Publicly-funded Special Needs schools

[Anonymous]

Me too. I would love to find a school with really advanced academics and a lot of social skills support, that takes public funding. Please!

[Anonymous]

Auburn has better differentiation than Ivymount MAP but it does not take publicly funded students.

Depending on the level of supports needed, a mainstream private private school like Field maybe a good choice and this was recommended by our neuropsych for middle school. We will be moving from the area by then but will be applying to other mainstream privates that keep their class size small, 8-12 students per class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Me too. I would love to find a school with really advanced academics and a lot of social skills support, that takes public funding. Please!

Sorry to say, there are no schools like this in the area. The best is probably public with IEP or a private school like Field with a small, nurturing environment but this would be mainly for academics. MAP and Auburn are the only schools that embed social skills into their curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the answer to OP's question is: nowhere?

Pretty much. Our neuropsych told us straight out that we were not going to get the same level of academics at a SN school as we do in our current public or at a mainstream private school.

And he or she knows this just how? And how can a physician make such a wide-sweeping claim covering all SN schools? Let's have your neuropsych come and sit in on my DC's AB/BC Calculus class and then say that.

There aren't that many schools that serve Asperger's which is my kid's diagnosis. DS does not need help with academics but need social supports so we're talking about Ivymount MAP and Auburn. The neuropsych has previous clients who attended these schools and according to the parents, the academics were "under whelming".

Just wanted to add that Auburn seems to do differentiation in math very well. When we visited, we met a girl in their middle school who was working on multivariable calculus and we were told that she "tutored" an elementary school kid who also was very gifted in math.

Our neuropsych told us that his client who was "underwhelmed" with the academics at Auburn was a few years ago and that the current head of the school was very open in meeting the needs of their students. The school is very small with 35? students in their SS campus.

[Anonymous]

Wish they took public placements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wish they took public placements.

+100000.

[Anonymous]

OP. Please call Josh Gwilliam at Commonwealth Academy in N. Alexandria. We are there now (exec. functioning) but have a DS who is an Aspie and wish we had found C/A for him years ago but now he's in college. Commonwealth's charter is a private prep school for college-bound ADHD kids, but, on occasion, and depending on the size of your child's class (they are bound by the charter to no more than ten kids in any class), and the behavior of your child, they might consider an Asperger's kid. If not, or if you class is full (and most are), ask Josh for his advice. He knows the area schools well. IT's worth a try. My DD and some of her friends are frightfully smart and are flourishing there. Commonwealth was recently named no. 1 school in the metro D.C. area and no 14 for the nation. Josh will be upfront and not bullshit you. If the school isn't right for you he will tell you so and direct you to a school that is. I'll go get his phone no. and post back. C/A has taken two public placements but the parents had to litigate and fight viciously to get the funding and to get the school district to agree to send the check to the school. Anyhow, call Josh.

[Anonymous]

Here's Josh's phone no. 703 548-6912 ext 100. And here is the SN study: http://www.masters-in-special-education.com/50-best-private-special-needs-schools/. Best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Please call Josh Gwilliam at Commonwealth Academy in N. Alexandria. We are there now (exec. functioning) but have a DS who is an Aspie and wish we had found C/A for him years ago but now he's in college. Commonwealth's charter is a private prep school for college-bound ADHD kids, but, on occasion, and depending on the size of your child's class (they are bound by the charter to no more than ten kids in any class), and the behavior of your child, they might consider an Asperger's kid. If not, or if you class is full (and most are), ask Josh for his advice. He knows the area schools well. IT's worth a try. My DD and some of her friends are frightfully smart and are flourishing there. Commonwealth was recently named no. 1 school in the metro D.C. area and no 14 for the nation. Josh will be upfront and not bullshit you. If the school isn't right for you he will tell you so and direct you to a school that is. I'll go get his phone no. and post back. C/A has taken two public placements but the parents had to litigate and fight viciously to get the funding and to get the school district to agree to send the check to the school. Anyhow, call Josh.

Commonwealth has a social curriculum sufficient for kids with Asperger's as part of their academics?

[Anonymous]

No, they don't. I just spoke to Josh who welcomes your call. Here's what he sent back:


I would be delighted to speak with any parent. I see they followed up with a specific social curriculum question. "I welcome their call. We do not have a specific social curriculum but we are a good sort of go-between of the large public/private school and those schools purely designed for ASD students. Just as an FYI, we have/had students come from those specific programs, once the social piece has been addressed, and then focus on the academics and do well." So give him a call. They are on teacher workday tomorrow so he will have more time than usual. He knows all of the schools in the area and can give you better guidance than I, a parent, can.

[Anonymous]

Sorry I garbled the quote, but between him and Dr. Johnson, the head of school, they know all the schools in the area and can better answer your questions than most of us parents posting. If C/A is not a good fit, they know what the other good programs are for particular needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, they don't. I just spoke to Josh who welcomes your call. Here's what he sent back:


I would be delighted to speak with any parent. I see they followed up with a specific social curriculum question. "I welcome their call. We do not have a specific social curriculum but we are a good sort of go-between of the large public/private school and those schools purely designed for ASD students. Just as an FYI, we have/had students come from those specific programs, once the social piece has been addressed, and then focus on the academics and do well." So give him a call. They are on teacher workday tomorrow so he will have more time than usual. He knows all of the schools in the area and can give you better guidance than I, a parent, can.

My ASD kid is younger, but this is not my understanding of how ASD works. There's no checking off the social piece; kids with ASD will continue to need social support because even as they get older and develop better social skills, their peers' social skills are advancing (at a faster rate) as well.

[Anonymous]

Well, I have to agree with you there. I'm the PP with the older son who is an Aspie who is suggesting that OP talk to Josh. As my Aspie son has gotten older, the social issues and lack of living skills have become more pronounced. But we didn't catch it early enough for intervention so I'm no expert. It sounds like other schools really work on social interactions, eye contact, how to self-advocate better than what we experienced for our Aspie. Also we needed early intervention on speech but couldn't get it through FCPS with an IEP even though I requested it. If I could do it all over (sigh) I would have got my son very early intervention on all sorts of therapies but we didn't get the correct diagnosis until he was 16. It sounds like there are a lot of better testers and schools out there than when we went through the process, which is why I come on SN and try to help those following behind me.