitalizations over the past year, my request to have Ethan stay an extra year was granted. Now, we all have a year to try and catch Ethan up to go to readiness next year! We have LOTS of work ahead of us!!!