Are there scholarships/vouchers for autism services in MD/DC/VA? Other state assistance?
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jbarceneaux
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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. |
Anonymous
| I do believe that Maryland has programs like this. Start with your county special Ed department and go from there. |
Anonymous
| How old is your son? |
Anonymous
| Maryland has the LISS program but its a lottery. |
Anonymous
| Virginia has nothing, you can’t even get Medicaid. |
jbarceneaux
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| Our son will be 14 in January. |
Anonymous
And it’s only $2000. No there’s no money for school. If you want private you pay unless you can get the public system to place you in a private program because you can’t be served adequately in public. The waiver waitlist is a decade long. In DC there is no wait. In VA look up the Katie Beckett waiver. |
jbarceneaux
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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.
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Anonymous
| hahahaha no. You don't get to just choose private school. Your child's IEP will transfer. But the public school can try to fulfill what's in the IEP and if they can't, they could offer private placement or--more likely--you would need to hire a lawyer and fight for it. You should look at the wrightslaw website and possibly hire a special education advocate to counsel you on what to expect if you move to different parts of the DC metro area. |
Anonymous
| You contact the assigned public school and they will review the IEP, hold a meeting and then decide the appropriate placement. Depending on the needs, there is a very slim chance they will pay but otherwise you have to hire an advocate/attorney and possible threaten or sue the school system if you want the public school system to pay for private. The waiver provides extra supports and is separate from public. |
Anonymous
| For "high functioning" it will be very difficult to secure a private placement but it depends on what you define as high functioning. |
Anonymous
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Is anyone else surprised that Florida has such a program when
none of our local states do? |
Anonymous
| There aren’t really private SN schools here for high functioning kids anyway. |
Anonymous
It is part of a voucher program in Florida. Politically it is a very different place. OP - when people said there is no wait in DC they meant for a Medicaid waiver. Do not assume or plan on being able to get the public school system in DC, MD, or VA to pay for a private school for your child. That’s a long legal fight in the best of circumstances and hinges on the schools having nothing appropriate for your kid or them making no progress after a rather lengthy period of time. |
Anonymous
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Given that private placement is exceedingly unlikely for HFA, and assuming you don't want to pay for private out of pocket, I would suggest asking which districts in the area best meet the needs of kids with HFA.
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