New to the area .. 4 year old Son

[Anonymous]

Hello ,
We are in the process of moving to Washington D.C . From the eastern shore Md . We have a son whose 4 and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. We are currently looking at preschools in the area . He has an IEP . Could someone please help us on the proper steps to take as we are first time parents seeking great education services for our child

[Anonymous]

Where are you planning to live?

[Anonymous]

We will be living in Washington DC . My job is in Rockville Md

[Anonymous]

You can get an early stages placement if you would like. DC Public options (DCPS and Charter) start at age 3.

[Anonymous]

Thank you . I'm researching it now . After the evaluation will they recommend which schools would be a great fit ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We will be living in Washington DC . My job is in Rockville Md

You might also want to apply to Maddux and or Geneva Day School for preschool. The former provides a lot of integrated support and the latter is known for being inclusive. They're both on 7 locks road in Potomac and basically on your way to Rockville.

[Anonymous]

Where in DC?

[Anonymous]

Northwest DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will be living in Washington DC . My job is in Rockville Md

You might also want to apply to Maddux and or Geneva Day School for preschool. The former provides a lot of integrated support and the latter is known for being inclusive. They're both on 7 locks road in Potomac and basically on your way to Rockville.

Wow both schools seem impressive. Great reviews . Thank you for this info . It is really helpful . We moved from the eastern shore of md where services are slim to none

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwest DC

I'd start by seeing what Early Stages offers you. Ideally, you're in a good school boundary and there's an Early Stages spot waiting for you at your local school.

If you decide to go private, and you need full time care, School for Friends by Dupont Circle does a good job with a wide variety of kids, and will often pull kids off the waiting list at this time of the year. But NW is big so whether it would be at all convenient would depend on your location. If you need part time care, St. Columba's does a great job with kids with SN, and sometimes has space in the late summer, as does St. Paul's (tiny, but very sweet school across the playground from Murch elementary).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you . I'm researching it now . After the evaluation will they recommend which schools would be a great fit ?

After the evaluation they will meet with you and discuss the results. If the results suggest that your child needs a specialized autism program, they are supposed to offer you a place at the one closest to you. You can go an observe before agreeing to the placement. If the results suggest that your child can be placed in a regular classroom with supports from specialists (OT, SLP, etc) they would offer you a seat at your in-bound neighborhood school, or the one with seats available closest to you. You and your spouse should go into the process with an idea of what you want for your child -- a specialized program or a general classroom, and be prepared to push for it.

Early stages does not place students in charter schools. If you want to explore those options (city-wide schools, seats allocated by an annual lottery) you can do so concurrently. The lottery for 2018-19 starts opens in December. At this point, for the current school year, you would only be able to get into a charter school that has space available which are probably not going to be your first choice options. Early Stages / DCPS has to find you a spot.

This booklet provides and overview of DCPS' special education programs. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Family%20Programs%20and%20Resources%20Guide%2016-17.pdf

This shows which schools within DCPS house specialized classrooms but it's a year old. I'd ask Early Stages / DCPS for an updated copy because it changes a little year to year (e.g. Lafayette elementary now has 2 specialized classrooms) https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/special-education-classroom-locations.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

School Within a School has an autism program for higher functioning children, and so does Francis Stevens. I might suggest hiring an advocate because they know a lot about all the different options in the area. They will be able to meet your child, learn about him, then suggest schools based on his profile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you . I'm researching it now . After the evaluation will they recommend which schools would be a great fit ?

This booklet provides and overview of DCPS' special education programs. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Family%20Programs%20and%20Resources%20Guide%2016-17.pdf

This shows which schools within DCPS house specialized classrooms but it's a year old. I'd ask Early Stages / DCPS for an updated copy because it changes a little year to year (e.g. Lafayette elementary now has 2 specialized classrooms) https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/special-education-classroom-locations.

Good luck.

Fixed the 2nd link https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/DCPS%20Full-Time%20Special%20Education%20Classrooms%20SY16-17.pdf

[Anonymous]

If the child had an IEP from out of state, Early Stages will not evaluate. Their time line, by law, will be just a few days to come up with a placement.

I don't know their track record on meeting that placement timeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School Within a School has an autism program for higher functioning children, and so does Francis Stevens. I might suggest hiring an advocate because they know a lot about all the different options in the area. They will be able to meet your child, learn about him, then suggest schools based on his profile.

FWIW Takoma and Barnard have the same program (CES High Functioning) as SWW at Francis Stevens and School Within a School.