Newton School? Auburn?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with the Newton School or the Auburn School, and can give me some first-hand reports? I'd be very grateful! Thanks.

[viennamom2]

Our son goes to the Auburn School in Herndon. He had a great year there and can't wait to go back in the fall, which is amazing to us, since he spent the first 4 years of elementary school (in public school) crying almost every day, clinging to us at drop-off and pretty much hating school. He made so much progress in just one year at Auburn, both socially and emotionally. The classes are small, the teachers are fantastic and the program is structured so that each child's strengths and weaknesses are addressed. They are running a summer camp program for the next few weeks, so if you're interested, it might be a good way to check out the school and see how your child would fit in. I'd be happy to talk with you more about the school if you have any other questions.

[Anonymous]

Oh, wow! That's about the best thing I could hear. I will definitely give them a call. How is the commute from Vienna? I'm pretty daunted by it.

[viennamom2]

The commute is not fun, but less painful than I anticipated. I take Lawyer's Rd. (unless I'm running really late, in which case I take the Toll Rd.) and it usually takes me about 30 minutes each way. It is a lot of driving (a minimum of 2 hours a day), but it's worth it to me to see my son so happy (finally!).

[Anonymous]

These schools cater to two totally different students. Auburn for more autism spectrum and language based issues and Newton for more ADHD and sensory integration kids. What issues does your child have?

[Anonymous]

From what I can tell, there is a lot of overlap between ASD, pragmatic language, adhd, and sensory issues; my son seems to sit somewhere where they overlap, though he doesn't fit clear diagnostic criteria for any of those. He is very smart and very verbal, and probably wouldn't be a good match for a place where there a lot of autistic kids struggling to find words, but does need help working on self-regulation. I'd be grateful for all info and advice on these two schools.

[Anonymous]

There absolutely is overlap between ADHD/self-regulation/autism spectrum! My son has defied classification most of his life, but has aspects of all three. He is in the middle school at Auburn and had the year of his life last year!! Like the other Auburn parent responding (Hi!!), my son too struggled horribly in public school -- despite caring and thorough accomodations by his school.

At Auburn, he is free to shine among like-minded kids and understanding adults (in every corner of the school -- it's a true integrated, team approach). Everything I'd want is infused throughout the day -- sensory integration/OT, speech and language, pragmatics/social skills, social and emotional learning, understanding self and others, self-regulation/meeting positive behavior goals -- all with an engaging, but appropriately challenging academic program. There's all of the important subject matter, and none of the meltdown-inducing busy work of the public school setting; plus some really innovative approaches to multi-discipline learning and showing mastery. The teachers are phenomenal, the kids are bright and 'diamonds in the rough' all of them. It's a really special place! Ask me anything!!

As for commute -- and I think this says a lot about the worth of the program -- we come from Maryland every day (around the Beltway, out the Toll Road). Sounds daunting as heck, but it quickly becomes part of the routine and a relatively small price to pay for all the gains my son has made and will make. He's never complained about the drive (even on the days when I have!), so it's worth it to him too. I want for every parent struggling with school placement for their kid to find the peace and success that we have (whether that's at Auburn, or elsewhere). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

How does the Auburn school compare to the Maddux school?

[Anonymous]

I am pleased to hear that the Auburn School is great ... I can imagine my son needing such a school by middle school ... also looking at Commonweath in Alexandria. But the cost of Auburn, if I remember correctly, was very HIGH and the tuition didn't cover the extra services like ST and OT. Is that correct?

[Anonymous]

I went to a tuition and taxes workshop last year and the accountant laid out the exact steps of being able to deduct a big part of the tuition. I just got out my notes from the workshop that say:

The school's mission and teaching has to be for special needs kids and provide teaching with those services.
The child has to have a specific diagnosis through testing.
Once you hit 7%(?) of your income in special ed costs (I have here therapy, equipment, tutoring, driving), you can deduct the rest of the tuition.

These are my scratchy notes so check with somebody who knows what they're talking about but thought it might help with the tuition piece

[Anonymous]

I would be very careful about tax deductions for tuition and speak with your own accountant or attorney about this rather than relying solely on an accountant who gave a seminar. He is not going to be there when the IRS pulls your return for an audit (speaking here as a friendly person who has experience with tax law -- though not in this specific area). I would also caution you to look further as to whether tutoring really qualifies as a medical expense for purposes of an income tax deduction because I highly doubt that it does (insurance companies don't reimburse for it, right?). Finally, you mention that he said that the school's mission has to be for special needs kids. I have no idea whether this is the correct standard but I assume that he could be getting at how the school is chartered. For example, I know that Diener is chartered as a regular private school, not a special needs school, though it clearly caters to special needs kids. If a school is not chartered as a special needs school it could hurt an argument in favor of a tuition deduction even if all of the kids are special needs. I do not mean to argue with you (or give out legal advice) -- I just want to make sure that everyone has the most accurate information. These types of deductions could raise red flags for an audit so they should be weighed carefully and should be made in consultation with a qualified tax accountant or tax attorney -- off my soapbox now -- thanks .

[Anonymous]

Oops -- sorry pp. Just saw that you put the "check with a professional" at the end of your message. Did not see that before. Again, sorry!!!

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure that both Newton and Auburn have a financial aid person who can talk to you about all of this as well.

[Anonymous]

I have been told that a local well known LD school runs seminars for how to claim some tuition expenses as medical expenses. I can see how you can do this with related services (SLP, OT, psych., etc.) but I was never clear on the tuition part because I would think you would need an invoice that had a specific DSM-IV or ICD diagnosis code as well as testing for the disability that recommends treatment (special school). Always been curious about how this works. Most insurance companies cover cognitive testing (IQ etc.) but not the educational piece (acheivement testing). Love to hear from anyone who knows because we are currently trying to figure out how to afford private for our special ed child.

[Anonymous]

PP -

Which "local well known LD school"? I'd like to attend one of the seminars.

TIA