Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you to all. I have not toured as he is only in third and we are just thinking ahead for next year. On one hand, if he does get in, I will be sad to have him transition out of his elementary school for 5th grade, but on the other, I know he needs a smaller more structured environment. From what I have read here, it may actually be a good fit, as he is the "nerd facts" type of kid, always reading and reciting how far away are the planets, the names of their moons, etc.

Will he be ok studying/memorizing content that he does not like/inst interested in?

We call that "school" and "work" and "life". But you do you.

We're aware that life requires doing things we don't always want to do, and kids need to learn that. But I think the point is that Basis requires more studying and memorization than most schools, especially in middle school. My middle schooler is memorizing as much or more biology and history than I did in high school. Some kids deal better with those requirements than others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you to all. I have not toured as he is only in third and we are just thinking ahead for next year. On one hand, if he does get in, I will be sad to have him transition out of his elementary school for 5th grade, but on the other, I know he needs a smaller more structured environment. From what I have read here, it may actually be a good fit, as he is the "nerd facts" type of kid, always reading and reciting how far away are the planets, the names of their moons, etc.

Will he be ok studying/memorizing content that he does not like/inst interested in?

We call that "school" and "work" and "life". But you do you.

^^^Similar experience for my upper middle school child with ASD. The curriculum is great. Child is thriving academically. Sensory issues can be challenging (as well as behavioral issues unrelated to BASIS). But child is managing and likes the school.

As comparison, I know ASD kids at Latin who are also happy, but I know the constant group work and PE are triggers.

I have a 5th grader with ASD at BASIS, and it's been a dream for him. They focus so heavily on executive functioning this first year, which has been really nice. He likes the challenge of classes and grades. The structure of the day, and knowing the patterns for the classes and the way they teach has also been really good for him.

He does have sensory issues, and is starting to wear ear plugs in the hallways. He also wears a chewy necklace, and doesn't get any grief from other kids for either of these things. I like the support staff there too. I get weekly updates and emails is something is out of the norm.

This has been a great experience for him so far this year.

Go to an open house, even this year, well in advance of applications. Then you can keep in mind what you see and learn there as you pay attention to how your kid handles learning.

We did not choose Basis, but their emphasis at teaching executive function and working with the kids to take charge of their own coursework by writing down assignments in a specific way seemed impressive at the open house.
But the hallway crunch not so much.

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you to all. I have not toured as he is only in third and we are just thinking ahead for next year. On one hand, if he does get in, I will be sad to have him transition out of his elementary school for 5th grade, but on the other, I know he needs a smaller more structured environment. From what I have read here, it may actually be a good fit, as he is the "nerd facts" type of kid, always reading and reciting how far away are the planets, the names of their moons, etc.

Will he be ok studying/memorizing content that he does not like/inst interested in?

OP Here. Thank you to all. I have not toured as he is only in third and we are just thinking ahead for next year. On one hand, if he does get in, I will be sad to have him transition out of his elementary school for 5th grade, but on the other, I know he needs a smaller more structured environment. From what I have read here, it may actually be a good fit, as he is the "nerd facts" type of kid, always reading and reciting how far away are the planets, the names of their moons, etc.

OP, if your child is super bright, gifted in math, and independently motivated to do well, then BASIS would likely be a better fit for your child than say, a super athletic non-academic boy who's bright but not super bright.

There are plenty of nerdy/socially awkward, non athletes at BASIS. The school is incredibly structured and assignments are super organized, so there's a lot of built in executive functioning support.

If your role as a parent is to say, "Hey, let's look at your CJ together -- dd you do your 20 math problems?," then I think that's manageable, especially since your kid will eventually learn how to check his CJ himself.

But if your role is to badger your kid to do his math work instead of playing Minecraft, and he says he hates math and doesn't understand it, then I think BASIS may not be a great fit.

They try hard to teach executive functioning because stellar skills are necessary to succeed there. Those lessons may be helpful for use elsewhere later though.

OP, have you toured the school? Maybe have a chat with the HOS or student services lead if possible.

OP, it might be worth it because BASIS does spend so much time putting supports in place for ALL students to improve their executive functioning. They actually try very hard to teach this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is he sensory-wise?
I ask b/c of the physical facility at Basis - it is crowded, loud, etc. As a parent, I dread any events when I have to go!

I was going to post this. When we say "crowded, loud," we mean sold out rock concert loud and crowded.
There is PE in MS.

+1 We mean "I taught my kid how to survive a crowd crush" crowded and loud.

I don't know much about ASD and I don't have a kid at BASIS, but I have kids at 2 other different middle schools, and several of their close friends are at BASIS.

My hunch (please take it for what it's) is that it depends more on your kid's personality than on executive functioning ability. IMHO what's more important at BASIS is being able to absorb information some kids might consider boring. The executive functioning bit you can help with, and even if your kid gets bad grades, he'll be absorbing information and getting his education. He will still do well on the tests. If, on the other hand, the fast pace and amount of material aren't for him, it doesn't matter how good his executive function is.

My kid is neurotypical but easily bored in the school setting, and so I opted not to go with BASIS.

I wouldn’t count on it for long term, but it might be a decent middle school option.

I have a successful high school student there, and without a doubt, his stellar executive functioning skills are key. They are taught, but I can’t imagine how difficult it would be without the inherent skill. It seems like a lot to put on a child.

On the other hand, I know a middle schooler with ASD and low executive functioning skills. The school is doing very well with him. His parents believe it is better than other options. He will not get through all of middle school there but his parents believed the knowledge he has gotten has made the experience worthwhile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:. For example, when my kid was in 5th he totally blew a quiz (think F----). He was otherwise an excellent student. We only found out about it when we looked at the interim report and his grade cratered. BASIS also does not allow retakes or re-dos. If your kid leaves his homework at home or in his locker he's going to get a 0 for the assignment.

Our son had similar experiences. But from my perspective, grades don't matter at all until 9th grade. Fifth grade is exactly the time to get zeros on not turned into homework, if they learn from that. In 7th, he's starting to get organized, and he's smart enough to have a decent understanding of the substance, as it sounds like the original poster's son would.

Agree. My point to OP was that the school is not going to reach out and hand hold, or even say anything at all in all likelihood. OP needs to be prepared to be engaged and attentive to identify issues and work with her son to develop the necessary executive functions.