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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]for all of you recommending Field, am interested in where all the kids with Aspergers, etc are at Field-- there are not many.  A few, but the classes are by no means filled with kids on the spectrum.  [/quote]

The admissions team at Field told us that Field may be Ok for kids with mild issues (presumably like ADD) but is not the place for kids with more serious LDs; Lab School may be more appropriate in that case.  Call them and ask - they were very upfront about it when asked.[/quote]

Lab does not take kids on the spectrum -- they are a great example of admissions offices/educators who should know better than to paint all diagnoses with a broad brush, yet make decisions based on stereotypes.

But, yes, for kids with more significant academic challenges, Lab would be more appropriate than Field.[/quote]

Lab specializes in learning disabilities and not Asperger's where the primary issue is with social communication and pragmatics so it serves a specific niche.  Not every SN school can serve every SN.  [/quote]

Right, but some kids have both, and many kids with language-based learning disabilities (Lab's specialty) have pragmatic weaknesses. But Lab still has a blanket rule that doesn't take into account the specific needs of specific students. But this is a topic for another thread.[/quote]

And yet we know a child with a spectrum diagnosis who attends Lab. So who knows how these things work in practice.  [/quote]

And they are probably in an older grade.  Lab use to take kids on the spectrum but then they changed their mission to focus on learning disabilities.[/quote]

Actually, no.  Early elementary in this case.  [/quote]

If you call Lab and ask, they will tell you that they do not take kids on the spectrum. [/quote]

This is one of those phenomena that I find counterproductive.  I can sort-of see why Lab says that because they want to focus on helping kids with specific learning challenges and they don't want to open the floodgates to application from parents who believe theirs is a school that treats spectrum issues.

But in the first place, although they say that, it clearly isn't true. For one thing we know two kids there in the elementary school who are diagnosed as being on the spectrum, and I'm guessing that there are plenty more we don't know about.  And for a second thing, EVERY school has kids on the spectrum, whether the school has looked over a diagnosis or not.

[b]It would be more accurate and more honest for Lab to say instead, "Our mission is to help kids with the following learning challenges. . ." [/b]rather than "we won't accept kids on the spectrum."  Saying the latter makes them appear both more closed-minded and less forthright than even mainstream schools.  In any case there must be a better way than keeping up what is obviously a facade.[/quote]

To point out the obvious, that is exactly what the Lab Mission says, "For almost 50 years, The Lab School of Washington has been providing an exceptional, college-preparatory academic experience for bright students (grades 1-12) with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences (often referred to as learning disabilities)."

They don't take kids on the spectrum any longer b/c of the public funding issues.  But there are many privates that specifically take kids on the spectrum.[/quote]

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