nursery/preschool, ds with gdd - is montessori a good option?

[hazeyjane]

any experience with montessori nursery/preschool for a child with sn? ds is 19 months, with low muscle tone and gdd, he is under investigation for genetic conditions. at present he and i go to a sn nursery, but it is a long way away, and so far he has been really unhappy there, he is extremely clingy and has terrible separation anxiety. He is worse than ever when we are at nursery, and i am just not sure if it is the best option for him.

there is a very good montessori nursery near us, and i have been wondering whether it may be possible for him to do a morning a week there, with me staying (if they would let me), in the hope that eventually he would be happy there and possibly stay there for preschool. i am going to try and visit them in the next couple of weeks, but just wondered if anyone has any experience of montessori and sn?

thankyou!

anyone?

Do you need to be taking him to nursery? Would stay and play/toddler groups not be just as good at his age? Do you need him to go to nursery while you work?

Dd2was in a private nursery with 1-1 which wasn't Montessori, but had a similar ethos. She did day release to an sn school for an early intervention group.

I actually much prefer a mainstream setting with 1-1 support, and going to sn for specifics. Dd received much more 1-1 (true 1-1) in ms. In ss she was one of many and treated as one of the crowd, whereas in ms her individual needs were considered. Ss had a lot going for it (we loved the hydro sessions etc) but ms worked well for her. The staff were genuinely interested in helping her meet her potential, whereas in ss I always felt that they were following the same programme for everyone.

It's really a very personal choice though, and all kids are different. And what works now, might not work next year, or for yr r, or for juniors... Visit lots and ask lots of questions....

Should add that dd had a free state nursery placement from her first birthday, because of her needs. I am totally in favour of early nursery for sn kids. Important for the parents as well as the kids, sn can be v isolating.

thankyou.

ds gets funding for a nursery setting as his paed has recommended he attends a nursery to aid his development and to help with his extreme separation anxiety. I am finding that at sn nursery they tend to follow a similar programme with all the children regardless of their needs.

I am not working, but haven't had much luck with the local stay and play sessions, and tbh find that most of them are a case of plonk child down, have coffee let child run off and play - which was great with my dds, but doesn't work with ds.

I have just spoken to montessori place and they have asked us to come in for a chat next week. As I am ds's 'carer' I should be able to stay for the session.

It is such a muddle trying to sort out the best situation, and although preschool is a way off, I just want to make sure we are heading in the right direction.

hazey, before you go and visit, i would contact the lea and ask to speak to their early years inclusion officer - as ds has a funded place at the ss early years group, there may be a pot of funding that could be accessed to provided 1-1 in a ms setting. in some areas it doesn't kick in until 2nd birthday. dd2 has always managed to get funding for 1-1 somehow or other, in one case the nursery provided it themselves as long as she was registered for 5 sessions (because of their staff rotas). the funding for the ss place will likely be out of a different pot, so the area inco will know the art of the possible.

are there any sn baby/ toddler groups around? we went to fabulous one from 6mos which was a communication group in theory, but had both a feeding slt, a physio, and a playworker. it ran one morning a week and extended over lunchtime for those having feeding issues. it was brill - like a regular baby/ toddler group but with lots of different sn... i remember when dd2 walked in with her walker for the first time, to rapturous applause . she was very pleased with herself.