OP-my DS is in an MCPS ED classroom, and that represents several of the kids in his class. Many do not have ED listed as their primary diagnosis.

OP here.....Thank you everyone for the input. My DC has autism and ADHD. He has emotional outbursts so the school thinks he should be in an ED program.

When my dc was in an FCPS ED classroom (now called something else), most of his classmates where I knew the issues (friendly with parents etc) were ADHD + something else.

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County will start out with virtually every placement by telling you the child needs to be at grade level. Because they want to limit the resources they have to provide to support the child in that placement.

But this is BS.

We heard the opposite. When we were looking at different programs we were interested in the one that is closest to us and they told us it would not be appropriate for DC because all the kids are below grade level. Maybe they just use whatever excuse they can to discourage you from whatever program they think you want. But I see their point of view in terms of grouping kids into programs by their grade level proficiency.
It wouldn't make sense for a kid who reads three grades above his grade but has meltdowns to be taught in the same group as a kid who three grades behind in reading because of dyslexia.

PP again. I know several families with their SNC in the Fairview autism program even though their kids are not the spectrum. The classroom offers the best placement to meet their needs. That's what matters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child doesn't have an ED diagnosis but autism classroom and noncat were not good fits. I am glad we were offered the ED option.

If your child doesn't have an ED diagnosis, what made the ED classroom a good fit? Also, are you in MCPS, FCPS, DC or somewhere else?

I'm in FCPS. My child is not the spectrum so the IEP team didn't think an autism classroom in the school (where the kids are nonverbal) or in another school would be a good fit. Noncat in our school has a wide range of grades and the principal and teachers thought that my child would not be challenged in that placement even if all specials were with gen ed. ED classroom is small, 1-2 grades only, all kids are accessing gen ed curriculum with the support I described previously in this thread.

I'm unable to post a pdf here, but go to the MCPS website and, using the search box, search for form 336-67. This is the worksheet that the team goes through at an IEP meeting to determine whether a student qualifies under the ED code.

Here is a link to info about what is available through MCPS:
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/programs-services/behavior-and-emotional-support.aspx

Anonymous wrote:My child doesn't have an ED diagnosis but autism classroom and noncat were not good fits. I am glad we were offered the ED option.

If your child doesn't have an ED diagnosis, what made the ED classroom a good fit? Also, are you in MCPS, FCPS, DC or somewhere else?

Montgomery County will start out with virtually every placement by telling you the child needs to be at grade level. Because they want to limit the resources they have to provide to support the child in that placement.

But this is BS.