Anonymous wrote:
Hi there, I posted about CAPP back in November. I personally think CAPP is far superior to PEP, and is likely the best autism pre-school program in MOCO. They do ~23 hours of ABA a week, and intermixed they have ST, OT, and if necessary, PT. My son is in school for the entire elementary school day, which on occasion is exhausting for him, but he will take a ten-minute power nap in the day if he really needs it.

The PEP program does not do any ABA. To be honest, I am not entirely sure what happens in that program, but it is not at all rigorous, and it is generally half-a-day. i know that there are a bunch of different PEP programs, and one of them is all day, but again, you will see them when you do the tour. As well, ask that they give you a tour of the CAPP program as well. our family did both, and we recognized immediately that CAPP was the much better fit for our son.

Without doubt you can fight for your kid's placement at the IEP meeting. This weird misdirection from your I&T coordinator is very frustrating to hear, as I did not experience any of that. Your child DOES NOT even have to have an autism diagnosis to get into CAPP. Also, you have to make it very clear to your I&T person that CAPP is where you want your child to be (if this is what you end up wanting), and that is the placement that is most appropriate for her.

Anonymous wrote:

Not the OP, but could you please elaborate more on CAPP? I asked I&T about CAPP and understood that it is only for children with an Autism diagnosis..My DC has the diagnosis and she will turn 3 this year and so we have to tour the PEP classes..I am also interested in knowing more about CAPP..my DC has a lot of behavioral issues and language is now in 2 word phrases but she keeps repeating words over and over or keeps singing rhymes all the time. I was told that based on her skill set in a couple months we will know whether she will qualify for 5hr PEP or 10 hr or 15 hours or 25 hours and county decides this based on the evaluation..I thought as parents we have the right to choose what her class she can go to if she already has a diagnosis..a bit confused..

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Karasik? It is a daycare run by ARC that has special needs and typical peers.
They are located in Four Corners area of Silver Spring. I believe They also have an on-site PEP class that kids can participate in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we live in North Bethesda. I have personally spoken to Maddux on several occasions and they have told me that my son is not a fit for the school. He has a severe autism diagnosis. He just started speaking in August. He uses 1 word to label items and say his needs. He is now, this week, starting to do 2 and 3 word phrases. He is completely potty trained, plays with toys appropriately (not fixated on parts of toys or only one type of toy) but does not interact with other children at all, does not respond to questions unless there is a visual, and is very rigid (won't go into new places, hard time with people he knows in a different setting than normal).

As weird as it sounds, it seems like for most schools he is too severe and other schools he is not severe enough. I wish so badly PEP could be an all day program.. he thrives with routine and the CAPP program is not appropriate for him.

I really appreciate all of your response. I feel like teachers, doctors and school staff can make recommendations but the parents are often the best people to talk to about different options.

I hope you all have a wonderful halloween.. hoping our little one decides to wear a costume.

I am not sure why you would say that CAPP is not appropriate. It sounds like he is actually a good fit. My son is very similar to your son, and he is doing very well in CAPP-

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we live in North Bethesda. I have personally spoken to Maddux on several occasions and they have told me that my son is not a fit for the school. He has a severe autism diagnosis. He just started speaking in August. He uses 1 word to label items and say his needs. He is now, this week, starting to do 2 and 3 word phrases. He is completely potty trained, plays with toys appropriately (not fixated on parts of toys or only one type of toy) but does not interact with other children at all, does not respond to questions unless there is a visual, and is very rigid (won't go into new places, hard time with people he knows in a different setting than normal).

As weird as it sounds, it seems like for most schools he is too severe and other schools he is not severe enough. I wish so badly PEP could be an all day program.. he thrives with routine and the CAPP program is not appropriate for him.

I really appreciate all of your response. I feel like teachers, doctors and school staff can make recommendations but the parents are often the best people to talk to about different options.

I hope you all have a wonderful halloween.. hoping our little one decides to wear a costume.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we live in North Bethesda. I have personally spoken to Maddux on several occasions and they have told me that my son is not a fit for the school. He has a severe autism diagnosis. He just started speaking in August. He uses 1 word to label items and say his needs. He is now, this week, starting to do 2 and 3 word phrases. He is completely potty trained, plays with toys appropriately (not fixated on parts of toys or only one type of toy) but does not interact with other children at all, does not respond to questions unless there is a visual, and is very rigid (won't go into new places, hard time with people he knows in a different setting than normal).

As weird as it sounds, it seems like for most schools he is too severe and other schools he is not severe enough. I wish so badly PEP could be an all day program.. he thrives with routine and the CAPP program is not appropriate for him.

I really appreciate all of your response. I feel like teachers, doctors and school staff can make recommendations but the parents are often the best people to talk to about different options.

I hope you all have a wonderful halloween.. hoping our little one decides to wear a costume.

Speaking on the basis of very limited information, I'm not surprised that's where Maddux came down given your description, they might not think that's a diagnosis they are best positioned to help with. I know what you mean about being in that awkward spot re severity. I really would encourage you to check out KTS, they'll tell you if he's where they can help; they certainly helped us. One of the speech therapists there is a true miracle worker. If not, there are other places like the Ivymount autism program (I just mention this because you indicated "severe autism diagnosis.") Good luck to you!!

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we live in North Bethesda. I have personally spoken to Maddux on several occasions and they have told me that my son is not a fit for the school. He has a severe autism diagnosis. He just started speaking in August. He uses 1 word to label items and say his needs. He is now, this week, starting to do 2 and 3 word phrases. He is completely potty trained, plays with toys appropriately (not fixated on parts of toys or only one type of toy) but does not interact with other children at all, does not respond to questions unless there is a visual, and is very rigid (won't go into new places, hard time with people he knows in a different setting than normal).

As weird as it sounds, it seems like for most schools he is too severe and other schools he is not severe enough. I wish so badly PEP could be an all day program.. he thrives with routine and the CAPP program is not appropriate for him.

I really appreciate all of your response. I feel like teachers, doctors and school staff can make recommendations but the parents are often the best people to talk to about different options.

I hope you all have a wonderful halloween.. hoping our little one decides to wear a costume.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maddux does not accept preschoolers with autism. I was told, by Maddux, that the preschool program is not appropriate for a child with an IEP. Once they are older, not preschool age, then they work with children with autism.

That is totally inconsistent with our experience. Call them directly.

Anonymous wrote:Maddux does not accept preschoolers with autism. I was told, by Maddux, that the preschool program is not appropriate for a child with an IEP. Once they are older, not preschool age, then they work with children with autism.