Reply to Please help us--where to send child with significant health problem?

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[quote=Anonymous]I think the suggestions that you're getting for the Episcopal schools are good ones.  I'd add St. Patrick's to the list, although it's probably the least likely to have space at this point in the summer.

Schools like Green Acres and Lowell, while lovely and a great choice for many kids, are probably not going to be the best choice in this situation.  There's too much movement within the classroom in a very progressive environment, which can be hard for a kid with mobility impairments.  If other kids are working on the carpet, for example, a child who is using a wheelchair that day will be excluded.  The Episcopal schools are a little more traditional in that kids are often at desks, and will have their "place" in the classroom, which can then be tailored to their needs.  I know that the spaces at Grace and W.E.S. are also accessible, with open hallways etc . . . I have never been in C.E.S..

I'd also look at St. Andrew's, but I don't know whether the space at St. Andrew's is accessible.  The lowest grades are in a church, and church settings are sometimes problematic because the spaces aren't purpose built.

The other thing I'd think about is whether the MCPS schools that were designed with accessibility in mind would work.  2 schools come to mind.  One possibility would be Forest Knolls in Silver Spring, which has a reputation as a lovely school for all kids, but is also the site of MCPS's physical disabilities program.   The kids in that program probably have more consistent needs than your daughter (e.g. they may be full time wheelchair users, and may have other issues like needing high tech computer systems), but they're fully included which means that the classrooms and bathrooms are designed for them.  Forest Knolls is also a very diverse school, including socio-economic diversity, and as a result has Title 1 funding that they use to keep classes under 20 in the early grades.

Another school to look at is Bethesda Elementary.  Bethesda is considered one of the best inclusion programs in the area, probably the best in the county.  They house the School Community Based program, which serves kids with severe multiple disabilities, and again include many kids with significant mobility challenges in their classrooms, so they're really good about physical space and using technology.  The Bethesda Elementary area is more expensive, and you'd probably be looking at an apartment rather than a house, but it might be doable if you took the money you'd put towards tuition and put it towards rent.  [/quote]

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