Searching for a school district with good autism programs

[Anonymous]

Mcps cannot keep up with the growing demand of children with autism. Many high functioning kids will struggle in mainstream with limited support and lower functioning kids will have to bide their time for spots in their more specialized programs. Then they have dumping grounds of learning centers, LFI, etc. where they put a bunch of kids with varied needs and hope for the best. Parents need to be very watchful of the education their kid is getting.

[Anonymous]

We are at APS and it’s been terrible. I’d stay away from. I’ve heard Fairfax is a little better, but so much with all these public schools is dependent on the admin, teacher, etc. We had one good year because we had an amazing principal and teacher, but both of left 2 years later (and things quickly went downhill again) APS now pays for our child’s private school. If you can afford private I would go that route. There are so many great private schools here ranging from ones that specialize in autism or learning disabilities to schools that can provide smaller and more individualized instruction.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had a good experience in Fairfax.

A few battles in ES for resources / support like speech and adapted PE. Also a longer slog to write great PLOPs and goals. But execution of the goals is generally on point - a couple years we had a lackluster SPED case manager but seems very person driven and not systematic.

Is spouse is working in Roslyn, look at FCPS or Arlington. And definitely rent a year or two. Also as an early poster suggested GET YOUR IEP BUTTONED UP NOW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has good autism programs depending on the type of support required.

Huh. Would have to disagree.

Me too

It seems like on paper they have a LOT more than DCPS. My kid is on grade level and I don’t think there is any DCPS program for him.

Yes, they do on paper. In reality, MCPS does a terrible job with ASD kids. We struggled the whole time with my DC at MCPS. They gave me the impression of not carrying for SN kids and just not wanting to help. We met a family who moved from DC to MoCo for schools. They felt highly disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Arlington or FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has good autism programs depending on the type of support required.

Huh. Would have to disagree.

Me too

It seems like on paper they have a LOT more than DCPS. My kid is on grade level and I don’t think there is any DCPS program for him.

Yes, they do on paper. In reality, MCPS does a terrible job with ASD kids. We struggled the whole time with my DC at MCPS. They gave me the impression of not carrying for SN kids and just not wanting to help. We met a family who moved from DC to MoCo for schools. They felt highly disappointed.

I think they did a good job about a decade ago. But the huge rise in kids with autism and the lack of special educators have made mcps not a great place for many kids with autism. Lots of mainstreaming with limited support or self contained programs that you have to fight for a spot and quality will really vary from school to school.

[Anonymous]

Our elementary school experience with our ASD kid in APS was not great, but kid was not actually diagnosed with ASD until middle school - before that it was generalized anxiety, learning disabilities, and ADHD. Our middle school experience at HB Woodlawn has been really good. Our kid still has problems and is still learning how to deal with their disability. That said, they are basically mainstreamed, with supports. We were lucky to get in through the lottery and it won't work for everyone, but we consider ourselves really lucky.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is absolutely terrible for relatively high functioning ASD kids - they are thrown in mainstream with very minimal supports. If your child has higher support needs there are some programs that may be a fit. Whether you'll be able to get in right away is not a given. These programs are undergoing cuts periodically, because why not?

To those PPs who commented on IEPs - you're not wrong. In MCPS however, IEPs are not always followed as written and the school admin hides it.

There was a thread here exactly a year ago (in MCPS general forum) "What do teachers in MCPS wish that the families knew" and several MCPS staffers said that there are no resources to implement IEPs in their schools and parents should have fewer demands for SN kids services and in general not to expect too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at APS and it’s been terrible. I’d stay away from. I’ve heard Fairfax is a little better, but so much with all these public schools is dependent on the admin, teacher, etc. We had one good year because we had an amazing principal and teacher, but both of left 2 years later (and things quickly went downhill again) APS now pays for our child’s private school. If you can afford private I would go that route. There are so many great private schools here ranging from ones that specialize in autism or learning disabilities to schools that can provide smaller and more individualized instruction.

How did you get APS to pay? Was it a battle?

[Anonymous]

School Within School @ Goding in DCPS (Capitol Hill) has an EXCELLENT program (Strategies) for high-functioning autism students. Staff is AMAZING! It's a very small school, so getting a child in prior to 4th grade is challenging - especially since everyone has to lottery in (it's not an in-boundary school) - but I would absolutely recommend giving it a try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: We met a family who moved from DC to MoCo for schools. They felt highly disappointed.

We were thinking of doing this, but honestly not seeing any good alternatives. We need to stay in the DMV area for work; but maybe Fairfax.
In the meantime we are sitting tight with DCPS; for as long as it works. Our kid is moderate ASD so needs significant supports/interventions.