Has anyone here ever decided not to put their child into the public school system services full time as soon as they are eligible?
We have a few different options, from having someone come to our home for ST and PT, to putting him in school for a full half day session.
I am not sure he is ready to go full time, and there was just something about the teacher/program that didnt settle well with me. I cannot put my finger on it, but I just do not like what I saw.
Just wondering if anyone has taken a different route that public school.

I'm on the DS listserve as well. There are several parents on there who homeschool. Is that something that's an option for you?

A good friend of mine did private preschool and kindertarten. If you have private therapy services available it can work. Especially if they have a VERY small class. Without a para available to your child it can be difficult. HOWEVER....if your child has PCA services, you can use your cargiver as a classroom para during the time at school.

we do not really have private schools available, so my only option is to homeschool, which i am fine with, since i had initally planned on homeschooling kay and anthony, long before i knew about the down syndrome.

You know, I think there is a listserve specifically for families of kids with DS who homeschool. I'll check on it for ya!

please do.
After our appt today, i am very dissappointed in the school and do not want either of my children near it.

I found it! It's a yahoo group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HKDS/

I sure hope this group can give you the information you need!

You can also check out NATHHAN. It is a group that works with families that homeschool special needs kids. They have a lending library and the family that runs it has 10 children. Their oldest son age 20 has ds and they have adopted three girls with special needs. They are really nice people. There is a lot of resourses out there to help you help your kids. I have been home schooling for 9 years so if I can answer any questions you can pm or e-mail me. The law is different in each state. You'll need to know about your states home schooling laws before you begin.YOu can find that out by going to HSLDA and type in your state's name under laws. Try to hold off on the public school testing if you can. Good luck. We love home schooling. There are lots of other home schoolers on this site.

Oh, since i had originally intended on homeschooling, i know all the laws. I have already found the links to HKDS and NATHHAN and everything else. Quick google
The cancelled out appt this morning since the woman whow as to do it had a sick child, and i am not making another appt. We have decided to go ahead and homeschool. I found a therapy center that accepts medicaid and it is a wonderful place so we will be going there for private therapy. They even do aquatic therapy.
Now I am getting excited

That's what we are doing too. Good luck. It's a lot of fun. You will really learn about your little one as well as yourself. Have fun.