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For me that farm preschool would be off the table if it limits access to therapy. Is there a way you could do a meeting in advance with his school district to find out if he would qualify for an IEP before you make a decision?

@Mrs. Lion: can you take him to the farm school for a tour and let him interact and observe for awhile so you can get a feeling on how he'll do

ETA: how much OT is he getting now?

I'd pick the farm preschool, as long as it's the sort of place where there will be lots of outdoor time. (I'm not sure what exactly you mean by less regulated, but I assume that since it's under discussion, it's a safe, healthy environment.)

Is the deal with the occupational therapist that he/she visits the school, but doesn't do home visits? If it's only once or twice a week, couldn't the nanny take him to their office?

@gingerbebe: I disagree that doing a more free-form preschool/pre-K/K--or even no school at all--means a child is less prepared for regular public school. It depends on what else is being done with the child, and in this case, I know that Mrs. Lion is doing plenty to enrich her child's life (I read and liked her blog posts). In any event, I really don't think a 4 or 5 year-old needs a whole year of classroom experience to prep for public K. He already understands how a classroom works and as far as acquiring the skills that it would benefit him to have before K, I'm 100% sure Mrs. Lion will be on top of those.

But really, the reason I'd pick the farm is that I suspect that there will be substantially more outside time at the farm than anywhere else, and I think that is incredibly helpful for behavior. In my experience, humans are generally much better behaved and able to cope with challenges (and often also smarter) when they get outside and spend time in a more natural environment a lot.

You need to look into Section 504 services if you go the public school route!!! Since your LO does have a diagnosed disability but probably would not need an IEP for SPED services, I would absolutely go the 504 route.

My district will serve certain children OT/PT services depending on the disability through 504.

I see a lot of parents who delay services for their children because they want more time with them at home (in a protective sense, best intentions), but often not getting them early interventions do them a huge disservice. Part of my job entails working with special needs students and coordinating 504 services so if you have questions, holler!

@honeybear: I'm with you on this.

@Mrs. Lion: I am attracted to the farm because it may be a less stressful environment with more outdoor time.

Disclaimer: I have no experience with this for my own child! Just a friend and worked with special needs kids (more severe than what it sounds like you're dealing with.)

I would pick #2. Less transitions because he'd already be at that school (and if you decide you don't like the school you can change course sooner rather than later) plus access to therapy/earlier IEP, slightly smaller class and probably likely to stay that small due to the school district.

I'm new here and am an Early Childhood Special Ed teacher who worked in public school preschools for 10 years and now work in Early Intervention. I would personally choose option 2 or 3. As it seems you already suspect, if your son's only needs center around sensory processing and he is not exhibiting significant language or learning/cognitive delays, the likelihood of qualifying for an IEP are extremely slim as OT is not a service that can stand alone, meaning it almost always has to be paired with a primary service of Special Education or Speech Language. Definitely check out the 504 route though! If your school district runs integrated preschool classrooms then the benefit of option 2 would be a classroom staff that has likely worked with kiddos with similar needs and access to special education staff that can provide feedback and support. In my 10 years in the schools, it was a given that we would be working with students technically not on our caseloads because the child needed support within the classroom in order to be successful. If you do attempt to try and get him qualified for an IEP you will need to prove that he cannot access the general education curriculum without special education support. Personally I think option 3 sounds amazing and that type of environment could be so helpful for SPD! If your OT isn't willing to go there and you want to choose it, then find an OT that will go.

@Mrs. Lion: I will state that @EImama is correct in that OT cannot stand alone but it depends on the state. In WA it can stand alone until age 8 under developmental delays.

Farm school with private therapy.

I did a similar thing for my son (private nature based preschool and private therapy) and my son has been able to successfully transition into a public kindergarten program.

And you know this as a public school teacher, if the public school can not service the child in the school, they are obligated under the law to provide services in the least restrictive environment. I'd start researching the services available through the school system and identify an attorney. Usually the outplacement lists are private in the sense that you can't identify which student attends where, but you can request the information as to how much the district spends on outplacements and where specifically it is going. Might shed some light on the options for you (without you having to pay for the services privately).

EI mama here! I was totally go for pre-k! My little guy has issues with too many children as well and he also have an IEP in place. I think this option would be ideal.

@Mrs. Lion: Oh there was much more. DS has foot braces, communication issues, and behavioral/sensory issues. We got the IEP just about two weeks ago and it will kick in when he turns three.

@Mrs. Lion: oh this is a tough call, and I feel you.... we're in a very similar place.

question - if you do option 3, could the nanny bring LO to the OT services? then that could still happen?

I know i've written to you before about my LO (4.5), after testing done through his daycare, then on our own, we put him into OT that we basically pay out of pocket for, insurance will cover once we reach our high deductible... We've been doing for 6 months and seen vast improvements (hes in for some sensory, but the big delays for him are fine motor and motor planning)....We also left the daycare, and got a nanny (we have a 1yo too)... our nanny is AMAZING, and we knew her so that worked out.... Anyway, we put him 3 days a week into a nature preschool, sounds so similar to your farm option. And they are WONDERFUL, it's very calming and sweet, very small teach ratio, and since the day is so short it's busy, therefore structured which works well for my LO. He does not do well with "free play" but working on it. Anyway, trying to decide now between going back and going to the school-run integrated preschool where I don't think he'll qualify for services, but they do have OT/PT on staff to assist, mainly for IEPs, but also for the other kids... i'm not sure what to do. we LOVE our nature school and he loves it, but its VERY different from school (he's still got another year + before K).... so all of that to say, i'm not sure which is the best.... pros/cons to everything.

also - our nanny does bring LO to OT on occasion when we can't make it, and our OT emails us a report to let us know what we missed.

also, for my LO, as he's gotten older he's really growing out of A LOT of his sensory issues. I'm not sure if the OT is helping or just some of it getting better as he get's older, but it's giving me more confidence for K!

@Mrs. Lion: so.... that is an excellent question. I know for him, the one on one attention has been amazing, and he's responded really well to it. His sensory issues at school generally had to do with the rush of kids, the loud noises, abrupt transitions, and "free play" was a trouble time for him where he would act out....

Along with the nanny, he now has preschool 3 days a week for 3 hours which is great for him; playing with other kids, learning, teachers, etc. The nature preschool is FANTASTIC.... I'm sure the farm school would be similar but i love the style of learning. We also have OT once a week, then we also have him doing swimming and drum lessons. Soccer & T-ball in the Spring! And a couple of one week camps this summer.

I guess we're compensating for the lack of social interaction that we thought was the main benefit of daycare, and we're making up for it in classes.... Our nanny also gets him together for playdates and takes him to playgrounds, the library, etc.

So, lots of stuff right? BUT, it helps to add to his less structured day since he's home with the nanny I think. And a year ago, he was doing some classes, but not doing a great job participating in them... now he's SO INTO the activities and really involved. I'm not sure if thats due to him growing up or something else. Hard to know.

Sorry, i'm so ramble-y today.