OP here - when you say "(helps to have an educational advocate for these programs at your IEP meeting" - is the educational advocate someone you hired, or is it appointed by the school system? I know nothing.

Op here. Great info regarding Montgomery County. Thanks. Greenwood School in Jacksonville FL serves kids wit high functioning autism and other learning differences. It's wonderful. https://greenwoodjax.org It goes from 6-12th grade. Before 6th grade there is next to nothing for our kids. Florida has the Gardner Scholarship which is about $10,000 that you can use for all medical and educational expenses as described in other's posts, but since health insurance covers next to nothing (or nothing in my case) for autism services and medical expenses it goes quickly. I would not say Florida is a great place for support for autism. I've heard of a couple of good schools near Orlando years ago when my son was in Elementary, but I have no first hand knowledge of them. Public schools are a hit or miss - mostly a miss. I know of one family that's happy with their public school in Jacksonville, but I've heard they generally don't want speccial needs kids -and most families choose private with either the Gardner scholarship or the McKay Scholarship (the McKay is for kids that have been in public school for at least a year I belive - so we did't qualify for that.) In general public school in Florida can't compare to Montgomery Country public schools.

Thanks. I've done FLVS Flex, so yes, it's always an option. There's no subsitute for inperson socialization though so still hoping I'll find that perfect fit in the DC area.

OP here...Thank you so much for the information. I was hoping that by moving to a more progressive area of the country we would find more help. Kids like mine we have often said are in the doughnut hole - not quite the right fit for mainstream schools and not the right fit for special needs schools. We found one here, and are hoping to find one there too. I've seen some that serve ADHD etc, but are so expensive - as much as college tuition. I'll figure out a way to pay for it I guess. I'm not a fan of vouchers, but the scholarship my son has here has made it possible to attend a school that can serve his needs since the public system can't. I wish public schools were better but they just aren't.

Thank you. When you say there is no wait in DC, what do you mean- we put him in public school and tell them we want to go to private? Do they pick the school? I'm unfamiliar with the placement system - our son has never been in public school.

Our son will be 14 in January.

Hi, We're moving from Florida to the DC area this summer and our son with autism (high functioning) recieves a state funded scholarship for educational needs. The scholarship can be used for school tuition, school supplies or therapy etc. related to his autism diagnosis. Does Virginia or Maryland or DC have anything similar? What services are there? Where do I find information?

Thanks so much.

Thank you - great information here!

Commonwealth looks good too - similar to my son's school now. Does anyone know if they have kids with ASD there? My son's autism wasn't diagnosed till he was 10 even though he was screened at age 4. The school that he goes to now has kids with mild autism and ADHD and Dyslexia- all types of different learners. Thanks.

Ugh!! I just searched and messages about Auburn doesn't look good! I wondered why thier website had all info from 2019 and nothing recently. It's a shame I thought there would be more choices in the DC area. I'll keep searching and thank you so much for the great (as usual) advice!

Thank you everyone. I didn't think anyone was holding back, in fact I'm thrilled with the very quick responses! We lived in Bethesda over 10 years ago and I loved the DC Urban Mom listserv back then. Happy to be able to draw on this incredible group's knowledge. I did some quick searching and it looks like Auburn is very similar to my son's current school.

Thank you for the replies. We just wanted some names of private schools that serve high functioning autism kids and other kids with learning differences. Our son is on grade level, but needs small class sizes (less than 10) and some help with executive functioning - organization etc., and teachers who understand the quirks of kids with autism.

Jenny

Looking for private. We plan to live near the school. We would prefer Virginia as it is closer to work, but have lived in Bethesda so are familiar with that area. Our son has never been in public school.

Thanks