center based program or early intervention which is better?

amother

Plum

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 4:40 pm

My child has early intervention services coming to our home. She will be joining CPSE and then the services will be provided at her school in September.

For the summer, she also has the option of going to a center based program in the summer and getting her services at the center or Extending early intervention and staying home with the babysitter while the therapists and SI will come to service her at home.

Which option is better for my child??did you have experience with this ??
I can extend EI to come to my home for the summer or send to a center based program where shell get services there in the summer. What should I choose??

seeker

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:09 pm

Without knowing all the details that would certainly affect the decision, my general leaning is toward center. If you said she could stay home with you then maybe EI, but if you're talking babysitter and having therapists run in and out, a center will provide her with a more developmentally supportive structure.

Also, making some inferences based off your OP, it sounds like the child has special needs, has been at home until now, and is going to join a preschool next year. As such, going to a center for the summer could give her a nice head start learning how centers/schools work - including getting used to being out of the home and away from mommy/babysitter for a chunk of time. Particularly if the preschool she's heading to is not self-contained special ed, this is important.

amother

Lemon

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:13 pm

It also depends what skills she's working on, and whether it would be more beneficial to work in her natural environment. For example, if she's learning to manage stairs, it's preferable to practice on her own stairs at home. If she's working on play skills, using her own toys is a plus. Etc.

The benefit of a center based program is that hopefully the therapists have more of an opportunity to collaborate. It's nice when they all have a bigger picture and can join forces.

mha3484

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:15 pm

I agree with seeker. I have a child without special needs but is very timid, quiet, takes a long time to warm up to new people so the summer before he started school I sent him to half a summer of a small camp and it was so good for him. He got used to being with a group, following instructions, playing with the other children. It was really invaluable.

seeker

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:16 pm

I dunno, if she's going to school next year it would be just as useful for her to learn how to use school toys (most preschools have similar types of toys, and you need to learn how to play with other kids the same age which you don't get at home.)

As a SEIT, I see a lot more potential in a center - again this is a major generalization so I don't need to hear about the person you know who etc etc. I know them too. But most of the time the kid gets more support and enrichment in a center.

ra_mom

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:20 pm

amother wrote:

Between those 2 options I'd choose the center.
If you were home and overseeing the progress I'd choose differently.

naomi2

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:23 pm

Not knowing your child, I would say go for the center. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The environment is so enriching your child can grow amazingly over the summer. If they are offering it, it means they think your child can benefit. If they offer for next year I would continue. These years are critical for development. Also it's free.

amother

Oak

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 5:56 pm

I work in a school with therapies on premises if your child is going to the same program as they are going in September in the summer then it is worth it, otherwise do it at home because transferring and contracts is very hard to deal with

amother

Lemon

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 6:10 pm

seeker wrote:

Yes, that could be the case. Speaking as a therapist, I'll say that some children benefit more from services at home while others benefit more from center based. I was offering some advantages of home based therapy, which may or may not be applicable to op.

Op, why don't you ask her current therapists what they think?

amother

Plum

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 9:32 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks everyone for the replies.

She would be going to the same center based program in the summer as in September. But, if theres an opening, we will have an option to start july instead of september.

We do know all the therapists working at home. They do very well with her and dont slack off. Its a great idea to ask the therapists what they think is better.

Some of you wrote "if your child is special needs...." well, what do u mean by this? Everyone who has cpse services gets an iep which is considered special needs, or am I mistaken??

amother

Lime

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 10:38 pm

Agree with seeker 100%. I have a 2 year old who recently started services. If I could put him into a center based program instead of paying 1000+ to a camp for some structure for a couple hours, I would do that.

miami85

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 11:21 pm

Without knowing the details of your child but from working in the "business" of CPSE programs I would say the following. It depends 1) if your child is on the spectrum or not. If yes, I'd say it depends how ready the child is for the classroom and prompt level. If the child is still very much HOH then you want the individualized ABA instruction. If the child is flying through programs and is very compliant then h/she is ready for the classroom. If not, then the child may benefit more from being around other kids. I think the same can be said for a very sensory/high activity child. If they benefit from more individualized attention then get it where its less distracting at home because the ratio goes up in a centerbased program 2)If the spot will still be there in September. Some programs have openings from kids who aged-out or moved on and want to fill the seats in the summer. Some programs have spots only opening up in September, so just make sure that the seat in the class ratio on the IEP will still be available.

Librarian

Wed, Apr 25 2018, 8:52 am

Without knowing more details I would say the center. I run a legal daycare and have therapists coming and going all day. Many are very dedicated and hard working but several over the years have been very inconsistent - coming late, leaving early, missing sessions or generally wasting session time. I think your child will get much more out of a center. That being said, children are also very likely to imitate the other children in the group so perhaps an inclusive class would be even better.