My son has just turned 4 and started preschool in September. He will eventually attend for 4.5 hours a day, but he's currently into his second week of staying until 12pm. It's been a gradual increase, with one week missed due to illness. He's also had a lingering cough/cold for around 3 weeks now! 😔
For context, he's a Gestalt Language Processor (GLP) and has had four SLT sessions with a speech therapist through our local trust, although the bulk of his language development work has been done by his dad and me. He has an expressive language delay but is now emerging into Stage 4 of GLP.
He doesn't have any other diagnoses. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if preschool recommended an assessment at some point, but any potential ASD indicators are quite subtle at present and don't significantly impact his day-to-day life from what I see aside from communication delay. His main difficulty is that he's not conversational yet.
He was predominantly at home with me before starting preschool, and if I'm honest, I've probably anticipated his needs a bit too much over the years! As a result, his independence and social skills are areas where he has more room to develop. I already feel guilty about this, so please be kind. ❤️
His receptive language is excellent. He understands so much, follows instructions well at home and is a very clever, switched-on little boy, his knowledge is amazing and he is progressing well in regards to speech.
We also struggled with toilet training for quite a while, but during his second week of preschool, something seemed to click, and he started understanding that wees and poos belong in the potty/toilet at home! It's still a work in progress at preschool, but the staff have been really supportive. We're currently working on getting him to pull his clothes back up afterwards, as he prefers to stand to wee.
Last week, his teacher mentioned that she would be sending home an IEP this week, with some goals for him, the staff and us to work towards. I'm genuinely grateful that they're being proactive, and I honestly can't fault the level of care and support he's receiving.
However, I always get a bit anxious wondering whether they're noticing lots of difficulties that I don't necessarily see at home. At today's pick-up, his teacher encouraged him to collect his own coat and toy and had to prompt him a couple of times. When I asked how he was getting on, she mentioned that he struggles a little with following all the instructions.
I know he's still settling in, learning routines and adjusting to a completely new environment, but now I'm worrying that there are lots of things he's struggling with that I've perhaps overlooked at home.
I haven't received the IEP yet, so I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but I'd really love to hear about other parents' experiences.
How did you find your child's IEP in preschool?
- Was it a positive experience, and did the support and targets help your child?
- Did having an IEP eventually lead to a recommendation for further assessment, or was the IEP the main support your child needed?
- Did the staff highlight difficulties that you hadn't really noticed at home, and how did you find that?
I'm trying to remind myself that an IEP isn't necessarily a bad thing and that having support early can only be positive, but I think I'm just feeling a little anxious about what might be in it.
I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences. ❤️