Thoughts on Mclean School (in Potomac) for our kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that McLean might be a good fit. Have you been to visit? If his issues really are mild, I'd avoid schools like Maddux or Lab. What about WES?



Why avoid lab or maddux? do you have experience with these schools?

Yes. The kids at Lab have significant delays and most of the kids at Maddux have PDD or AS diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

most of the kids at maddux DO NOT have an ASD or PDD diagnosis. the school claims that only half of the kids qualify for an IEP. most of the kids have sensory issues that result in attention problems, or poor fine motor or language skills.

[Anonymous]

20:02 Are you basing that on your experience or the "claims" of the administrators? Every school has its spin.

I'm basing my statement on talking to a large number of Maddux parents about their kid's particular diagnosis. Many, many of them have Aspie or PDD diagnoses (which are both ASD diagnoses). Many also have additional issues to be sure - SPD, ADD, language, "regulatory disorders" etc.

The school promotes that line about IEPs. A friend was told by Maddux not to bother pursuing an IEP for her child. They ended up qualifying for services with no problem.

Maddux does a great job for particular kinds of kids. In determining rightness of fit, prospective parents should be aware that the school has a very behaviorist focus and that many of the kids have ASD diagnoses. The school is not forthcoming about this. They imply that many grads go on to typical public schools, this year anyway, that was not the case.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is a behaviorist approach?

What about Mclean though? Are any of their kids ASD (or even Aspie)? They appear to emphasize pragmatics for their children. Wondering why if none of their kids are ASD.

[Anonymous]

15:59 -- 20:20 here. we have enrolled our dc at maddux for the coming year, and i'm very surprised to hear you say what you're saying. i have spoken to a number of parents, as well, and none of them had kids with asd diagnoses, not that i think it makes that much difference when you're talking about as wide a spectrum as exists at this point. and we also worked with an educ consultant, who told me that most kids do go on to mainstream schools. are you suggesting that every kid who left last year went to lab or kingsbury or even ivymount? how do you know? does your kid go to maddux? where does your kid go?

[Anonymous]

20:20 perhaps it depends on a given class? did you talk to current parents or parents who are applying?

i didn't use the word "mainstream", i said "typical public schools". i think many go on to schools with smaller class sizes. you could ask the school for info on where graduates have gone. i'd be surprised if some kids haven't gone to schools like lab and kingsbury. i don't think that they would take kids that would end up at ivymount, they seem to want bright, high functioning kids. they added a 1st grade class this year so probably not so many kids are leaving.

not a maddux parent but very seriously considered it. know several maddux families. we went the public school route with an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Do you know families who have done both Maddux and the IEP route . For example, half day Maddux half day PEP class? If so, how did they feel about having their child in school all day? was it successful for the child?

You said you went the public school route do you mind sharing what your child's issues are? Are they more regulatory/language? Thanks

[Anonymous]

For the parent who is going to Maddux this coming year, how old is your child?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I was interested in learning about Mclean and whether they have ASD children there and whether it is appropriate for kids with milder issues.

Can the parents interested in Maddux start another thread on Maddux?

[Anonymous]

OP, thinking outside the McLean/Maddux type of box, what about another year at a school like St. Columba's? They spend a lot of time outdoors on the playground. Are you set on an academic program for next year?

[Anonymous]

Well, I didn't want to exclude Mclean until I knew more about it.

[Anonymous]

This is such an atypical year, with the economy and all. McLean has been wanting to move toward being more a school for NT kids, so in theory it would work well for your child, there would be a mix with higher end kids. This year, instead of expanding to 2 K classes, as was planned, they have been struggling to fill 1. I would be careful about who is in that class. See if you can find parents of incoming K kids and feel them out. I think that they had a picnic and some other events, so the parents may have met some of the other kids. Maybe post on the main list? Also factor in that they have a really long day and the kids need to take the bus in, they have a neighborhood agreement. If they are not out yet I'd recommend going and sitting in on the current K class and getting a feel for the place.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to highjack your thread, but just to answer the specific question re: Maddux - I don't know anyone who has gone 1/2 day. I did hear of at least one kid who split the day between St. Columba's and Maddux. Entirely possible that kids split it with PEP. Might be worth looking into if your child would benefit from the extra therapy. Good luck, I hope it works out really well for you. There is a MC Needs Yahoo Group, that might be a good place to sound out other Maddux and PEP families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such an atypical year, with the economy and all. McLean has been wanting to move toward being more a school for NT kids, so in theory it would work well for your child, there would be a mix with higher end kids. This year, instead of expanding to 2 K classes, as was planned, they have been struggling to fill 1. I would be careful about who is in that class. See if you can find parents of incoming K kids and feel them out. I think that they had a picnic and some other events, so the parents may have met some of the other kids. Maybe post on the main list? Also factor in that they have a really long day and the kids need to take the bus in, they have a neighborhood agreement. If they are not out yet I'd recommend going and sitting in on the current K class and getting a feel for the place.

I did get a tour and saw a KG class. But none of the kids seemed to be classic autistic. I have no idea if there were any Aspergers children there as I don't know enough about Aspergers to identify it. I can only identify regulatory disorders because thats what my kid has. None of the teachers admitted to having any autistic children in the class. And of course I didn't feel comfortable asking this question.

There were other reasons why I am thinking (haven't decided) about excluding Mclean from our list though - it was a cluttered classroom where the kids and I were bumping into things. It looked messy. For a kid with regulatory issues, a small, busy and cluttered classroom with kids practically falling on each other is no good. There also appeared to be great disorder.

[Anonymous]

We were also ambivalent about their K classroom, our child doesn't do well with a ton of visual clutter. McLean's first grade classrooms seemed much better in that regard. We also thought that their day might be too long for our regulatory kiddo. The teachers did seem very experienced and kind though.