Anonymous wrote:Early Start Denver Model. It is worth reading about and getting the parent book - game changer for us. This will also teach you some skills as a parent:

https://helpisinyourhands.org

ESDM is very, very, very similar to Floortime, just in case you need an alternative. Duke U has a parent class on ESDM. There are books. Apparently there are now other places that train on ESDM. https://www.esdm.co/introductory-workshops
https://autismcenter.duke.edu/events/training-early-start-denver-model
https://autismcenter.duke.edu/content/online-caregiver-coaching-modules-based-early-start-denver-model
https://www.amazon.com/Early-Start-Denver-Children-Autism/dp/1606236318/ref=asc_df_1606236318/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312034012759&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=957535150177129121&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008180&hvtargid=pla-517785520717&psc=1&asin=1606236318&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1


Floortime has books and there is a center in Bethesda.
https://www.stanleygreenspan.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Autism-Floortime-Approach-Communicate/dp/0738210943?asin=0738210943&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 (There are many books by Greenspan, who was at NIMH.)
http://www.thefloortimecenter.com/


ESDM is supposedly a type of "naturalistic" ABA - behavioral approach. By contrast, Floortime is supposedly a developmental approach. Over time, these two philosophies - behavioral and developmental - have begun to similarly although they started off very different. Each has incorporated the better elements of the other. We started with Floortime, using the center in Bethesda and reading the Engaging Autism book, but then I bought the ESDM book and was floored to see that I was already doing about 75% of it through Floortime.

Anonymous wrote:OP here--thanks everyone for the helpful advice. What is ESDM?

And thankful to hear that MCPS has been a supportive experience. I was talking to a parent in the DCPS of a kid with HFA and she sounded like it had been a very difficult experience.

A lot will depend on the individual child and what their developmental trajectory turns out to be. Your child could well be very different.

Anonymous wrote:OP here--one more question. How do you get into the autism program in MCPS? Someone told me there is a asperger's (hope I got the spelling right this time) program at Sligo Creek Elementary. Can you go there even if it is not the elementary school in your neighborhood?

Contact MoCo’s early intervention service. They can point you to county resources.

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to disagree with most of the posters. Public schools have the staff to actually support your kids and are legally required to. In Covid times, many private schools will not allow an outside therapist in. Our kid is at Janney and we’ve been really happy.

+1
Our son was diagnosed as autistic in PK3 in our DC Charter and I found the school strongly supported the evaluation and getting our son an IEP - in fact they reached out to us to request we evaluate him, which we did through the school. He was diagnosed as likely autistic (the evaluation did not explicitly diagnose autism but indicated high likelihood of autism) and he qualified for extensive services, PT and speech therapy. He gradually improved year by year and by age 6 he graduated from his IEP and was determined to not have autism. I have no explanation other than 1) he is very shy and was noncooperative with the evaluations and 2) he had a number of motor skill delays that likely contributed to the diagnosis - late walker, late talker, etc. He absolutely benefited from all the services. We never had to argue for them. In fact the school regularly advocated to increase services. He repeated PK3 and I think was the first student at the school held back at this age. Then in each year he did progressively better. By Kindergarten (his 4th year of school) his teacher said he functioned as well as children without IEPs, and at age 6 he graduated from it.

He’s now 10 and does really well in school and is still overall very shy with new activities, but once comfortable does well socially, plays sports/swims and has good friends. No explanation for changes and issues with early development but we got a ton of support easily from his public charter school and supplemented with private services and gradually he was able to develop on track and excel.

18:57 here. Once you have an IEP, the team (you and other people from the school) will determine the appropriate placement for your dd. Typically, the default is your local school and if that is not appropriate, there needs to be a reason why. You may want to try to keep her in the regular classroom if your local school has good special Ed supports. If they will provide her with ST, OT and behavior support at her local school through her IEP, that may be best. Only you will be able to determine that and you don’t need to decide now. We always evaluated on a year by year basis. What she needs now may not be what she needs in a year. For us, the diagnosis wasn’t as important as treating the underlying issues with whatever therapy our dc needed (psychologist for anxiety, speech, pt, OT). But the diagnosis may help you get services at school. But we found that in the early years we always had to supplement with private therapy - which in the DC area is rarely covered by insurance.

Early Start Denver Model. It is worth reading about and getting the parent book - game changer for us. This will also teach you some skills as a parent:

https://helpisinyourhands.org

OP here--one more question. How do you get into the autism program in MCPS? Someone told me there is a asperger's (hope I got the spelling right this time) program at Sligo Creek Elementary. Can you go there even if it is not the elementary school in your neighborhood?

OP here--thanks everyone for the helpful advice. What is ESDM?

And thankful to hear that MCPS has been a supportive experience. I was talking to a parent in the DCPS of a kid with HFA and she sounded like it had been a very difficult experience.

I would do three things: 1) pursue social pragmatically - look at ESDM, get on the waitlist for KKI Achievements and take the spot when it comes open (amazing program - nothing else like it in the area), and look at Treatment and Learning Center in Rockville.

2) Then contact MCPS PEP - there are a range of preschool options that your child might qualify for.

3) Check out TPES if that’s your local school for K. The principal is phenomenal, and they definitely have kids with ASD in the school.

I would not write off public. MCPS has a ton to offer for ASD kids with varying needs. You might be surprised to see how much support you can get and how amazing many of the teachers are.

I have a kid with HFA who is now 20 and he was in both public and private at various times. Because you say your dd is ahead academically, I would stick with public for now. A lot of the kids in the privates geared towards special needs kids may be behind grade level at this point. It will be a balance bc you will want your dd to have socialization with peers but also be challenged academically. Note that she can make up the any academic deficiencies at any time - you need to focus on the social and behavioral now. I still say public bc you can get an IEP (try to get an advocate to help you get a robust IEP). If she is above grade level, they will say she doesn’t need one but a good advocate will help them see that the social behavioral issues will affect her ability to access the curriculum. And see if you can get into the asperger’s program in MCPS. We left MD in. 5th grade so I’m not familiar with current programs and when you can enter. Then throw money you were going to spend on private on supplemental services. Get a behavior therapist to help with her behavior. Get her into social skills groups. Anything the dev ped recommends. My son with autism is one of the brightest, funniest, best people I know. Does he have challenges? Yes but so do lots of 20 year olds who don’t have autism right now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to disagree with most of the posters. Public schools have the staff to actually support your kids and are legally required to. In Covid times, many private schools will not allow an outside therapist in. Our kid is at Janney and we’ve been really happy.

Sure but if they don’t do what’s legally required - and many don’t - then what?

Get the IEP in place before your kid starts K. Then if they don’t follow it, you sue for private placement. The privates we spoke to for this year had no interest in dealing with any kid who didn’t fit in their little box. The private schools are so full they don’t need the kids. If you can do Maddux, that’s a great one. Going to a school that doesn’t have support doesn’t necessarily help even if the classes are smaller.

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to disagree with most of the posters. Public schools have the staff to actually support your kids and are legally required to. In Covid times, many private schools will not allow an outside therapist in. Our kid is at Janney and we’ve been really happy.

Sure but if they don’t do what’s legally required - and many don’t - then what?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no letter B in aspergers.

S/ someone who has it. 😬

Persnickety pants

Ha! Literally had the same reaction. “Oh, look [ASD son] has joined the chat.” 😆

You guys are jerks

I’m going to disagree with most of the posters. Public schools have the staff to actually support your kids and are legally required to. In Covid times, many private schools will not allow an outside therapist in. Our kid is at Janney and we’ve been really happy.

NP. We are in a similar situation. If you could move to Montgomery County to help get your HFA kid better educational services, where would you recommend moving?