What's going on...

Just a quick post to update on what's going on around here.  It is time to start thinking about Kindergarten! Here are the places we have been thinking about.  If we stay in Westerville City Schools, Adam would still go to school for 2.5 hours either AM or PM 5 days a week, which is just a day more than what he has been doing this year.  I think he is ready for more.  There is a place called All the Children of the World Academy that gives a 3-, 4- , or 5-day all day option (~8am - 3pm).  I went to their Open House last week and although I didn't get to stay for the whole Kindergarten meeting, I saw enough to like it.  I have also heard great things about it from area moms.  I will be calling to get a tour and more info this week.  And lastly, there is Columbus Academy.  Crazy expensive but you get what you pay for.  We've seen the end product.  Ha ha! Adam had his admissions screening on Friday.  He did run out of the building at first and refused to put on his name tag or take off his coat but once the other kids showed up, he didn't care when we left.  When our tour and the testing was over, all the kids were sitting out in the lobby on these little risers and Adam was yelling "surprise!" and jumping up and down.  He said it was a lot of fun and the kids were really nice.  He had no idea he was being tested..well, other than being asked what some words meant.  At dinner that night, he put his thumbs up and said he really liked that school (Academy) and the school we went to the night before (All the Children).  Now we wait until March 1st to see if he gets into Academy but in the meantime we'll apply to the others because we know Academy only has so many openings. 

Adam started Sporties for Shorties again today.  He did a really great job and didn't obsess about being next to any certain kid like he did in the summer.  One of his classmates Josie and her little brother are in the class as well so that might have helped.  Then they went on a field trip to the New Albany library for school today.   I think his favorite part was seeing where the books go when you drop them in the book return from outside.  All the kids got to check out one book that the teachers will take back to school for them to look at there.  I think Adam was pretty tired after all that.  I wish there was Sporties for Shorties and field trips everyday - minus the crazy that Adam gets when he's tired.

Contacted Westerville Schools

So I finally contacted Westerville schools to see if I could get Adam into speech therapy through them.  We love Columbus Speech and Hearing but with a new insurance year and $70 a visit, I thought we would try something we're already basically paying for.  I emailed the special needs preschool secretary to find out how to go about getting an assessment.  The first red flag was "after the second screening...if your child is eligible, would write an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and get him ready to start school in our program”.  Umm, start school in your program?  So I asked if that just meant starting therapy through the school or actually taking him out of Central College and sending him there (Adam would NOT be happy about that).  She said normally the child would come to their school but they offered "itinerant" services where I could bring him to the ELC each week.  But I would be contacted by someone soon to discuss any questions I had.

Yesterday I got the call from Ms. O'Leary.  After asking some questions about Adam and his speech and development, she said she was sorry but his issues are too minor.  She said they could come and do a first screening if we wanted but she could pretty much guarantee there would be no second one and he would not qualify.  Apparently, much like the birth to 3/Help Me Grow Program, if your child does not have major delays, you don't qualify.   She said to try again through the schools next year once he is in Kindergarten but speech for preschool is only offered through special needs. As thankful as I am that his Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome has given us very few issues, it's still a little frustrating.