Best DMV elementary schools for very anxious ASD 6-year-old?

[Anonymous]

Our DS is experiencing debilitating anxiety at school.

Does anyone have a child with a similar profile in a DMV public or private elementary and love the way their child is being supported? I’d like to hear about it.

Really looking at all options in the DMV and welcome all recommendations. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My 6yo ASD child with undiagnosed anxiety (but has been flagged by various providers such as SLP, BCBA) has been having a wonderful experience at the Newton School in Sterling so far. DC really does best in a small class—anything more than 12-14 and DC starts getting overwhelmed and starts to “disappear/escape” from doing non preferred tasks or anything that presents any sort of challenge (this is how DC’s anxiety presents, and we also see school refusal ). Newton has helped DC gain the most confidence we’ve seen yet, there has only been one “ok” day so far where DC has said they don’t want to return but by the next day they happily got on the bus—for my DC this is amazing as whenever there is any bump in the road they usually end up in school refusal spiral. Class sizes are super small which helps us to know DC isn’t getting lost, they try to make school fun with weekly field trips and coordinated movement breaks in their fun gym spaces, and they send detailed communication home each day to let us know what DC did in each subject area and how the day overall went.

It is both expensive and far for us, but the last couple of months went so well we think we’ve made the right decision. I hope the rest of the year goes well for our DC, but so far so good. Look into the school—they are very niche. The head of school really makes sure it is the right fit before acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Look at Maddux

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Newton.

[Anonymous]

How academically capable are they?

[Anonymous]

OP here. He is definitely intelligent. I’m not sure how well that will translate at school. His school recently told us at an IEP meeting that he is in the 78th percentile for math and in the 84th percentile for reading.

[Anonymous]

Try Maddux--our DC had a similar profile and it was very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Former Maddux parent here with a similar profile. They are great for that profile and my DD was able to go to public after two years.

[Anonymous]

If your goal is to go back to public in 3rd grade Maddux might be the school you need. Although I don’t think a very anxious child would adjust well to the social and academic demands of 3rd grade in an overcrowded and chaotic public school.
If you’d like to stay in private,OP but don’t want to go through another time-consuming and stressful application process then I’d suggest to look elsewhere since Maddux only goes up to 2nd grade.
Diener, Newton or even McLean might be a better choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS is experiencing debilitating anxiety at school.

Does anyone have a child with a similar profile in a DMV public or private elementary and love the way their child is being supported? I’d like to hear about it.

Really looking at all options in the DMV and welcome all recommendations. Thanks!

Can you be more specific about what you're looking for. How does your childs anxiety manifest? For my kid, once I put him in significantly smaller classes, his anxiety was mitigated.

[Anonymous]

Depending on where you’re located, my child is having a great experience at a newish school in Alexandria called Poissant Place. The other option we like was Deiner, but the commute would have been brutal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DS is experiencing debilitating anxiety at school.

Does anyone have a child with a similar profile in a DMV public or private elementary and love the way their child is being supported? I’d like to hear about it.

Really looking at all options in the DMV and welcome all recommendations. Thanks!

Can you be more specific about what you're looking for. How does your childs anxiety manifest? For my kid, once I put him in significantly smaller classes, his anxiety was mitigated.

OP.

We are supposed to relocate to the DMV. We are not sure what’s causing our child’s anxiety and neither is the school. When I ask him about what at school is making him feel anxious, he responds, “everything,” and is unable/unwilling to articulate further. He is in a class of 14 students and is in a super caring, supportive environment. If we have to move him from this, I’m trying to figure out where might be a good fit for his next chapter.

[Anonymous]

We love our supports in Falls Church

[Anonymous]

From my observations The Newton school is more maturing and they provide support to each student’s specific needs. It is not one size fits all type of program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your goal is to go back to public in 3rd grade Maddux might be the school you need. Although I don’t think a very anxious child would adjust well to the social and academic demands of 3rd grade in an overcrowded and chaotic public school.
If you’d like to stay in private,OP but don’t want to go through another time-consuming and stressful application process then I’d suggest to look elsewhere since Maddux only goes up to 2nd grade.
Diener, Newton or even McLean might be a better choice.

Maddux is now expanding through 5th (adding 3rd grade next year)