Do you have an ADHD or aspergers child in a mainstream private?

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Anonymous wrote:for all of you recommending Field, am interested in where all the kids with Aspergers, etc are at Field-- there are not many. A few, but the classes are by no means filled with kids on the spectrum.

The admissions team at Field told us that Field may be Ok for kids with mild issues (presumably like ADD) but is not the place for kids with more serious LDs; Lab School may be more appropriate in that case. Call them and ask - they were very upfront about it when asked.

Lab does not take kids on the spectrum -- they are a great example of admissions offices/educators who should know better than to paint all diagnoses with a broad brush, yet make decisions based on stereotypes.

But, yes, for kids with more significant academic challenges, Lab would be more appropriate than Field.

Lab specializes in learning disabilities and not Asperger's where the primary issue is with social communication and pragmatics so it serves a specific niche. Not every SN school can serve every SN.

Right, but some kids have both, and many kids with language-based learning disabilities (Lab's specialty) have pragmatic weaknesses. But Lab still has a blanket rule that doesn't take into account the specific needs of specific students. But this is a topic for another thread.

And yet we know a child with a spectrum diagnosis who attends Lab. So who knows how these things work in practice.

And they are probably in an older grade. Lab use to take kids on the spectrum but then they changed their mission to focus on learning disabilities.

Actually, no. Early elementary in this case.

If you call Lab and ask, they will tell you that they do not take kids on the spectrum.

This is one of those phenomena that I find counterproductive. I can sort-of see why Lab says that because they want to focus on helping kids with specific learning challenges and they don't want to open the floodgates to application from parents who believe theirs is a school that treats spectrum issues.

But in the first place, although they say that, it clearly isn't true. For one thing we know two kids there in the elementary school who are diagnosed as being on the spectrum, and I'm guessing that there are plenty more we don't know about. And for a second thing, EVERY school has kids on the spectrum, whether the school has looked over a diagnosis or not.

It would be more accurate and more honest for Lab to say instead, "Our mission is to help kids with the following learning challenges. . ." rather than "we won't accept kids on the spectrum." Saying the latter makes them appear both more closed-minded and less forthright than even mainstream schools. In any case there must be a better way than keeping up what is obviously a facade.

To point out the obvious, that is exactly what the Lab Mission says, "For almost 50 years, The Lab School of Washington has been providing an exceptional, college-preparatory academic experience for bright students (grades 1-12) with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences (often referred to as learning disabilities)."

They don't take kids on the spectrum any longer b/c of the public funding issues. But there are many privates that specifically take kids on the spectrum.

That's just not true. They don't take kids on the spectrum because they don't want to take kids on the spectrum. It has nothing to do with public funding, as they reject kids on the spectrum even who are private pay.

[Anonymous]

Not sure why you'd want to shoe-horn a kid into a school where they won't be a fit. There are other programs that specialize in ASD. I have heard that Lab doesn't teach social skills and doesn't teach pragmatics, maybe that's why they don't want to take kids on the spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you'd want to shoe-horn a kid into a school where they won't be a fit. There are other programs that specialize in ASD. I have heard that Lab doesn't teach social skills and doesn't teach pragmatics, maybe that's why they don't want to take kids on the spectrum.

Agree and the programs that serve kids with Asperger's do not provide supports and/or remediation for language based learning disabilities which Lab does because most kids with Asperger's do not have this issue. All the public school programs and private schools that are for Asperger's want the kids to be at or above grade level academically.

Of course, this begs the question where do you send a child who needs social skills and pragmatic speech support who also has language based learning disabilities. I guess these kids would be diagnosed as having ADHD and sent to Lab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the person with the happy ending who did lots of social work early on, where did you find the best social supports to be. I am desperate for something her. My ds is in a mainstream oublic but really needs private for high school in dc and I really would love to do a couple years of social support therapies before then.

Are you in MC? MCPS has an excellent Aspergers program at Tilden and Walter Johnson. And, if you see these kids around the school and wile mainstreamed you would not know that many are on the spectrum.

We have one child at a Big 3, but have kept our mildly on the spectrum daughter in MCPS because we have found that they ahve the personnel, time, and special programs that work for her. After a frank talk with admissions at our Big 3, we jointly concluded that although she would be able to function there with some extra support, the public school option was best for her. On thing is that people with autism are now beginning to assert that their way of thinking is different but not a disability. They have chat groups and blogs about this. So being in a program with her peers is very important.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you'd want to shoe-horn a kid into a school where they won't be a fit. There are other programs that specialize in ASD. I have heard that Lab doesn't teach social skills and doesn't teach pragmatics, maybe that's why they don't want to take kids on the spectrum.

Agree and the programs that serve kids with Asperger's do not provide supports and/or remediation for language based learning disabilities which Lab does because most kids with Asperger's do not have this issue. All the public school programs and private schools that are for Asperger's want the kids to be at or above grade level academically.

Of course, this begs the question where do you send a child who needs social skills and pragmatic speech support who also has language based learning disabilities. I guess these kids would be diagnosed as having ADHD and sent to Lab.

There are several good private options for that child - such as Siena