MOCO or HOCO - looking for off the commuter trail schools for DD with ASD 1

[Anonymous]

Have a DD with autism level 1, 5 years old. Moving to Howard County, but open to MOCO - can anyone recommend particular towns which may have better public school services for ASD?

I was considering Ellicott City, Laurel, and open to any thoughts.

Budget is about $2500-$3000 for 3bed if renting, $550K tops if purchasing. I work from home and do not need to be on the commuting arteries into DC and Baltimore. In other words, if the town is far from I-270,70 but has great programs for autistic children, that would be ideal.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I think this really varies by school in MoCo at least. Can you share what your child's support needs are?

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure where you are moving from, but in Maryland schools are totally by county, not town. (Unlike MA, NY or NJ.). That means that even a school that has good admin or teachers in one year might not have them the next year so it’s hard to predict what individual school will be good for a child in future years.

In MoCo, north bethesda middle school has a special autism program but your child might not need that level of support, but if it’s your home school, there might be some advantage. But that’s a relatively expensive neighborhood if you’re not commuting in.

Poolesbklle High has really come up in the rankings so that area might be one to look at for cheaper areas in MoCo.

One advantage MoCo has over HoCo is in its magnet programs, if you child is 2E. The kids in the gifted programs tend to be a little more tolerant of kids who are socially different. My child has found a nice home and peer group at one of the magnet programs.

I would just avoid schools with high social-economic needs. Because at a school where lots of kids are coming from serious poverty, absentee parents, etc., your kids needs will seem insignificant and won’t get a lot of atttensjon plus the chaos level tends to be higher in those schools, which can be challenging for kids with ASD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this really varies by school in MoCo at least. Can you share what your child's support needs are?

Thanks for the help...DD reads, but has just started at age 5 to verbally ask for things that she needs instead of gesturing. When she was in public school special education, she was beginning to sit at circle time in the library, since books are her special interest. I took her out of special ed and put her in full-time ABA until first grade approaches in 2025. She's starting to speak in 2-3 word requests.

I haven't had an updated IEP since she was 3.5 y/o so I don't know if she's 2E yet. I would say her special ability is to read, and her challenges would be sitting still in a classroom environment at this point... thanks so much.

[Anonymous]

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I’m not sure where you are moving from, but in Maryland schools are totally by county, not town. (Unlike MA, NY or NJ.). That means that even a school that has good admin or teachers in one year might not have them the next year so it’s hard to predict what individual school will be good for a child in future years.
In MoCo, north bethesda middle school has a special autism program but your child might not need that level of support, but if it’s your home school, there might be some advantage. But that’s a relatively expensive neighborhood if you’re not commuting in.
Poolesbklle High has really come up in the rankings so that area might be one to look at for cheaper areas in MoCo.
One advantage MoCo has over HoCo is in its magnet programs, if you child is 2E. The kids in the gifted programs tend to be a little more tolerant of kids who are socially different. My child has found a nice home and peer group at one of the magnet programs.
I would just avoid schools with high social-economic needs. Because at a school where lots of kids are coming from serious poverty, absentee parents, etc., your kids needs will seem insignificant and won’t get a lot of atttensjon plus the chaos level tends to be higher in those schools, which can be challenging for kids with ASD.

I'm moving from Austin, born and bred Marylander, but haven't lived there since 1999, and not with a child with SN....

I'm glad you mentioned Poolesville because I was investigating that town, and Ellicott City in Howard Co. I did hire an educational advocate from DC/MOCO to oversee DD's milestones remotely now, and then help me in person when I move. Educational Advocate already steered me away from the surrounding counties which would be "high chaos" as you mentioned.

I take your point that the school may not retain its staff- that's tough. I didn't know about the Magnets in MOCO, so thank you. I'll have the real estate agent take a look at Poolesville.

I really appreciate the help - this whole journey feels like a rapidly changing video game where I'm trying to do the best for DD and her twin, but the landscape just keeps changing on me.

[Anonymous]

I’d go with HoCo. You would get more for your money and the schools are good

MCPS is a mess and special education services have been hit or miss. Mcps has a home school model for special education- whereas you must “prove” your child’s needs can’t be met to get referred into a special program. It’s not a school choice model.

Your monthly budget is low to purchase considering today’s high interest rates. Likely you will be renting - but that could be a plus since you can move around if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this really varies by school in MoCo at least. Can you share what your child's support needs are?

Thanks for the help...DD reads, but has just started at age 5 to verbally ask for things that she needs instead of gesturing. When she was in public school special education, she was beginning to sit at circle time in the library, since books are her special interest. I took her out of special ed and put her in full-time ABA until first grade approaches in 2025. She's starting to speak in 2-3 word requests.

I haven't had an updated IEP since she was 3.5 y/o so I don't know if she's 2E yet. I would say her special ability is to read, and her challenges would be sitting still in a classroom environment at this point... thanks so much.

X minds has a lot of really helpful information about MoCo schools (MCPS) for kids with autism. Here is a link to their list of special ed programs that may serve kids with autism. Note you have to go through the IEP process and need to get placed into them so no guarantees: https://xminds.org/elementary-services

[Anonymous]

MCPS is known for their academic offerings as well as their programs for children with special needs. However, it is also a huge system and if you're not on top of your child's need for accommodations, kids can get lost in the shuffle.

My kid with ADHD/ASD was in the GT/LD program of MCPS: gifted, talented and learning disabled. It was a great experience, with IEP teams who wanted to give him all the accommodations they could. I felt they were on his side. We paid for all evaluations at Stixrud out of pocket, and had very in-depth reports to bring to IEP meetings, so we pulled our weight as well. He's in college now, and it wouldn't have happened without EVERYTHING, that his schools and us parents were able to do for him.

If you want a special program, you need to find which schools have it (elementary, middle and high school), then look at renting then buying in that vicinity.

Rent first in case it doesn't pan out. Kids with special needs can surprise you in both good and bad ways, and you might find yourself looking at a commute for school down the road. Interest rates are really high anyway, so you're in no hurry to buy.

[Anonymous]

Wanted to circle back to thank you all for this very specific information. I was overwhelmed with graduations, camps,ND and NT needs in the family. Each post came with something specific I didn't know before.
Thank you so much- really appreciate the help as find the place to live for the"next five years". Boy life does NOT prepare you for this kind of chaos..I'm pretty adaptable, thank goodness.

[Anonymous]

Heeeeeey, OP you're moving from Austin? I was born and raised in Austin! w00t! I know this isn't really what you asked, but I've found the Silver Spring/Takoma Park areas to be culturally kind of Austin-like. But more to what you were actually asking about, I wanted to chime in on this...

Anonymous wrote:I would just avoid schools with high social-economic needs. Because at a school where lots of kids are coming from serious poverty, absentee parents, etc., your kids needs will seem insignificant and won’t get a lot of atttensjon plus the chaos level tends to be higher in those schools, which can be challenging for kids with ASD.

There's some truth to this, but I wouldn't quite go this far. We're in a high poverty elementary school, and we are having to really push to get an IEP for our autistic kid, even with dropping grades. Based on what I've heard from parents in other parts of the county, though, I think this may not just be a high-poverty-area thing.

What I will say, is that because the teachers at our school are so used to handling students with very real, very diverse, and often not formally identified needs (poverty, trauma, undiagnosed learning differences, etc.) the teachers have been really fantastic about giving our kid accommodations just like...organically on the fly without our really having to ask. And the teachers are also very open to and good about implementing the accommodations we've requested thus far. Culturally and socially we've hit the jackpot! The kids at the school have been so accepting of our autistic kid. They have great friends and aren't being bullied. It's only once we get to the administrative/bureaucratic level that's a bit more removed from the kids in the classroom with the IEP process that things get a little stickier.