Any Experience with ESE in the Public School for My PreK Daughter?

My daughter lives in Lithia and has a downs son who is in a special school, The school is Willis Peters Acceptional Center in Dover ,Fla. There is school bus service and only a 20 minute drive from Lithia. The school is wonderful for special needs kids.It does provide all kinds of therapy right through the school. My son in law's sister was also a special needs child and went to the same school my grandson is in now. They really are wonderful with children with all types of handicaps and my daughter has gotten certified to be a teacher's aid in that school and works with Blind kids who also have some emotiona problems.She checked out 2 other schools closer to home that deal with some special needs children but was not happy with what they provided. I would highly recommend this school for your daughter as I am sure then can provide all that she needs. My grandson has come such a long way since starting school there. He gets speach therapy I know but not sure of what else. Hope this helps

I live very close to where you are moving. My daughter is in the ESE program and we are very pleased with all her accomplishments and progress. While you wait to move, search 'Child Find' on the internet and contact them; they will instruct you on what to do. Let me know if you would like to talk also; I will be happy to assist in any way I can.

A little about me: I have been happily married for 21 years and a SAHM with two incredible daughters (15 and 10).

Hi J. - I am from California and have lived in a handful of states before settling here, in Dover. We lived in FishHawk Ranch (which is basically what Lithia is) for two years before completing building this house and moving up the road a bit. All three of my kids went to FishHawk Creek Elementary. (Actually they still go until Wednesday ... wishful thinking that getting up early is over) There is also Beavis there in the subdivision. My daughter, who is now 8, has Pervasive Developmental Delay. I LOVED the school. You need to be the advocate there in the beginning and make sure things go the way you want, but the people there are great. Mrs. Dawson, who handled Catie's speech therapy was responsive and caring. Her teachers have all gone above and beyond to ensure Catie gets the most out of her class time. There are no outside agencies involved in her education, however, I can put you in touch with an ESE teacher and a therapist, is you choose. I do know that you need to have a current IEP and the original medical diagnosis in order for the paperwork part to get done. Let me know if you would like me to pass on an email address for them to get in touch with you. I think you will find that FishHawk can be a bit of a clique at first, however, the community is filled with some great people!

Will you be coming to the Lakeland area?

HI J.
I am a pediatric Speech Language Pathologist that lives in Valrico and works for St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in their Riverview satellite center...not far from Lithia. We see many children after school even when they get services in the schools. THere are options besides just the school system...through your insurance you can get therapies in addition to what is provided in the school system. It is hard to get services in the schools if she doesn't meet their criteria. SPeech is provided in groups and OT/PT are very limited services. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!

L.