Can't find the perfect school!!

[Anonymous]

I am so frustrated right now with our school choices. My DS lies somewhere in the middle of "no-man's land"....kinda like Goldie Locks where there just does not seem to be a good fit school-wise for him. He has too many needs for McLean, not enough for Diener and for some reason not the right fit for Lab either.

DS has ADHD/Inattentive, Sensory and Motor Coordination difficulties - and not on the spectrum. He is a loving and kind child who we just can't seem to find the right school for.
MoCo is doing their best, he has an IEP - but they are not really equipped to tend to him for what he really needs. Frankly, we can't afford private but we would sell our house if we needed to.

He is in OT twice a week, gets pulled out for services at school (speech, reading) and we are throwing tutoring at him this summer. I am so afraid for him and for his future as I feel like we're in quick-sand and just barely staying sane!!

I guess I just wanted to vent, but any ideas would be welcome too.

[Anonymous]

As a place to start, what is he not getting that he needs?

[Anonymous]

OP, is he medicated for the ADHD? How old is he? Could he benefit from an OT summer camp like Lynne Israel's? Perhaps some type of speech camp? Have you talked to any consultants? I've heard that Suzie Blattner can be really helpful both in finding and in working with schools. She may be able to take a look at school in these last few weeks to get a sense. In our case, taking kind of a biomed approach and working with Kelly Dorfman was very helpful in getting DS's brain to seemingly work better, we saw improvements across the board. Just throwing out ideas. Good luck OP.

[Anonymous]

Did you look at Kingsbury?

[Anonymous]

OP here -

DS is 7, going into 2nd grade. His real issue seems to be the sensory integration portion. While teachers understand ADHD, they are totally clueless with SI disorders. He is on adderrall, which does help, but not enough. He iis also in OT twice per week.

I am very open to the bio-med route, and are actually getting him tested for food allergies today. He has seasonal allergies.
PP who mentioned bio-meds, can you please provide more details? what/where?

Kingsbury is not an option because their students' needs are far greater than my DS'. It seems to be geared toward children who are not on the higher-education track, and that is not our goal. DS is quite capable, and will go to college...even though that's 10 years away

We are putting him in speech over the summer, as well as a social pragmatics camp. I think that Lynn Isreal's group is for younger kiddos?

[Anonymous]

OP, if you don't mind sharing, how do the SI issues affect him in school, and how has the school been unable to address these issues? What more does he need, in your opinion? I ask as a fellow SPD mom who plans to send her DD to MoCo public school. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Also...where do you live? Have you heard of Children's Learning Center in Rockville? They go up to 5th grade and are inclusive.

[Anonymous]

Your son sounds like my daughter but she does dyslexia as well. I would not reccomend dcps. Did you consider the Lab School?

[Anonymous]

You might try identifying methods that you have seen in schools you have looked at and liked and then provide information about these methods to your child's current school. See if they are willing to try. Is your child getting "in school" OT? If not, can your private OT collaborate with the teacher to come up with solutions for sensory issues. If your school is open to this kind of collaboration it may be a great solution. If not, and many schools are real sticks in the mud about collaborating, then it sounds like a change of schools may be in order.

[Anonymous]

Have not considered CLC in Rockville as I thought they were mainly a school for ASD kiddos?

Lab declined us, with no explanation. Probably best as we would never be able to afford the $40K tuition.

In defense of his MoCo school, they are very willing to try methods that we suggest. He is getting OT at school and in private. He just started on his IEP, and the team does seem very interested and open to our suggestions. I get the feeling that he is their "guniea pig", as they have never really managed a child like mine...and it would give them the opportunity to learn how manage future children who are like my DS.

To the PP who's DD has similar issues, the SI issues impede his learning quite a bit as he unable to control how his body reacts to certain stimuli. He is quite forgetful, sometimes it's like Ground Hog's Day :O

He also seems to not "hear" when people are talking to him. His hearing is perfect, it's just his body's inability to process too many things at the same time.

[Anonymous]

OP, CLC (Children's Learning Center on Bestor Drive) is actually a mainstream school (nursery-5th grade) that is inclusive of kids with special needs. I've heard rave reviews about their preschool but don't know anyone who has been through their K-5 program. They are a Jewish school but I believe they are open to all children. I never see it mentioned on these boards and I'm not quite sure why...but my DD with SPD will attend preschool there this year.

[Anonymous]

OP, I just looked at the CLC website and you're right...they seem to have a new program for kids with ASD. It might be worth checking in with them to see how they include children who are not on the spectrum but have sensory processing and learning issues.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you might benefit from hiring an advocate to help you with the school system.

[Anonymous]

Did Lab suggestion other placements? Usually when a school rejects a child you can ask what schools might be better fits. There are a bunch of schools that offer more educational support than McLean, but not as contained and support based as Diener. I would say Kingbury falls between and is not just for kids on a certificate track. Diener can handle a child with even more needs and I would not say that school is just for a child on a certificate track. We're talking about very young kids. Who knows what all this intervention can do. I think in elementary school you rarely look at a child's strengths and weaknesses and predict whether or not they can go onto higher education unless there is severe impairment. Katherine Thomas is another great option if you consider private. GL!

[Anonymous]

I never thought about Katherine Thomas, but their website is quite informative and they do seem to offer what he needs.
their camps look especially promising...but the cost YIKES :o