Frustrated with lack of Special Needs schools in this area
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Anonymous
| Just a vent but I am so frustrated by the lack of schools in the DMV that specialize or even are able to handle students with ASD. My dd has a severe expressive language delay and (mainly as a result of the language issues) a huge delay in social/interaction skills. She’s ahead academically and has no behavioral issues but we are struggling to find school options for elementary. Our public school district is not a good option. I wish we could move but we can’t due to jobs and also don’t want to uproot older siblings. It just seems surprising to me that in a large metro area with so much money and families who value education, the special needs schools are abysmal and few and far between. There are so few choices and many just seem downright awful or for profit. I wish I was ten years younger and had not exhausted myself dealing with my sweet DD - I joke that I would open a school. |
Anonymous
| Why not public school? Does she need a therapeutic setting all day? What’s your school district? Have you explored what they have to offer? |
Anonymous
np Most public schools are not capable for helping kids with special needs. |
Anonymous
| What we really need is high school that can work with our ASD kids. |
Anonymous
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We moved to be inbounds for a public school that had a great reputation with children with special needs. We calculated that since he needed therapies and down the road would need all sorts of coaching and tutoring, we would need to pay for lots of services outside of school anyway, regardless of whether it was private SN or public, so we preferred investing in a house that might appreciate and put him in a good public, and spend the rest of our money on whatever he needed outside of school.
MCPS has autism and Asperger's programs in some of their schools. It also has GT/LD programs for gifted, talented and learning disabled students (most of which have some blend of ADHD and HFA). You don't need to be in-bounds for each particular school for these special programs, but you do need to live in Montgomery County. We chose to live as close as possible, so he wouldn't have a long bus ride. 12 years later, and it's worked out well. |
Anonymous
| The intersection between people who need a SN high school and people who can afford 50k a year may not be enough to justify additional schools. |
Anonymous
That seems like quite the generalization. |
Anonymous
ACPS |
Anonymous
Actually, some of them are much better than private schools. It depends what kind of SN your child has. If they are profoundly affected, then public is not a good fit, since they are legally required to jam some form of the curriculum down everyone's throats, but you can start there to push for a FREE transfer to a private SN. This is challenging because obviously only a few cases can be accepted each year. If they are not profoundly impaired, then some publics have special programs for various types of SN (emotional, autism, Asperger's), and these are usually pretty good. They can also do well in a general education setting with an IEP or a 504 plan and services and accommodations that teachers can organize for them, such as a extended time, preferential seating, repeated directions, scribing or one-on-one aide, pull-outs, etc... It depends on the attitude of the Principal a lot of times. If the Principal and administration pay attention to hiring good people on their IEP teams (counselors, paraeducators, etc) and remind teachers on how to implement IEPs and 504s, then a child with special needs can thrive in public. If the Principal is uninformed and couldn't care less about special needs, then the supports will be lacking. But a general rule of thumb is that if a school already has a dedicated program housed within its walls, like an autism program, then even if your child is not autistic but needs services outside of that program, you can be reasonably sure that teachers and aides are already trained and sensitized to supporting such students. So check websites. |
Anonymous
I think OP's other issue is that the kid isn't behind academically, which can make some of the local schools a bad fit. Objectively, though, we've got a ton of special education schools in the area compared to most places. I grew up somewhere where the nearest private school with any kind of autism program was hours away, meanwhile we've got Kennedy Krieger, Ivymount, Katherine Thomas, Foundations, and Phillips all of which serve students with autism. It's not perfect, but it's hard to call that a lack. |
Anonymous
| We actually need more schools for children with behavioral issues and more intensive special needs, but who will receive a diploma. There is an abundance of options if your child is gifted or on grade level. And for behavior, I’m talking issues like being disruptive not aggressive. There is only one private option I am aware of and it’s not great. No options really for kids with low average iqs, learning issues, and behaviors and many, many, many kids in that boat. |
Anonymous
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My dear OP. There are a LOT of private SN schools in this area compared to the rest of the world. Because in the rest of the world (apart from a few other wealthy pockets of the US), THERE ARE PRACTICALLY NO SN SCHOOLS OR SERVICES, private or public. Europe and wealthy Asian countries are very behind when it comes to educating children who are different. I am from western Europe and even today, autistic children cannot find schools in my country! This has been the subject of recent debate on my national news, actually. There are single parents with autistic children who cannot go to work because their children cannot go to school, and they rely on government aid to survive. The government has promised reforms. The USA is BY FAR - by so very far it's just not even funny - the most advanced and tolerant country when it comes to supporting special needs and disabilities. I think it comes from its highly individualist concept of self. Asian countries have a more communal concept of self and fitting into the group is highly desirable - which also means that being different is bad, and there is an enormous amount of stigma and lack of support surrounding disabilities. European countries exist somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, but they're still not has open-minded about SN than the US, and have not invested in educating children with differences. So in the depth of your frustration with lack of services, please remind yourself of this every now and then. |
Anonymous
Which school are you thinking of? |
Anonymous
+1. We have an abundance of choices locally. They may not be a perfect fit and every school always has room for improvement but we certainly do not lack options in this area. |
Anonymous
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There are many SN schools in the area for autism - but they are generally for children who cannot be served by public. You should be happy your kid doesn’t need private placement.
Public schools are the best option for your child. How did you conclude public won’t work? Publics are the only option where there is a legal obligation to serve your child, plus some transparency and legal oversight to prevent abuse. It’s far from perfect, but it is where the services and expertise are focused. |