Holding back for Kindergarten | Autism PDD

Not sure of anyone read the NY Times Mag article this morning about keeping kids back a year before they start kindergarten so when they actually begin, they would be among the oldest in the class. Seems that this puts kids at an advantage throughout the rest of their education. Studies have shown that the kids in the lower levels of the class (which would likely include our ASD kids once they are mainstreamed), never seem to quite catch up.

Has anyone actually kept their kids back a year for an extra year of preschool, or considered doing so? What were the pros and cons of this? I would think that for ASD kids, with obvious developmental delays in terms of socialization, the extra time spend on this in a preschool setting (with exposure to typical kids) would only set them up for greater success in kindergarten.

What do you think?

Also-Do parents have the right to keep kids back a year or does it totally depend on birthdate?

I had Sarah in a kinderkids that was for 4 year old before kindegarten started..they let Sarah be in it when she was 4&5 years old ..she started kindergarten at 6 years old... her birthday was the end of July so she was the oldest one in kindergarten...she did perfect. They wanted to move her up to second grade because her academics were so high..I wouldnt let them. The social skills were the main reason I put her in later:) The kids never noticed the age difference..most were turn 6 all year long so it was fine. Even in Kindergarten this late her social skills are still not up to par with peers but she fit in indistinguishable with them and she was more than ready to handle the classroom routine and transititons by this time:) I think it depends on your childs social skills and ability to attend and do their work..she made huge progress between 5 & 6 with kids and teacher..so it was a good decision for us:)

Good luck:)

Thanks Shelly- this is something Im definitely considering. In Sept. Ryan will be 3.5 and in a preschool disabled class with an ABA shadow. Id love for him to have a preschool experience with typical kids (and a shadow) for 2 years and REALLY hone in on the social skills during those 2 years. Ryan was born in Feb so he'll be really old, but it might be worth it. Sounds like you made a good decision for Sarah- nice job!

This topic has come up before. You might want to do a search. It's really interresting to read all of the posts.

With typical kids you can get a kindergarden readiness assessment. The
one we used for my two oldest children (wont go into detail with exact
assessment) measured three things, intellectual, social-emotional and
physical/developmental areas. According to this test, children do best if
they test at 5yr 6 mo for kindergarden. The social emotional had twice
as much weight as the intellectional. That being said my oldest son (who
was born 5 weeks early) in June 16th started kindergarden at age 6. He
did do preschool (very hands on science/art/social) for three years. My
daughter was also tested and she could have gone to kindergarden but
Iited for her as well. (September 14th)

I have never regretted that decision as they have done well in school and
sports.

My youngest has a September 30th birthday. I would have waited even if
he was NT. This January I changed preschools to a solid typical pre-k
program which does help him to get ready for the structure of
kindergarden.

I would however measure how well your child is doing before you make
that decision. He may be ready for a preppie K or a younger K class.
There are both types offered nearby. (My school district will finally offer
one next year , too late for us)

Kathy

I am totally planning on doing that to my ds. My older son who is NT is the youngest in his class. He is in first grade and will turn 7 at the end of august. He has had 8 year olds in his class since January. Thank God he is ery advanced academically or he would have struggled.

GRRRRRRRRRRrrrr. Do not eve nget me started. Make SURE the district (if you use public schools) you are in will "LET" you hold your child back, first off!

Mine will not let me keep my dd in Kg an extra year without a fight.

I totally did NOT expect the pressure they put on my daughter, to learn academics in Kindergarten. If I had known I would have given her the year BEFORE I put her in. She may not even have NEEDED an IEP, then ... IMHO. I'd at least like the chance to find out.

[QUOTE=foxl]

GRRRRRRRRRRrrrr. Do not eve nget me started. Make SURE the district (if you use public schools) you are in will "LET" you hold your child back, first off!

Mine will not let me keep my dd in Kg an extra year without a fight.

[/QUOTE]

So True, So True - We had the same situation. Any time I brought up repeating Kindergarten, the room fell silent. Parents do have a say in whether or not a child will repeat, however the school also has a say (a BIG say). With our son, academics weren't a problem. However, he has delayed language which has, of course, impacted his social skills. The day before the IEP, his teacher called me and was very excited. She was able to hand pick my son and another student to work with next year. My son will be doing 1st grade acedemics in a regular classroom, however he will have social opportunities with the Kindergartners as well. She also told me that she would not let my son fail. I was totally taken off guard by this. Here they were trying to find a way to best meet my child's needs by trying a new approach. I ended up agreeing to let him pass to 1st grade. I am extremely anxious about this next school year. I know I can always ask to have his IEP reopened. I also got assurances from his teacher and the principal that he could repeat 1st grade. It's all sooooooo stressful.

I read that article last night and it was really interesting. What struck most
a cord with me is that in the US the kindergarden curriculum is really not
designed age appropriate. I grew up in a different country and what my
ds has to do in firt grade (spelling tests and bookreports!!!!) I did not do
till 4th and my education was in no way inferior. So I wish I had held him
back because not only is his asd a disadvantage but the curriculum is
ridiculous! If I could afford private school I'd find him one that is run with
kids age appropriate capabilities in mind.We held our son back in early childhood special ed an additional year, and I think it was the best thing for him.

Disney Girl that made the most sense to me. Apparently some suit very, very high up in the district is opposed to doing this.

They are doing so much for her -- WHY NOT this? Statistics? Economics? WHAAAAAAAAT? It makes no sense, when she has this carefully-prepared 21-page IEP and all the pullout time.

Warning - cynicism forthcoming....

To have a child repeat a grade is for the school to admit that they failed to educate that child appropriately. Especially if there is an IEP in place and goals were not met, this could open them up to legal exposure.

I was very concerned at the beginning of the school year about what would happen if C had to repeat. My primary worry was the socail stigma of being a twin but in a lower grade then his brother. I was told candidly by quite a few people that it is very, very rare for a child to repeat because of the reasons I mentioned above.

I think you are onto something there, Kristys. I held back both my six and seven year olds for next year. Up until this school year, we've bounced around A LOT, and they really had some difficulty settling in. They are "approaching district standards", but not quite there. They started quite late in the year, and that didn't help. (Long, upsetting story there, so I'll skip it)

However comma, the school district said it isn't their policy to retain children for a grade. They pass them along regardless, unless you the parent deem otherwise. I had to write a note to that effect, which basically absolved the school district of the responsibility for retaining them. Yikes! This was with everyone pretty much in agreement that it would be in their best interests to repeat. They would have simply passed them along to the next grade next year if my husband and I hadn't requested their retention.

Geesh. I had expected to defer to the experts here, and yet...oh well. I'm glad I have a say, and I'm betting that (although they will be a year older than the others) they will have a much more successful and pleasant experience this next school year.

Hubris, indeed, it would seem. I find it kind of funny (though not in a "ha-ha") sort of way, that I am expected to make this decision, when they are the educators! I would imagine they are better equipped to decide whether or not a child is ready to progress to the next year or not.

I imagine these kinds of policies might be the result of lawsuits filed by parents who wanted their kiddos to be passed to the next grade, and were refused. That's just a hunch on my part, since I didn't have the stones to ask that particular question, lol!

Ahhhhh ... HUBRIS then. Almost, legal defensiveness. Her IEP was only for speech, and was based on an evaluatio ndone by another SD, however. IF they could have done it and appeared not culpable, this would have been the year.We wanted to hold my twins back one having a dx the nt for kindergarden this fall but I believe we would lose our services, so opted to send them to kindergarden and hold them back in kindergarden agin once we move to NJ where they won't meet the cut off for 1st grade anyway.

My 4yr PDD-NOS was born in August. Before he was born we had decided that we would wait an exta year before starting kindergarten. His due dat was Sept. 15, he ended up getting her 4 weeks early and then got the ASD dx at 2yrs old. That pretty much sealed our decision. We had planned on that until just 2 months ago, he'll be 5 this year, when we realized just how advanced he is in academics. He is still lacking in social/emotional both because of age and the ASD, but the pre-k classes aren't very structured. We have our CSE mtg tomorrow to discuss next year's IEP. We are going to put him in Kindergarten because of the more stuctured routine. The school psychologist, Autism Consultant, and Speech Path all visited him in his present preschool setting and told us how just plain shocked they were at his abilities and social awareness. They said they will recommend reg. ed placement with a parttime aid structured around his other therapists. This is what we are ready for so I am really hoping that it goes through without too much of a battle.

Our no yet 2yr old daughter, on the other hand, was also born in August and we had the same plan for her. She is NT and slightly advanced, right now, she'll likely start Kindergarten at 5 as well.

I think it's interesting that someone would want to hold their child back but it does make alot of sense. It takes a lot of guts to do it since our society is all about overachieving and whose kid excells at this or that. I think it's great if a parent can put their childs needs above the possible criticism of family.