My dd is "late born"..late sept. birthday and the cutoff here is Dec. 31. They made me put her in kindergarten at age 4. I wasn't comfortable with the decision, but she did great! She loved the class, had a 1:1 aide, made friends; however, because of her severe language delays..there was a lot that she couldn't do. At her IEP meeting last year, I demanded that she repeat kindergarten. It was the best decision I ever made; however, boy did I have to argue with the teachers. I bluntly asked them if she could do the work and the answer was no.. if she couldn't do kindergarten work; how could she ever keep up in 1st grade??? She is working at age level or above age level academically, her language skills have improved incredibly., she is actually a leader this year.
I guess the question is what does kindergarten have to offer your child that he wouldn't get in his current situation. There is nothing wrong with giving children more time to develop.
Aloha, Renee
My son will be 5 in April. I would think it would beneficial to hold him back a year and start kindergarten a year late. At his IEP yesterday, they strongly suggested we don't do that and put him right in kindergarten with an aide. Have any of you held back your HFA PPDNOS child? HAS IT HELPED? Thanks.
We will be holding Jason back another year. I have refused to allow him to go to developmental kindergarten on the grounds that the teacher he had two years ago is the one who teaches it. She basically lied on his IEP so it showed that he met all of his goals. This year he is not meeting any goals and is really struggling with improving everything except in social skills.
I think you have to do what is right for your child. Do they have a good reason to send him to kindergarten and what is their plan if kindergarten doesn't work? I would question everything and you have to go with what your gut tells you, you know your child better than anyone, You see him everyday and know how he really is where a teacher only sees him maybe 2-3 hours a couple times a week.
Our son has a Dec. b'day and we had him repeat K, so he's 7 now and in K; we're gald we held him back; he's matured much more and I think will be ready now to progress to 1st much better. We held Nicholas back he will be 6 when he starts kindergartenI am a voice for the other side. I think the kindergarten thing is "chicken and egg." The experience of kindergarten is a maturing one. It's ALWAYS possible to hold a child back a year to repeat kindergarten or to start kindergarten in a more restrictive environment and then "graduate" into typical K the next year, if that makes sense. In many situations, if a parent retains a child in preschool, the school district has NO obligation whatsoever to provide services. Basically, you the parent have rejected the IEP and that means that the District is off the hook for providing FAPE. Of course, if there is a valid kindergarten program in your child's preschool placement and that placement is state-approved, that is a different story. You must discuss all of this, frankly, with your school. I am certain the last thing you'd want is to deprive your child of services unless you can afford them yourself. As I said, the school MAY be off the hook for providing services next year if you don't send your child to kindergarten. You much check on this.My son has an early birthday (February), but we decided to hold him back in 2nd grade. Our decision was based on a few things (in Virginia, we have Standards of Learning tests in 3rd grade, so 3rd grade is considerably more difficult than 2nd. Also he is socially much younger than his actual age). This was a tough decison for us intially, but it turned out to be great for him. He is now 10 years old and in 3rd grade. He is doing well in an inclusion class and actually made a new friend (in the gifted and talented program, no less!). Good luck to you and your son in whatever decision you make.
Tiffany
I have been thinking about this as well. I have a whole nother hear until Collin goes to kinder but I just dont see it even that soon. I feel like over the next year he would really have to do a learning leap. His birthday is May 30 and the cuttoff is Sept 1. I always do think about him being able to repeat kinder to which actually may be better. hmmThanks for all of your responses. I am stumped as to why they will not let him repeat preschool again. They think that kindergarten would be "more comfortable for him" as he likes letters, numbers and there is less free play in kindergarten and more structure......fine, but he has a severe language delay and he is not going to understand instructions given by the teacher. His b-day is in April, so it is considered an early birthday. I would have no problem with him starting kindergarten at age 6
They did suggest maybe repeating Kindergarten twice.