Why are all ASD schools in the suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Ivymount from Upper NW without traffic. No way is it 40 minutes to Capitol Hill. Keep in mind that if you get bussing, your kid will make stops along the way so will likely be on the bus for over an hour each way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is part serious question and part vent -- by why are all of the private schools for kids with HFA or even ASD in faraway suburbs?

We're beginning to explore middle school options for our child with HFA, who's presently well-placed in a DCPS school. But I feel like we can't even consider private school, since the mainstream ones wouldn't take her, and the SN ones are all too far away from DC to be feasible. Yes, we could move, but that would uproot other kids who are happy and doing well, and make our commutes miserable.

We're also by the way at a loss for summer camp, since the few SN camps in DC are all for super young kids, and driving out Rockville or some such place is also unfeasible.

Why are there so few resources in DC proper?

Vent over.

Because rent is cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our experience, almost all of the private schools are in the richer suburbs, period. We were looking for a SN school for one kid and a mainstream private for the other, and the location of all our options for both were super inconvenient. We thought about moving to be closer, but the cost of housing around these places is usually astronomical. Our goal was to try to reduce costs to afford the schools, but moving nearby would not have helped.

Yes, I think the trick is to move 20 minutes farther OUT than the school.