| Meg started
in the NECC preschool program
when she was 4½ years
old. After 2 years of intensive
instruction, while Meg had
made much progress, she
was not yet ready to be
included in her local public
school. Meg was able to
use her PEC’s book
to tell anyone what she
needed. Through her training
in vocal imitation, she
had a repertoire of many
single words, and was just
beginning to combine them
into simple sentences. Needing
to be with older children,
Meg moved to the Intensive
component of the Day School.
In the Day School, Meg
continued to have one-to-one
direct instruction. In
addition to her continued
work on communication,
developing leisure skills,
and life skills training,
Meg also began to attend
the academic classroom
for an hour each morning.
There, she worked on beginning
reading and writing, and
some basic number concepts.
Meg’s teacher, Alison,
continued to go home with
her for 2 hours every
week, and they focused
on activities Meg can
be a part of in her home
community.
Now 8 years old, Meg’s
teacher has started to
accompany her to her local
2nd grade classroom a
few mornings each week.
So far things are going
well, but the process
has been a slow one, as
Meg can be easily overwhelmed.
Meg’s family is
optimistic, but also comforted
by the realization that
if this becomes too much
for Meg, she can continue
in NECC’s Day School
for as long as she needs
to: "Our goal is
for Meg to be able to
go to school with the
rest of the children in
our neighborhood, but
we also want to be realistic
in our expectations for
her. The pace of the public
school can be very overwhelming,
and it can be a struggle
for Meg to hold it together.
It is such a relief to
know that if the public
school is just too much
for Meg, she can stay
at NECC and continue to
learn the things she needs
to be successful as an
adult.”
|
