More questions - after age 3

My son is 2 and on the autism spectrum and will be starting 20 hrs/week of ABA soon in our home. Thinking ahead, it is my understanding that he will age out of EI in a year. What happens then? Can ABA continue in our home or must he go to a school or center?

Also, how do you decide between a special needs preschool or a regular preschool with an SEIT?

Are there any good schools for autistic kids in SW Nassau? I have looked on the web and can't seem to find one close by. Thanks.

Re: More questions - after age 3

My son is soon to age out of EI and will be starting a self contained class next month. He has been receiving nearly 20 hours a week of ABA for a year for his PDD-NOS diagnosis. Figuring out where to place him has been one of the hardest decisions for me. To look at him you would see a very endearing, social boy with very few stereotypical autistic tendencies. However, he is speech delayed, has a hard time processing compound questions, and has extremely poor attending. I was really hoping to place him in an integrated classroom (and all of his teachers feel he would be ok) I didn't feel it was the right placement for him. First, I didn't want to give up ABA all together. Unless you live in a "special" school district, it is extremely difficult to get home services. And you can almost forget home services if you plan on sending your child to a regular preschool (according to the school districts if your child needs ABA then he should be getting it at school). The other thing that held me back from putting him in an integrated class was his attending. I didn't want him to get "lost." He needs constant redirection. Even if he is doing something he really enjoys (play dough for example) he will only do it for about 5 minutes and then he is off playing with something else.

Also with regard to a SEIT, they will not give you a SEIT for the whole day (a 1:1 is considered MORE restrictive than an inclusion class).

My best advice at this point is to wait and see what progress your DC makes this year and where they're at, at that point. Ask your DC's therapists where they see him. Also when you tour schools, you can get somewhat a gauge of the classroom size and the children in them.

I can't help you with schools in nassau as we are in suffolk. HTHs a little.

Re: More questions - after age 3

Perfect advice from PP.
It'd so hard to tell where a child will be at a year from now. Depending on his needs will then determine what kind of class he should be in. There out there so don't worry about not finding a program. In my OP Nassau has alot more out there then where I am-Eastern Suffolk. Also when you reach that point your coordinator will help you find the best placement. GL

Re: More questions - after age 3

DS went to a typical preschool at 3 with a SEIT. He was in school 3 days/week, 4 hours/ day. His SEIT was there for 2 1/2 hours/day. The rest of his ABA sessions, 3 of them, we're done at home, as was speech 3x/week, with 1 group session I brought him to. He did great at the preschool, but still needed help from the SEIT. Daycare became an issue as DH got a new job with different hours, so I cannot send him back to that school for this upcoming year. The district was going to give me less this year, and we're strongly suggesting a program if he still needed significant help, after a whole year of the SEIT. We decided to give an inclusion class a try. We are sending him to TOPS in September for pre-K. I figured it can't hurt him, and am optimistic that they can help him attend to activities a little longer, and learn to express his frustrations and not tantrum. We'll see how it goes.