I'd vote for a play-based, part-time preschool though, for any kid.
Hmm... I agree with almost everything you said, st pauli girl, but not this. I think full-time preschool was better for my DS than part-time would have been, because it let him build serious long-term relationships with the other children and the staff. Also, the place he went to had very low staff turnover and was extremely well equipped with a great garden, which is harder for a place that takes children only very part-time to manage, though I'm sure there are exceptions. He was there full time from 10 months; it certainly didn't hold him back academically (or at least, if he'd have gone any faster without it, I don't know to know :-) and I credit it with his being far and away better at getting on with other children than either DH or I were at that age.
So my version is: I'd vote for a play-based preschool, for any child
