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[quote=Anonymous]We left our very well regarded (and rightfully so) Arlington public school for The Newton School after grade 2. My son had friends, but I could tell it wouldn't necessarily stay that way. I had my own personal experiences to draw on from what it is like to navigate a big public school setting with ADHD and sensory issues (many years past). My main goal was at the time was to make it so "my son didn't grow to hate himself." When your executive functioning doesn't work like most everyone else's, ultimately you're cast off as "irrelevant" or "weird" or a "spaz". I also knew that he had intense sensory seeking behaviors that kept him from really focusing on his day to day work/tasks. It takes a special (loving) teacher to keep a child like mine on task, not get turned off with the seemingly never ending need to address the same issues over and over again AND still deal with 24 other kids. Who says you're going to get that prize teacher year after year? The current public school system simply CANNOT truly help these kids they way they need. Mine needs to MOVE. A LOT, every day. Before I found Newton, I spent a lot of time fantasizing about what kind of "perfect" school needed to be created so that my son would have this wonderful place that was geared toward all the things he TRULY needed.. like the ability 'hang from the rafters" (so to speak) a few times a day. I figured it needed to have a huge gym that was unlike any other school gym and the kids would get to use everyday——and more than once a day or once a week. And in this gym, there would be experienced professionals who knew all of the right and best activities to engage my son in, that would help him in more than just learning how to throw a ball or run fast. But also on deeper more fundamental ways of working as a team and communicating. I knew it would be a place that somehow integrated teaching social skills, if not in every daily situation, maybe it would have a specialized course on social skills. Because there are kids who are born with that "knowledge" (i have one of those, she came fabulously pre- programmed that way) and plenty of others who really need to be TAUGHT all the ins and outs of the social world. It needs to be EXPLAINED and EXAMPLED to these kids more than once.

When I found The Newton School, I was blown away by how it seemed to be almost exactly what I had hoped magically existed somewhere. There it was. Right there in Sterling.

I knew private school wasn't in the budget and I knew an Arlington to Sterling commute wasn't at the top of my "Fun Things to Do Every Weekday" list. But I also, knew I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least go and look and tour the school.

Husband and I  met the next day with the Director of the school, Allison Abraham. We talked with her and toured the school for at least an hour. We left that interview with absolute determination that this was THE place our son needed to be and HOW would we be able to make it happen?

Anyway, coming up on two years later, we figured it out and we are still there. Having my son at Newton has helped him in ways that I KNOW would not have been addressed had he stayed at our neighborhood school. He is very proud of Newton, he knows it is special and he feels valued there. Because he *IS* valued. There are about 57 kids at Newton, and I feel very confident that every single one of them is genuinely cared for and looked after. Our parent/teacher conference is one hour, twice a year. Not twenty minutes sandwiched between two other families.

I can call the Director almost any time and hear back from her immediately. Be careful what you bring up to her. It will be solved before you know it. She is extremely responsive and will do all she can to address your child's needs.

My son also presents as neuro-typical. Plenty of my friends and people I've met in passing hit a tiny glitch in their thoughts when they find out where my son goes to school. "But, Um, isn't that a special needs school? I don't get it. It doesn't seem like your son is special needs." Well,  he IS special needs. He has ADHD, he is an intense sensory-seeker and has other social things going on that he needs to have spelled out for him. It has been a great environment for him and he has grown emotionally a lot since starting there. I too get the "Wow, he's changed/grown emotionally." comments from family who've not seen him in many months." People are pleasantly surprised by his progress.

If you do nothing else, go visit the school. Have Allison Abraham show you around. Her drive and positivity is impressive. 
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