first as a teacher…I worked with young children for over 20 years and in that time I have never comprimised the learning speed any one child over the entire class..many times the “normal” children are not even aware that the special needs child is any different than themselves except may they cant run or play the same way…some of the special needs children bring a fun way to learn into the class…one year I had a deaf boy in the classroom and we all learned some sign language so we could all have fun and talk or sing in the same way.

second as the parent of a special needs child (one at both ends of the spectrum)…my son has multiple learning disablities and needs lots of supervision as he tends to wander, my youngest daughter was very smart(already reading and writing by the age of 4) and both of them attended a bi-lingual preschool program and were very happy in them.

third…as a parent-child advocate…..all parents every where want what is best for their child…and not every location has both “normal” and special needs schools and classrooms and I have seen both parties benefit from each other and have had children in both types of programs….my daughters were cross-age tutors or what could be called peer mentors but at a very young age..where they helped the special needs children cope with life in gereral and this mentoring helped them both believe that everyone is just a “regular human being” their words not mine…..

A regular preschool with only typical kids usually allow children to learn through exploration and more indirect strategies. When children with special needs are present more direct educational strategies are usually used which benefit all children learn basic skills quicker. There is also explicit instruction on language and social concepts which is often beneficial for all preschool children and these skills are not always explicitly taught in typical settings.

Also children without disabilities are often chosen as leaders and role models. With this increased “responsibility” I have seen many young children develop some amazing leadership skills as well as compassion, caring and understanding. One little boy in an inclusion class I am sure is going to be school president one day as a result of all the leadership skills he has developed and ability to make friends with more difficult children.

Your child will not only provide benefit to the other children, but I believe there will be lots of positive consequences for your child if it is a well run program.

Besides, even in a regular school, nobody learns at the same set pace.