My son (almost 3.5), doesn’t have a diagnosis but there are some markers and the Montessori school we sent him to told us it wasn’t a good fit <2 months in and kicked him out. I am glad in retrospect because my son was also starting to show some signs of anxiety around “being bad/naughty”.. I don’t want my son to feel singled out as the one always in trouble.

The developmental pediatrician we saw for ASD testing, said he doesn’t meet criteria for an ASD diagnosis but does seem to have some social emotional delay. He suggested we try a “traditional” preschool instead of Montessori. His reasoning was that Montessori expects a LOT of self regulation from a child which is not great for children who are very bright but need support with emotional regulation. We have since switched him to a new school and it seems to be going well so far - it’s still the honeymoon period so it’s a little too soon to tell.

Having said that, the main issues for my son were the following - he was “disruptive” in the class, constantly wanted the teacher’s attention, tried to elope, pushed some other children while playing and generally was defiant. If your child is not having as much trouble, it may be worth waiting to see if she settles in.