what is the best school system in the DC metro area for very HFA - elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

It does not work that way. Most of the charters popular on DCUM will try working with kids on the spectrum first. If it turns out that the child needs a private placement after exhausting EVERYTHING possible, they may get a placement at Ivymount MAP, which is a very selective program to get into. There is no guarantee that they will take your kid.

Our charter usually tries mainstreaming for at least two yrs not 3-5 months. I know of exactly one placement at Ivymount MAP from our charter in the five yrs we've been there. Every other kid with HFA that I know of is mainstreamed.

A popular charter could still be a good bet, though! We are happy with our charter and the IEP. If you can get in!

How does PP know about all other kids and placements at her school though, when such info is confidential. Ok maybe not hr private placement but the other stuff!

How many kids a charter has at SN schools with public funding is a matter of public record at least in DC. As long as they don't ID the individual kid, it's legal. The link has even been posted on DCUM.

HFA is not generally going to get you a private school placement.

Exactly. You need something else like really bad behavior + HFA.

[Anonymous]

Getting into 1st grade at any of the really popular DC charters is very difficult so moving to a good school district is a better idea... You should hire a consultant or speak with Dr Dan Shapiro who is a dev ped who is very familiar with all the programs for HFA around the DMV. He does not take new patients over 4, but you just need a consult to talk about schools. Probably less expensive than the consultant and Shapiro knows about them all.

He also runs a parenting course. Maybe worth taking just so you can speak to him about schools and programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

It does not work that way. Most of the charters popular on DCUM will try working with kids on the spectrum first. If it turns out that the child needs a private placement after exhausting EVERYTHING possible, they may get a placement at Ivymount MAP, which is a very selective program to get into. There is no guarantee that they will take your kid.

Our charter usually tries mainstreaming for at least two yrs not 3-5 months. I know of exactly one placement at Ivymount MAP from our charter in the five yrs we've been there. Every other kid with HFA that I know of is mainstreamed.

A popular charter could still be a good bet, though! We are happy with our charter and the IEP. If you can get in!

How does PP know about all other kids and placements at her school though, when such info is confidential. Ok maybe not hr private placement but the other stuff!

How many kids a charter has at SN schools with public funding is a matter of public record at least in DC. As long as they don't ID the individual kid, it's legal. The link has even been posted on DCUM.

Yes, that's why I acknowledged it was possible to find out the numbers for private placement but how in the world can you talk definitely about how your charter works with other kids with IEPs, how long they work with them before turning to private placement etc? And who the other kids with HFA are? THAT is the confidential stuff I was talking about. We are at a charter and I don't know any other kids with IEPs. It is all kept confidential.

OP, have you tried Bridges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

The research clearly supports high quality inclusion over high quality self contained instruction. Ivymount is great of your child can't function in Gen ed, but it shouldn't be your first choice.

[Anonymous]

My friend's child with HFA and behavioral problems couldn't get into Ivymount because they didn't want to deal with the behaviors (even though they were autism related).

The best place for HFA kids is in the mainstream classes with a lot of social support. The academics most HFA kids need is not as good at special needs school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's child with HFA and behavioral problems couldn't get into Ivymount because they didn't want to deal with the behaviors (even though they were autism related).

The best place for HFA kids is in the mainstream classes with a lot of social support. The academics most HFA kids need is not as good at special needs school.

But isn't the hard part getting "good social supports" even with a top IEP? I mean, it seems that many schools are lacking in resources pertaining to this.

[Anonymous]

Yes, that is hard. ^^^

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Exactly. You need something else like really bad behavior + HFA.

Or fail a few years in a row

[Anonymous]

Our child with HFA is at Creative Minds. I would highly recommend going to a charter which acts as its own LEA and avoiding the crap you get from any of the larger school districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

It does not work that way. Most of the charters popular on DCUM will try working with kids on the spectrum first. If it turns out that the child needs a private placement after exhausting EVERYTHING possible, they may get a placement at Ivymount MAP, which is a very selective program to get into. There is no guarantee that they will take your kid.

Our charter usually tries mainstreaming for at least two yrs not 3-5 months. I know of exactly one placement at Ivymount MAP from our charter in the five yrs we've been there. Every other kid with HFA that I know of is mainstreamed.

A popular charter could still be a good bet, though! We are happy with our charter and the IEP. If you can get in!

How does PP know about all other kids and placements at her school though, when such info is confidential. Ok maybe not hr private placement but the other stuff!

How many kids a charter has at SN schools with public funding is a matter of public record at least in DC. As long as they don't ID the individual kid, it's legal. The link has even been posted on DCUM.

Yes, that's why I acknowledged it was possible to find out the numbers for private placement but how in the world can you talk definitely about how your charter works with other kids with IEPs, how long they work with them before turning to private placement etc? And who the other kids with HFA are? THAT is the confidential stuff I was talking about. We are at a charter and I don't know any other kids with IEPs. It is all kept confidential.

OP, have you tried Bridges?

I talk to other parents and our school use to throw a get together for kids with IEPs in the summer before school started. The school no longer does this but many parents of the kids in the higher grades know each other. It is a small community.

[Anonymous]

We're very happy with the support we have received at Inspired Teaching. I have also heard very good things about Bridges and Creative Minds. Best of luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: There is a lot of turnover in special ed so it's hard to say definitively this school is better, but I would definitely assume FCPS and MCPS are better than DCPS when it comes to services based on what I have read here.

That said, my child is at FCPS and some teachers rock and others don't. I've had to do a lot of basic educating because many seasoned teachers even aren't trained in how to deal with basic issues related to HFA and they take an easy situation and push the kid to the point of tears and frustration.

I agree and would that even within the very same school, staff skill can vary considerably. MCPS, FCPS and APS seem to be comparable from what I've seen in this forum. I'd then choose a place most convenient for your other life needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's child with HFA and behavioral problems couldn't get into Ivymount because they didn't want to deal with the behaviors (even though they were autism related).

The best place for HFA kids is in the mainstream classes with a lot of social support. The academics most HFA kids need is not as good at special needs school.

Wow, thanks for the sweeping generalization. It's also untrue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

The research clearly supports high quality inclusion over high quality self contained instruction. Ivymount is great of your child can't function in Gen ed, but it shouldn't be your first choice.

PP, this is a big sticking point. "High quality inclusion" is hard to come by.

Ivymount isn't just for kids who "can't function in Gen ed." There's actually a wide variety of kids and a wider variety of needs. (It's also vastly different from the self-contained classrooms I've seen.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The riskiest but possibly the one with the greatest returns: lottery into a charter in DC. Then you will be able to attmpt an OSSE placement at a private- MAP Ivymount is wonderful! But you need to tender this with your child's disposition. It might take 3-5 months to go through the process.

The research clearly supports high quality inclusion over high quality self contained instruction. Ivymount is great of your child can't function in Gen ed, but it shouldn't be your first choice.

PP, this is a big sticking point. "High quality inclusion" is hard to come by.

Ivymount isn't just for kids who "can't function in Gen ed." There's actually a wide variety of kids and a wider variety of needs. (It's also vastly different from the self-contained classrooms I've seen.)

Actually, it is and Ivymount will tell you that. It is the MOST restrictive environment and the tuition is 60K a year+ and most of the students receive public funding to attend. If they could learn in a Gen Ed environment, they would not be at Ivymount.