Looking for a great school for my son with Aspergers

[Anonymous]

My 4 year old son has borderline Aspergers/PDD-NOS and happens to have a late August birthday. He currently goes to a private preschool in N. Arlington. He is in school M-F from 9-2 with kids who are also 4 and just turning 5-definitely a pre-K class. His teachers think he is ready to move onto a different school next year, but not necessarily kindergarten because of his social skills. He is very high achieving academically (so I am told!)

We are looking for a jr. Kindergarten or a school that will accommodate him. He definitely needs speech for pragmatics/social skills and OT for attention, etc and small classes.

Any ideas where we should look or where to start? Anyone out there that can "test" him for kindergarten readiness and provide us with some guidance. We are totally lost!

TIA!

[Anonymous]

How far are you willing to commute? Does he need indiv OT and speech, or would group be okay? You might want to look at maddux to see whether it offers enough support.

[Anonymous]

OP: We will commute and it would be helpful if there is a bus at least 1 way. He does OK in a structured classroom and I think group OT would be good for him.

[Anonymous]

The Auburn School and The Newton School both start in K, but the class sizes are small and might make a good fit.

[Anonymous]

op, I posted on your thread in private schools about my son, who is similar. I don't see the point in testing for kindergarten readiness, as it seems like you are well aware of the issues: he's academically strong, but he has attention and pragmatic/social issues, and he's an August birthday. The decision to hold back or not because of the cutoff is one which parents of typical kids also agonize over. If the issue is that you just have no place to put him besides a kindergarten, I would then consider doing that with the idea that you might do K twice depending on how it goes.

[Anonymous]

I'm just curious as to why you say Aspgerers/PDD-NOS as they are quite different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 4 year old son has borderline Aspergers/PDD-NOS and happens to have a late August birthday. He currently goes to a private preschool in N. Arlington. He is in school M-F from 9-2 with kids who are also 4 and just turning 5-definitely a pre-K class. His teachers think he is ready to move onto a different school next year, but not necessarily kindergarten because of his social skills. He is very high achieving academically (so I am told!)

We are looking for a jr. Kindergarten or a school that will accommodate him. He definitely needs speech for pragmatics/social skills and OT for attention, etc and small classes.

Any ideas where we should look or where to start? Anyone out there that can "test" him for kindergarten readiness and provide us with some guidance. We are totally lost!

TIA!

The Maddux School in Potomac incorporates both speech and OT in the school day as well as pragmatics. Excellent teachers. Lots of them come form IVYmount. It is part of Ivymount but has a separate head and admissions. They are preschool-2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just curious as to why you say Aspgerers/PDD-NOS as they are quite different.

It doesn't really matter because both will be folded under the title of autsim in the new DSM.

[Anonymous]

Also, I don't think they are quite different, especially in a dx given to a 3 or 4 yo. I've seen kids with both who have a range of profiles and degrees of affectedness. I think which you get depends on who is dx'ing. FWIW, my experience is that a lot of kids dx'd with PDD in preschool end up classified as Asperger's later. I do think the op's use of "borderline" is problematic, though, as his needs as described fit squarely within what you would expect with that diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

I do think the op's use of "borderline" is problematic, though, as his needs as described fit squarely within what you would expect with that diagnosis.

Not really. Not OP either. But I have a child whose social skills aren't great and who has some attention issues -- without any other hallmark traits of an ASD or ADHD. I'd actually love a Dx sometimes so he could get free services on the taxpayer dime, but alas, he does not meet the criteria.

So when OP says her son has borderline attention issues and some difficulty with social pragmatics, let's accept her word about the severity of his symptoms. Maybe he really is at the margins.

OP: check out Diener school

[Anonymous]

Consider also Primary Day School in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider also Primary Day School in Bethesda.

You're kidding, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider also Primary Day School in Bethesda.

While PDS is a good school, it is not a place for kids with attention issues or social skills problems. There will be not OT or speech.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a school recommendation but have a similar kid, August birthday with an Asperger's diagnosis (not borderline but "classic" Asperger's according to the developmental pediatrician). He is 5 yrs old and in Kindergarten at a language immersion public charter school with an IEP. We did not hold him back and he is doing great socially and academically due to the services and supports he gets from his IEP. Fully mainstreamed. If you want to return to public schools, it's better to work on an IEP sooner than later. Just something to think about...

[Anonymous]

If you need OT for attention you will have to get it privately. Public school OT is only for fine motor issues. They do not provide OT for SPD or attention issues not sure about private school - you will have to ask the specific school.