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[quote=Anonymous]DC is at Maddux this year and will definitely stay there next year and likely the year after as well.  I used to completely roll my eyes at the Maddux posters - they seemed so over the top with their praise that I figured they had simply drunk cool-aid.  I am a professor of education, so I go into any educational setting with a very critical eye and armed with a whole host of research about what "best practices" should look like.  After nearly a year of seeing what Maddux has done, looking from the perspective of both an academic and a mother, I have now drunk the cool-aid too.  In our experience, this is a fantastic little place if a highly structured (both socially and academically), very rigorous, and highly individualized program is what you're looking for (this last is key - it is not right for all children).

DC does not have a spectrum dx but instead has dxs of developmental delays, visual and auditory processing disorders, executive functioning challenges, and some attention issues.  It is hard in some cases to tell what DC's friends' dxs might be...all benefit from the structured social environment, but beyond that, the issues each is facing differ.  We have been told by teachers and directors that DC has the most significant learning disabilities in the class.  Still, DC has gone from being totally uninterested in being read to or having any interest in "pre-academics" at all to being an emerging reader (can read level 1 books with increasing fluidity by the week) and also a child who is constantly, and I mean constantly, sounding things out, reading every sign we pass, and writing writing writing.  I go into DC's room in the morning and find pages and pages of writing.  Sometimes it's random letters and numbers, but often there are words and - I am not kidding - very often "I love Maddux" written over and over, along with names of friends and family members. DC absolutely loves school and the teachers and considers it the ultimate disappointment if for any reason there is no school or a half day.  Remember - this is a child with significant learning disabilities, for whom school is "hard."  But this love of learning and curiosity about learning is just bubbling, thanks to the teaching at Maddux.  It's really incredible.

We very nearly did not apply to Maddux last year because I worried about putting DC into a school for children all of whom needed "extra support" -- the research is pretty clearly in favor of inclusion -- but I am so glad I went to visit when I did and of course, as you can tell, we really think it is the best place in the world for DC.  My specialization is not early childhood education, but I am well-read in both childhood and special education, and nearly everything Maddux is doing is exactly what the research indicates.  And since it's a regular ed curriculum approved by the State of Maryland, transferring out to other schools is very easy.  DC is testing right on track for school year and ahead for developmental level.

In terms of where children go after Maddux, my understanding is that it runs the gamut.  Many go on to regular ed programs, both public and private, some with support and some without.  A few do go into schools or programs catering to students with LDs - DC most certainly will.  The directors are very "hands on" about their exmissions and take "the next step" very seriously.  You can call Andrea Mullins, the director, and ask her for a list of schools where children from last year went.  I know she told us this info last year at the Open House I attended, and I am sure she has this info at her fingertips.

Good luck with your decision, OP.
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