Any current MADDUX families?

[Anonymous]

If you don't think it's a great fit for your child, I wouldn't take the risk. We did, and regret it. It's not right for every child. The OT and SLP being part of the school day is convenient but given that the size of the group is 12 and they are there 3 hours per week I don't know how much individual attention the kids get, you might do better with a small handwriting group. There are some difficult to manage kids and several of the teachers are new and do not seem to have much experience with SN kids. It's ok but if $ is an issue I would look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Our child has been at Maddux for two years.
If you are concerned that your child would be ill-served by a very structured environment, don't go to Maddux.
Our child really really needs structure and is thriving there.
Somewhat upset by the poster who said the kids seem flat.
Noone's ever described our child that way.

[Anonymous]

We are at Maddux and it has been fine. I agree with the prior posters that if you are concerned about structure Maddux might not be the right place. I think that you mentiioned McLean, they have OT support, pragmatics, and I think they even do little social skills "friendship" groups if needed. I would ask specifically at McLean how self directed the kids can be, a friend has a child there and it still sounds pretty structured. How about something like Lowell?

[Anonymous]

Have you considered a small school with a strong community feel like Grace Episcopal with outside OT and pragmatic language help? If he really likes to be self directed I'd think that Maddux could possibly be very frustrating for him.

[Anonymous]

My child went to Maddux and we Loved it. It is a miracle place, well worth the $$ it cost, and the drive. The support we were given was exceptional. Our son is in a regular school environment with no services of any kind. I attribute it all to the early intervention at Maddux.

You can always do private therapy, but do you want your child to function in a private therapeutic environment or do you want them to be as mainstreamed as possible? Maddux provides the kids the opportunity to interact in a realistic classroom setting as well as get the support they initially need.

[Anonymous]

I would listen to your instincts about your particular child. Maddux serves a particular niche and if your child likes to be self directed there are not many (if any, except for recess) chances for that. It works ok for us but our child needs the direction and structure. It might not be the best fit in your particular case. I think that Lowell and McLean have some of the supports you are looking for. You could also do a heck of a lot of supplementing of a county program for less than $23K.

[Anonymous]

Maddux is a project of the Ivymount School and shares its very strong ABA focus. If all you want is small classes and it would be easier to have services at school then something like McLean or Lowell might be a better fit. McLean offers a lesser degree of in class services for younger kids and pull out services if they need more.

If your child needs a lot of behavior modification to function in a large class later, then Maddux is a great place for that, it's why people say that their children have been transformed. If your goal is to put your child in a large public school they are great at training them to be ready for that. It all depends on what level and kind of help your child needs and what environment you are looking for. There are some public schools in both DC and MD that would offer smaller classes and also have SLPs and OTs on staff.

[Anonymous]

Pray tell, what schools in MD or DC offer smaller classes than Maddux? (Less than 15)

[Anonymous]

8:24 here - Smaller than the typical public school 26-28, not smaller than Maddux.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:24 here - Smaller than the typical public school 26-28, not smaller than Maddux.

Thanks. Got it