BRE and starting school???

[brenda-sw]

My almost 5 yr old is supposed to be starting Kindergarten in Sept. Full day, 7 hrs, 5 days a week. She has BRE and is still napping 1-2 hrs mid day. We live in NJ and the cut off for K is 10/1, A LOT of people hold back so potentially she could be in a class w/ many 6 yr olds and she will have just turned 5. I am wondering if I should hold her back for a year ??? She still really seems to need that mid day nap and I am worried that 7 hr days may start seizures again. She is on Keppra at bedtime and has been seizure free for one year, although still showing some seizure-like behaviors (at night) so...????


Anyone w/ BRE give me some insight as to how your child did w/ full day school and how they have done academically as they progress through the grades???


Any suggestions, opinions???

Thanks,

brenda

[mel239]

My children had no health issues(I am the one with E )and all 7 of my children stayed at home until the last possible moment.I have a 3yr old boy who will not start for 3 more years.Why rush anything and take a chance with something so important as education? Children benefit from the added maturity and my boys-esp. my twins benefitted greatly with school athletics.I always felt it easier this way than in a couple years when they have established friendships and have to stay behind or always struggle and feel inadequate because they cannot keep up.Life is hard enough,I cannot imagine how it would be for a child with a health issue.I have graduated 4 from high school and 3 from more than 4 yrs of college and not one of them has ever suffered because of starting late.Hope this helps

[1wiggie]

You know your daughter better than anyone and if you think she needs these naps then I would keep her at home as long as possible. She has the rest of her life to get used to the big bad world My son, Jack, was diagnosed in between kindergarten and first grade but we later found out (from him) that he had been having partial seizures for a year before we knew. He's done average academically and struggles the most with math. (he's in 3rd grade now) It's hard to tell if any behavior issues are from the abnormal brain pattern or from the meds. He's on Keppra and Trileptal and is dosed both AM and PM with a bigger dose at night. (he has both daytime and nighttime seizures) I'm curious if your daughter is on Keppra or Keppra XR? ack does well but when we go thru dose increases I do let him sleep in as much as I can because it makes him so drowsy so he's been tardy some this year. I feel like he'll do better in school with more sleep so that's what I try to do. Bottom line is go with your heart!

[1wiggie]

I should also note that Jack turned 6 in November of his kindergarten year. He's a little older than most and I think he really needed that extra time!

[momofthree]

I agree, if your gut tells you to keep her home another year I would go with that. My son's birthday is 10/13, our cut off is 12/1, I sent him and I regret it tremendously. At the time I did not know he had epilepsy but I did know something just was not rigtht. He does fairly well academically, he struggles more with the social aspect, but I wonder how much better he would be if I held him. My daughter is starting in September and she will be five in August, I have no hesitation in sending her, so bottom line is go with your gut!!! Good luck.