Annalise, from Raintree replied:
When I first moved to Lawrence, I looked up Montessori schools in the phone book. I believe in the Montessori philosophy and I was considering sending my son to a Montessori school. My hope was that there would be a school willing to accept my son into their program even though he has a disability. I fully expected to pay privately since I had to pay privately for any school outside of the "special needs only" school that was available in Washington. There weren't any funded inclusion programs for age three to five year olds. I sent away for an information packet on Raintree and it seemed like a wonderful school. My fear was that a private school should not be able to provide teachers with any kind of special education training. I did not yet realize that Raintree was part of a funded inclusive program through the school district.

We enrolled our son in a typical preschool before we moved to Lawrence. We saw the wonderful benefits of having our son in an inclusive setting. The only drawback was that I didn't feel like his needs were being met. He learned a lot from the other children, but the school was not equipped to address his special needs. I was thrilled to discover that Raintree is part of an inclusive program and that the staff has experience in special education. Raintree is the best of both worlds! My son benefits from an inclusive setting and also has his entire special needs met. Raintree should be a model for the world! I was excited to have Raintree as an option for my son. I couldn't be happier. Raintree works! I was completely sold when I visited the grounds and classrooms. Raintree is a beautiful environment and it fulfills the dream of a perfect school for my son.

Brianna's Mom, from White replied:
I took Brianna to the doctor when she was 21/2 years old and discussed with her my concerns for Brianna, because she just didn't seem to be progressing according to her age group. She then suggested that I take her to a speech pathologist to have her looked at. I did this, and the speech pathologist told me that I should have further testing done. I could have went with her and had more testing done, but the cost was outrageous and I was not about to pay that kind of money when I was a single parent on a $200.00 a week income. I talked with her day care provider at the time and she suggested that I take Brianna to Heart Spring and have more testing done and the best way to get some answers to my questions. Heart Spring ran tests; hearing, vision, and other various tests to see if her health was the answer. And it wasn't. They suggested that I could put her in classes but the cost of them was $60.00 for a half hour a week. Cheaper, but that was not what I wanted to do. Plus I didn't feel she needed "special classes", she needed individual help. Heart Spring suggested that there was a school in our area that targeted this problem and she would get the help that was needed for her free of charge. Then Brianna was tested and accepted. I felt relief because she didn't have to be labeled and she could be with children her age and get the help she needed.

Bonnie, from Bright Futures replied:
After Emily was diagnosed with Trisomy 21 I just knew she would need specialized treatments and teaching methods. Bright Futures had the most innovative program going, so I checked it out.

Christian's Mom, from Barkley replied:
Christian had been in several other programs that, overall, were not meeting his needs for improved language and social interaction skills. Our daycare provider highly recommended the Barkley Center and after visiting the center and meeting with Nancy, we decided to give it a try. We then visited for the first few days Christian was in the program and left feeling satisfied every day.

Debbie, from Bright Futures replied:
Otey needed one-on-one attention for education purposes. He previously knew nothing when it comes to numbers, etc.

Devon, from White replied:
Actually we never even knew such a program existed. A few months after Devin was born, we could tell he was not developing like a normal baby his age. He didn't crawl until he was almost one, started walking at 1 1/2, and his speech was slow at coming. Everything seemed to be a challenge for him. We were taking him to several different doctors and specialists for answers but they were always the same. They could find nothing wrong with him and told us to let him alone and he would be fine. This answer was not acceptable to us. We just knew something was wrong. Finally after several tests and even a CAT Scan coming out negative, we decided to take a different direction for help. A friend of ours suggested that we take Devin to Heart Spring, a place that specializes in children with special needs. After being tested at Heart Spring, we were told that Devin really did have some special needs and he was entered into their program. He was seen by a therapist twice a week for 30 minutes for OT and speech therapy. We were truly amazed at the progress he made here with his speech. But after being here for almost 2 years, Devin started to become bored with the program. He use to cry each time he had to go and started refusing to cooperate with the specialists. We felt like we had hit a plateau with him in this program. Since he was now reaching Preschool age, his therapist suggested that we contact the Special Education Office in the Wichita School System and see what they had to offer. After much cooperation from their office and some more testing, we were told that our area school had a program that we should check into. And the rest is history. The White Elementary Staff did some testing on Devin and he was enrolled into their program. At the time we started with them, I had no idea as to the time these people would be putting in to help my child. We feel it was a miracle and the grace of God that helped us to find such a program. We were very fortunate and are extremely thankful to this day.

Jane, from St. Ben's Preschool replied:
I wanted a program that specially met my son's special medical and educational needs with teachers and staff that are knowledgeable, however, I also wanted him to be with more advanced children. So that he could learn social and emotional skills from his own peers. A representative from USD 500 was present at Katie's initial developmental evaluation at KU Medical Center. She began receiving home-based services immediately following that evaluation. At the start of the next school year it was a natural progression to send he to St. Benedict's. No place else in this area offers the complete package of special education services and daycare appropriate for children with disabilities.

Kevin and Tony, from St. Ben's Preschool replied:
Our child was already enrolled in the program when she came to us as a foster child.

Mary, from Bright Futures replied:
By talking to Pamala, who came to the house to tell me about Head Start for my child, Michelle.

Mary, from Raintree replied:
After looking at other programs in the area, we decided that Raintree would be the best for our child. We heard lots of good things about it.

Nancy, from Raintree replied:
I observed and watched the Circle of Inclusion video. Upon observation, I know this is the best place for my son. . . I couldn't find any of the children with disabilities!

Stephanie, from St. Benedict's Infant/Toddler Program replied:
I liked the idea of the inclusion program and day care all in one place.

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