Private School Choices - Very frustrated

[Anonymous]

DH and I are very frustrated with current school choices for our 7yr old DS.

He was recently diagnosed with ADHD/Inattentive along with sensory stuff. ASD has been ruled out - not a suprise as he has tons of friends and gets along with other children. He is also funny, enthusiastic, imaginative and smart (not super-smart, but grade level smart). His sensory issues are related to under-sensitivity and not being able to regulate himself.

We are just starting down this road of trying to figure out which school will work best for him. He is currently in MoCo public, and although we've not been thrilled with his teacher - things have gotten better as we now have a diagnosis and she understands him better because of it.
We would like to go the private school/small class route for him as that is what he needs...however, we feel like Goldie Locks with respect to private schools.
One school cannot accomodate his needs although their website talks about how "inclusive and welcoming" they are, the other is more than he needs - overkill. One school tries to make pretend that they don't accomodate special needs when everyone knows that they do so they try to discourage your interest in them, the other has kids with way too many behavioral issues.

I feel like we've researched all the usual suspects with respect to school choice, but would love to get feedback from parents who do have their SP children in private. Where do they go? do you like it? are you getting what you pay for or do you think that MoCo or Fairfax could have done just as good a job at accomodating?

[Anonymous]

What schools did you look at? Did you look at McLean?

[Anonymous]

Have applied to McLean, but have not heard back yet. They are one of the ones that I was referring to - that cannot decide if they want to be an inclusive school or not. I would love it if they would accept my son, but don't want to pin my hopes on it. Have thought about Diener, but I "think" - and I could be way off on my assessment - that they cater more to children who's needs go much deeper than my DS's.

[Anonymous]

Lab School...

[Anonymous]

I've heard that Burgundy Farm and Lowell are good for kids with some milder issues, like ADHD.

[Anonymous]

What about Katherine Thomas, Kingsbury, ivymount, Lab and Chelsea? Mclean works with very mild learning/sensory issues. Deiner is for kids with pretty significant issues. There is a range of schools between the two.

[Anonymous]

i would say maddux but your son may have aged out by now. siena? diener, kingsbury, katherine thomas, and ivymount are for children with fairly significant needs.

i would check in with a consultant, like suzie blattner, who knows the schools and can help guide you to the right place.

good luck.

[Anonymous]

What about Flint Hill? Check out their web site. They believe in catering to different learning styles.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to second..Flint Hill is another great school, but tends to be like Mclean-the kids who need extra help have very mild issues. Migyht even be milder than McLean in some cases.

[Anonymous]

My DS's needs are not sever or even moderate. As I posted, he has ADHD/Inattentive and some sensory issues that are getting in the way of his learning. Schools like Diener, K.Thomas and Kingsbury are way more than he needs. It is my understanding thet all these schools have kids mostly on the spectrum with behavioral issues - please correct me if I'm wrong?

My DS is NOT on the spectrum and his only behavioral issues are mild - mostly due to the ADHD and sensory stuff. Hence my frustration. Maybe we should just stay in MoCo, get an IEP or 504 and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at Green Acres? It's a progressive school. Some kids do really well with it. It's a nice school. If you are looking for a small class situation look at some of the "typical"private schools. For example, Norwood, Landon, Mater Dei. They don't advertise but they have kids with sensory/ADHD. Most "typical" schools are not going to come out and say they have programs because they don't but in a small class situation kids often handle the stimulation and academics differently which could make a difference for your child. You could try to get an IEP/504 but if your child is making progress and his ADHD is not really impacting his ability to learn in the class you may not get as much support for him as he needs. It's worth a try but be prepared and ask his teachers the direction they are thinking about in terms of the IEP. Depending on the teachers and school MCPS can be difficult. Good luck! I hope you find the right school or placement situation for him.

[Anonymous]

OP, how do your son's issues manifest in daily life outside the home? What does he do the drew your attention to the issue in the first place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wanted to second..Flint Hill is another great school, but tends to be like Mclean-the kids who need extra help have very mild issues. Migyht even be milder than McLean in some cases.

Umm, not they are not that mild. You have no idea how many children at Flint Hill are using their in house therapies and psychological services. More than you'd think. For a twelve or fourteen year old to still not know how to organize their schoolwork is not necessarily a 'mild' issue. I've seen kids there exhibiting aggression on the playground due to sensory issues. I've seen numerous kids getting one on one tutoring in the middle of their class day. I've seen children getting pulled out for physical therapies in the middle of the day. I also visited Mclean and the only difference between the Mclean kids and FH kids is that there are just more kids with issues at Mclean. So, same degree of issues, but more of them at Mclean. FH probably also has a handful of Aspergers children (although Aspergers is no longer the correct diagnositic term to describe these children, the correct term is simply mild autism I suppose). These children do well academically and are quite rule-oriented but they have social issues. Mclean just has more of them. FH counsels out the aggressive children however.

[Anonymous]

Mclean doesn't tolerate aggressive children either. I think it sounds perfect for your child. The time when they were having an identity crisis there is long over. They are clearly now a mainstream school that has a lot of experience with kids with mild learning differences. When we went to an open house they said 50% of their students have a diagnosis, so they aren't running from it.

I would be careful with schools like Green Acres and Lowell, even though they are very welcoming of kids with differences. They are progressive schools which can be a bad fit for kids with ADHD who need a lot of structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just wanted to second..Flint Hill is another great school, but tends to be like Mclean-the kids who need extra help have very mild issues. Migyht even be milder than McLean in some cases.

Umm, not they are not that mild. You have no idea how many children at Flint Hill are using their in house therapies and psychological services. More than you'd think. For a twelve or fourteen year old to still not know how to organize their schoolwork is not necessarily a 'mild' issue. I've seen kids there exhibiting aggression on the playground due to sensory issues. I've seen numerous kids getting one on one tutoring in the middle of their class day. I've seen children getting pulled out for physical therapies in the middle of the day. I also visited Mclean and the only difference between the Mclean kids and FH kids is that there are just more kids with issues at Mclean. So, same degree of issues, but more of them at Mclean. FH probably also has a handful of Aspergers children (although Aspergers is no longer the correct diagnositic term to describe these children, the correct term is simply mild autism I suppose). These children do well academically and are quite rule-oriented but they have social issues. Mclean just has more of them. FH counsels out the aggressive children however.

No, Asperger's is still correct and it will be until at least May of 2013. The DSM-V is still in review.