Services for autistic kids in Loudoun County public schools

[Anonymous]

It really depends where in Loudoun County you will be moving to. I would suggest a smallish fringe rural ES in Purcellville, Hillsboro, Lincoln, Lovettsville, Middleburgh, or Waterford area. There are 1:1 aides in Lovettsville ES until the 3rd grade I believe in special ed. Then kids get assigned to a different elementary school in Purcellville after that with 1:1 aide. If you want your 1st grader to be in the general ed, you will have a special education teacher assigned that will pull them out a few times a week. There is also speech therapy and occupational therapy as recommended/agreed to in IEP. Your IEP should hold even if you're coming from another state, it is the law I believe as long as you're in public school setting.

Schools in Eastern LoCo have 25-26 students per class with a large ESL student population and it will probably not work for your kid. Waterford ES class size is about 14-16 for 1st grade with just two classes per grade, Lincoln ES might be 8-9 kids per class with just one class. Most of the teachers in these small rural fringe schools are highly experienced with more than 10 years of tenure at the same school. I've also heard great things about Seldens Landing ES in Leesburg, but most of the ES schools in Leesburg area are so so. Some ES in Purcellville are 25-26 kids per class with like 3/4 classes per grade, so you need to do your homework.

You can always apply for out of bounds, as many parents do.....will have to drive your kid though, as there is no bus service for out of bounds kids.

[Anonymous]

There are many private speech and occupational therapy providers in LoCo, but there are waitlists and sometime you'll have to wait a few months. The Arc of Loudoun also offers services, but it is mainly geared towards children with a higher ASD rating. I took my high functioning kid there and it was not for him. We switched to a private provider and do get services through school as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, if the IeP requires it the school must provide, but the school will re-evaluate a child who has high functioning autism and whose IEP says they need a 1:1 aid. And once the re-eval is in, the new IEP won’t require the 1:1. In general it’s a crappy system but in this case it seems ok because does your child with high functioning autism need 1:1? If so, that’s not high functioning.

Virginia is a parent consent state. Once a 1:1 is written into an IEP, the school can only re-evaluate and remove it if the parent consents by signing the new IEP. Also, I have seen students with level one autism who require 1:1 support in the general education setting. If this parent does move to LCPS, they may want to consult with an attorney to understand their rights.

- special education attorney

There are no 1:1 aides in LCPS though. If her insurance can provide one , it’s possible LCPS will allow it but the county itself does not facilitate 1:1 support. So that might have to trigger an amendment to the IEP.

Bad Info—There are 1:1 aides in LCPS in ES with special education classes and in general education setting at those specific schools. There are no aides in general ed, but your kid will have a special education counselor assigned to them to help with things they’re struggling with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are several options in LCPS. Many students (likely yours given existing supports) would be placed primarily in general education and would receive support from a cross-category special ed teacher. There are also autism classrooms in specific school (not every elementary school). Students in these classrooms vary in how much time they spend in gen ed. Some are split pretty evenly between gen ed and autism support, some spend most of their time in the self-contained classroom. If a student with autism has primarily behavioral needs, they may be placed in an emotional support classroom instead.

I'm not positive, but I do not think the district allows outside aides (is this what the PCA is) to work in the school. District paraprofessionals would provide these services if necessary.

This is good/correct info OP—no private aides are allowed. Your IEP from PA should hold, so you will most likely get 1:1 aide but it will be in modified special ed/general ed setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does a kid with high functioning autism get a 1:1 aide?

High functioning autism isn’t even an official term. A kid with a 1:1 aide would, in Loudoun, likely be in a self contained AUT class, which is for children whose disability is so impactful they can’t access the general curriculum with non disabled peers.

Disagree…..my high-functioning LCPS ASD kid is in a regular class with special ed counselor support. He gets help with quizzes if he does not understand the material/instructions. ASD is a spectrum, so each high-functioning child will require different level of support at his/her school. Some may be placed in modified special education classroom with 1:1 counselor, some will be in a contained AUT class with 1:1 aide and a counselor, some are in general ed with speech/occupational therapy support. VA is a consent state, so you can ask for anything in your kid’s IEP. Some LCPS schools are better and just give you everything you ask for, some will require to hire an attorney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

Not OP—sorry to hear about your experience PP. Was your kid in Western Loudoun or in Ashburn/Leesburg area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

For public servant salaries you get what you get. Why do you think people are going to bend over and incur in mental health stress and issues to satisfy your needs? It’s a job. In at 9 am out at 3 or 4 pm. Peace out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

For public servant salaries you get what you get. Why do you think people are going to bend over and incur in mental health stress and issues to satisfy your needs? It’s a job. In at 9 am out at 3 or 4 pm. Peace out.

In LCPS case managers are not Special Ed teachers; they’re admin staff. They’re just making sure all the rules are followed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

For public servant salaries you get what you get. Why do you think people are going to bend over and incur in mental health stress and issues to satisfy your needs? It’s a job. In at 9 am out at 3 or 4 pm. Peace out.

In LCPS case managers are not Special Ed teachers; they’re admin staff. They’re just making sure all the rules are followed.

Thanks for proving my point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

For public servant salaries you get what you get. Why do you think people are going to bend over and incur in mental health stress and issues to satisfy your needs? It’s a job. In at 9 am out at 3 or 4 pm. Peace out.

In LCPS case managers are not Special Ed teachers; they’re admin staff. They’re just making sure all the rules are followed.

My kid’s case manager in LCPS is a special ed teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I will warn you that staffing is very different here than PA, where there is almost always tough competition and good unions. Here we have huge staffing shortages in SPED and many teachers are inexperienced and/of provisionally licensed. In your shoes I wouldn’t move

My kids case manager had been a secretary and I have no clue how she got a teaching job. She was terrible and didn't even know the first thing about common disabilities. All kids with ieps were behavior problems according to her. My child's experience in Loudoun was horrible. All 12 years.

For public servant salaries you get what you get. Why do you think people are going to bend over and incur in mental health stress and issues to satisfy your needs? It’s a job. In at 9 am out at 3 or 4 pm. Peace out.

In LCPS case managers are not Special Ed teachers; they’re admin staff. They’re just making sure all the rules are followed.

My kid’s case manager in LCPS is a special ed teacher.

Too much on her plate. And she has a life and kids of their own. That’s the priority in her life. The other is a job. Sooner you understand this the better parent you’ll be to your creation of your flesh and blood.