Middle School Options from ADHD & Autism

[Anonymous]

Hello from Texas! I am researching school options for the DC area and need recommendations. Our kiddo is going into 7th grade and has completed services for dyslexia and speech therapy. She has ADHD and autism, but her ADHD causes the most struggles in school and we have an extensive IEP. She is in a general education classroom with supports, but I don't think she will ever succeed in a classroom with 30+ students and no caseworker truly working with her 1:1. She is currently in all honors classes at a magnet STEM middle school but also loves art and being creative. We can't really afford private schools, but I am open to any recommendations.

[Anonymous]

You should do private.

[Anonymous]

She needs a 1:1? Full time or for certain classes? We know a lot of kids with SN but don't know of one who has a 1:1 for any class in high school unless they have a severe disability and in that situation they are not mainstreamed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should do private.

do you have any specific recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She needs a 1:1? Full time or for certain classes? We know a lot of kids with SN but don't know of one who has a 1:1 for any class in high school unless they have a severe disability and in that situation they are not mainstreamed.

She has a caseworker who meets with her once a week 1:1 to try and coordinate her work and conference with her teachers. That doesn't really happen. She does have shared support aide in her core classes that is split among multiple students. Our biggest issues are that class sizes are way too big and the staff aren't trained in neurotypical kids. So because she is quiet and well-mannered (she is internalizing a lot of it, which is causing so much stress and Autistic shutdown in her body), she is the overlooked and left behind kid at school.

[Anonymous]

Here are the special education services offered by MCPS. All of them will require an IEP to access. If your child is placed in one of these programs, it doesn't matter where you live. MCPS will provide transportation.

I would look at Autism Connections and GT/LD. Bridge is also for students with ASD. The programs are slightly similar and slightly different. The differences are in if students are placed in gen ed and co taught, self contained, the Resource class(es) they have (Organizational, Social/Emotional, Both), and if there is a social worker on site. As students get into the higher academic levels, schools may not be able to offer a co taught or self contained opportunity.

xminds is a community in MCPS that is working to educate the community and bring more transparency to the services offered

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/programs-services/age-elementary-to-secondary/

https://xminds.org/secondary-services

[Anonymous]

She should stay public as private schools here are very expensive, and the ones for kids with SN would not challenge her academically enough. I'm not sure any mainstream private could provide enough support. Agree with connecting with XMinds.

[Anonymous]

Classes aren't 30+ in most middle schools. Case workers are available. As are "resource classes" (supported study hall) periods.


As long as you can support at home, and handle all the stupid apps like Canvas (and set up your kid's account or yourself to use for monitoring schoolwork), your kid can do this.

[Anonymous]

Is she considered twice exceptional "2e" given her honors placement?

I'm in DC and haven't seen any DCPS do 2e especially well. I learned that MoCo has a 2e program that might be with investigating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she considered twice exceptional "2e" given her honors placement?

I'm in DC and haven't seen any DCPS do 2e especially well. I learned that MoCo has a 2e program that might be with investigating.

We don't have any classifications like that here (just gifted and talented in elementary school), but she does fit that criteria. She struggles more in math due to her dyslexia and trouble focusing on the teacher with all the sensory distractions in her big class, so we've been thinking about doing on-level in math next year, but I also know she is not getting all the accommodations she needs.

[Anonymous]

My only advice is: Don't move to Arlington!

[Anonymous]

Two options to consider for 2E kids - Christ Episcopal School in Rockville (K-8, ~$25k), or Templeton in downtown DC (6-12, ~$20k). We looked at both for our similar kid, ended up go in a different direction but I’ve heard really good things about both. I have friends at CES who absolutely love it. You won’t get a 1:1 at either place but class sizes are in the range of 8-10 kids/class, and both are known to be supportive of 2E/ND kids. Both also have rolling enrollment so you can still apply for next fall (or even possibly this year if needed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she considered twice exceptional "2e" given her honors placement?

I'm in DC and haven't seen any DCPS do 2e especially well. I learned that MoCo has a 2e program that might be with investigating.

NP here. 'honors' doesn't equal 2e. Lots of DC parents THINK it does, but it doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello from Texas! I am researching school options for the DC area and need recommendations. Our kiddo is going into 7th grade and has completed services for dyslexia and speech therapy. She has ADHD and autism, but her ADHD causes the most struggles in school and we have an extensive IEP. She is in a general education classroom with supports, but I don't think she will ever succeed in a classroom with 30+ students and no caseworker truly working with her 1:1. She is currently in all honors classes at a magnet STEM middle school but also loves art and being creative. We can't really afford private schools, but I am open to any recommendations.

This option doesn't exist here really, smaller classes or 1:1 support.

[Anonymous]

We love the Harbour School (they have annapolis and baltimore locations)

We found no public school could support a kid like you describe. The only small class sizes are for kids w/ high support needs.