Preschools for Autistic Children in Emeryville
Hi Everyone - I'm trying ot see if someone else have experience with this. We live in Emeryville, and my little girl is soon to turn 3 and we'll likely apply for IEP through the school district. Everything I've read on the thread has been regarding programs in Berkeley or Oakland. Is there anything in Emeryville? I've heard that if there isn't a school near by then we can go out of the district. If anyone else has experience with this, would appreciate hearing about the process and the schools you ended up choosing. My daughter has been doing well with ABA now (she has language, though behind, and difficulties with interacting with peers) and I think she would be ok in a program that is integrated with other children, but with some extra support on the side.
Diana
Parent Replies
Hi! I can't speak to resources in Emeryville, but I wanted to recommend getting in touch with the public preschools in Berkeley. You don't have to live in Berkeley to attend the BUSD preschools, and they do have inclusion classrooms. Since it's a public school program, they have IEP teams/meetings, etc. Best of luck to you!
https://www.berkeleyschools.net/schools/early-childhood-education/
Emeryville does mostly full inclusion from what I’ve heard and the preschool services are typically integrated into the headstart/YMCA preschool programs. They have specialists who will do a variety of push in/pull out therapy depending on your child’s IEP. Once the district makes their offer, I’d recommend going to look at the program they offer to see if you’re comfortable. If not, call another IEP meeting to discuss and see if there are other options available. Through the IEP process you won’t be able to pick and choose any school, but hopefully the district will work with you to find a mutually agreeable solution and offer of services. (I work for another local school district in preschool special education.) Feel free to contact me with more questions if you’d like!