Our Journey to the Special Education Program: Here's What to Expect for Early Intervention Part 3 (The Pre-K Evaluation)

Well, today was Froot Loop's Preschool Evaluation. I want to write about it while I can still remember because I'm wiped out now afterward and I'm going to pass out and take a nap after lunch. 

So, the first step was meeting with the Elementary School Psychologist, Speech Therapist, and Occupational Therapist/Interpreter. They had lots of activities from a book that they needed him to attempt to do. These were things like matching, pretending, coloring, drawing, repeating, and so much more. He made it further in the book than most of the kids ever do, at least with the academic elements. He was reading and matching and sorting and identifying well past his years. So, that part was fine. I honestly don't remember everything they did, but it included puppets and puzzles and play doh and various blocks and stacking and matching, etc. All preschool skills. 

He actually behaved himself pretty well. He didn't really like the interaction, but he loved having 4 adults focus all their attention on him, so he really did a good job. They did note my comments that he NEVER plays with Play Doh and actually did a much better job doing things than he does with me (which is to be expected). 

They had him do some gross motor skills and he did okay at most of them. They all had extra questions for me, which I did my best to answer. They needed him to do things like stand on one foot, catch a ball, jump/hop, throw a beanbag, etc. 

Then, we went into the preschool room with the other kids as they were doing their center time. They had Froot Loop join the kids and play. First he played with cars with a few other kids. Then, they abruptly asked him to clean up and move on to another center (the kitchen). He did okay cleaning up, surprisingly. He bossed the other kids around and didn't really do a great job playing WITH them. He sort of played AT them. They noticed he does have quite a bit of speech trouble and told me right away that he definitely needs to be recommended for speech therapy. 

After the kitchen center, he went to work on a craft with one  of the preK teachers. He tried to glue cotton balls and cut paper shapes to make a ghost. He tolerated this for a few minutes but did not like doing it. He did a lot better than I thought he was going to though. If I had tried this at home, he would have gone into complete meltdown mode.

They told me they do see some signs of Aspergers, especially the rigidity, but they won't be able to formally diagnose it until he's regularly in the classroom and they can work with him regularly too. I totally get that. He's also on the young side for a formal diagnosis. 

So, they are going to recommend him for a half day pre-K program and work on his speech and his social development. He will get some OT (occupational therapy), speech therapy, and other things. He also qualifies for the Gifted and Talented program! 

I absolutely loved the pre-K teacher, SPED/PPCD teacher, Teacher aide, and the classroom. I really think Froot Loop will thrive there. 

He did very, very well today, but now he's bouncing off the wall. He's totally just... done and definitely needs a nap later. He's overloaded. 

So, I will continue to keep you updated. 

I can't think of a question to ask here: What do you want to tell me? What do you need to ask me about our journey?