Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our neuropsych does not think DS needs a SN school so we are looking at mainstream private schools but thanks for the clarification. Also, all adult members of our family with similar profiles to DS attended mainstream private schools and did well.

Since the parent seems so adamant that commonwealth does not take kids on the spectrum (does not have a license?) it does not appear particularly welcoming for kids on the spectrum and since we have other options, it's not a school we are considering.

I agree. I would hate to have to be "in the closet" about my child's diagnosis for fear of other parents' prejudices and fears. For us, one of the huge advantages of a SN school is a parent community that gets it.

FWIW, my husband's family also clearly has family members on the spectrum (all undiagnosed). They are basically successful adults having gotten no intervention and, of course, going to mainstream schools -- high functioning kids just weren't identified a generation ago. But I think they would all be happier -- though not necessarily more successful professionally -- had they gotten the kind of intervention I can provide my kid.

Anonymous wrote:Our neuropsych does not think DS needs a SN school so we are looking at mainstream private schools but thanks for the clarification. Also, all adult members of our family with similar profiles to DS attended mainstream private schools and did well.

Since the parent seems so adamant that commonwealth does not take kids on the spectrum (does not have a license?) it does not appear particularly welcoming for kids on the spectrum and since we have other options, it's not a school we are considering.

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Anonymous wrote:PP here again. I've heard great things about CA but isn't there a wait list? I'll call them on Monday, but it seems awfully small with high demand.

Almost any good private school will have a wait list but sometimes people get lucky and a slot opens up.

PP here. I stated in my original post that he was in a top private school, by DCUM lingo, a BIG 5 school. It did not work out because teachers were constantly emailing us asking us to slow him down because he was too far ahead of the class. It isn't a ding against the school -- they have a market to serve, but it they couldn't serve our son.

Hate to tell you but no SN private school is going to have the type of academics you are looking for if a Big 5 school could not. We had a long discussion about this with our neuropsych for our ASD/ADHD kid with an IQ in the profoundly gifted range who does not have LDs. Our son currently attends a language immersion school which does provide challenges bc he has to work at the target language in reading and writing which is an innate characteristic of Mandarin. We especially like the fact that he has to "work" at something academic and not slide along bc it is "easy".

Most SN private schools like Lab, etc provide academic remediation not acceleration. The private schools that can provide challenges are schools like GDS, Sidwell, St. Albans and St Anselm's but like AAP, they are not ideal for someone with your son's profile either.

If you are looking for math acceleration, you will probably be best off in AAP even with the large classes.

PP here. I would normally agree with you, but I have heard from multiple credible sources that Commonwealth Academy is the exception to this rule. I will check them out tomorrow.

My kid has ASD and ADHD so it looks like Commonwealth isn't an option for him. Also, DS has no learning disabilities and does not need academic supports (above grade level across the board) just small class size although he is doing fine currently at a public charter with IEP with 18/19 kids. But he is entering 3rd grade so we are looking at middle schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again. I've heard great things about CA but isn't there a wait list? I'll call them on Monday, but it seems awfully small with high demand.

Almost any good private school will have a wait list but sometimes people get lucky and a slot opens up.

PP here. I stated in my original post that he was in a top private school, by DCUM lingo, a BIG 5 school. It did not work out because teachers were constantly emailing us asking us to slow him down because he was too far ahead of the class. It isn't a ding against the school -- they have a market to serve, but it they couldn't serve our son.

Hate to tell you but no SN private school is going to have the type of academics you are looking for if a Big 5 school could not. We had a long discussion about this with our neuropsych for our ASD/ADHD kid with an IQ in the profoundly gifted range who does not have LDs. Our son currently attends a language immersion school which does provide challenges bc he has to work at the target language in reading and writing which is an innate characteristic of Mandarin. We especially like the fact that he has to "work" at something academic and not slide along bc it is "easy".

Most SN private schools like Lab, etc provide academic remediation not acceleration. The private schools that can provide challenges are schools like GDS, Sidwell, St. Albans and St Anselm's but like AAP, they are not ideal for someone with your son's profile either.

If you are looking for math acceleration, you will probably be best off in AAP even with the large classes.

PP here. I would normally agree with you, but I have heard from multiple credible sources that Commonwealth Academy is the exception to this rule. I will check them out tomorrow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again. I've heard great things about CA but isn't there a wait list? I'll call them on Monday, but it seems awfully small with high demand.

Almost any good private school will have a wait list but sometimes people get lucky and a slot opens up.

PP here. I stated in my original post that he was in a top private school, by DCUM lingo, a BIG 5 school. It did not work out because teachers were constantly emailing us asking us to slow him down because he was too far ahead of the class. It isn't a ding against the school -- they have a market to serve, but it they couldn't serve our son.

Hate to tell you but no SN private school is going to have the type of academics you are looking for if a Big 5 school could not. We had a long discussion about this with our neuropsych for our ASD/ADHD kid with an IQ in the profoundly gifted range who does not have LDs. Our son currently attends a language immersion school which does provide challenges bc he has to work at the target language in reading and writing which is an innate characteristic of Mandarin. We especially like the fact that he has to "work" at something academic and not slide along bc it is "easy".

Most SN private schools like Lab, etc provide academic remediation not acceleration. The private schools that can provide challenges are schools like GDS, Sidwell, St. Albans and St Anselm's but like AAP, they are not ideal for someone with your son's profile either.

If you are looking for math acceleration, you will probably be best off in AAP even with the large classes.

PP here. I would normally agree with you, but I have heard from multiple credible sources that Commonwealth Academy is the exception to this rule. I will check them out tomorrow.

Commonwealth is small enough that it can provide differentiation of coursework depending on the child's needs. There are no more than ten children to a class (middle and upper school). There are two specialized honors diploma -actually four - that the students can choose to work towards. The humanities Honors diploma, for example, requires four years in high school of a foreign language. Our DC went into C/A doing rather poorly at Algebra I but was able to take sequentially Algebra I, II, Geometry, Pre-calk, and just finished Calculus at the end of his junior year so that "A" (fingers crossed) will be on the transcript when DC applies EA/ED to Colleges in the fall. For those students who want to take advanced work in math, science or languages, a proctored online course classroom is conducted daily. One student took Latin (her choice this year). Another student took foreign language courses at NOVA as a junior this entire past year. Our DC was accepted at both George Mason and NOVA to take advanced math and science college courses this summer (look under "nondegree candidates" at NOVA). The school works with the college to make sure that the student is placed in the right college-level class and that all the prep tests (you must pre-qualify for the courses, if prerequisites are posted). My DC and his friends found those tests "easy", especially, in math, for what that's worth. So, in summary, you have options of Honors courses in whatever area you excel in; proctored online courses for advanced or unique programs that interest the student (graded); and college level courses during summer and the school year. DC and friends did well on the SAT (one scored a perfect 800 on math); one killed the ACT, and most of DC's friends are taking four subject matter tests to prepare for applications in the fall. So C/A is doing something right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again. I've heard great things about CA but isn't there a wait list? I'll call them on Monday, but it seems awfully small with high demand.

Almost any good private school will have a wait list but sometimes people get lucky and a slot opens up.

PP here. I stated in my original post that he was in a top private school, by DCUM lingo, a BIG 5 school. It did not work out because teachers were constantly emailing us asking us to slow him down because he was too far ahead of the class. It isn't a ding against the school -- they have a market to serve, but it they couldn't serve our son.

Hate to tell you but no SN private school is going to have the type of academics you are looking for if a Big 5 school could not. We had a long discussion about this with our neuropsych for our ASD/ADHD kid with an IQ in the profoundly gifted range who does not have LDs. Our son currently attends a language immersion school which does provide challenges bc he has to work at the target language in reading and writing which is an innate characteristic of Mandarin. We especially like the fact that he has to "work" at something academic and not slide along bc it is "easy".

Most SN private schools like Lab, etc provide academic remediation not acceleration. The private schools that can provide challenges are schools like GDS, Sidwell, St. Albans and St Anselm's but like AAP, they are not ideal for someone with your son's profile either.

If you are looking for math acceleration, you will probably be best off in AAP even with the large classes.

PP here. I would normally agree with you, but I have heard from multiple credible sources that Commonwealth Academy is the exception to this rule. I will check them out tomorrow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which private (or public) schools are best suited for GT/LD/ADHD profile - not just academically but socially? Why? Thanks for your help. Please feel free to share your personal experience.

I have a child who fits the GT/LD/ADHD description. He is currently in HS. He is mainly a math and science kid. His LDs are in the profound range. When he was in ES and we were looking for alternatives to his public school, Lab was the only one that said they would take students beyond the moderate range of LD. We also looked at Oakwood in Annandale as they would consider him. None had the math curriculum like the one his public schools offer in MS or HS. Science also was better on the public HS. We ultimately decided that we wanted him to be in a school that focused on his assets and not his deficits. We have kept him in public school and supplemented with tutors from 2nd through 7th grade for reading and writing remediation (which he also got at school). It has been a long slog and quite a bit of work. MS was the worst regarding school understanding of the issues, but we persevered. We are in an excellent place right now. DC is taking the higher level classes for everything but English and is taking his first AP course. His elementary school was Chesterbrook ES and they do a decent job with the 2E student.

We met with Rick Weinfeld re our 2e child and he suggested we work to the child's strengths. The LDs are mainly in executive function, writing & reading comprehension but the gifted parts are off the charts. We opted for a "regular" private. DC is much happier than in public, but they do little to remediate with executive function. It has come down to us. 2e is a broad designation, but in hindsight I wish we had checked out McLean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again. I've heard great things about CA but isn't there a wait list? I'll call them on Monday, but it seems awfully small with high demand.

Almost any good private school will have a wait list but sometimes people get lucky and a slot opens up.

PP here. I stated in my original post that he was in a top private school, by DCUM lingo, a BIG 5 school. It did not work out because teachers were constantly emailing us asking us to slow him down because he was too far ahead of the class. It isn't a ding against the school -- they have a market to serve, but it they couldn't serve our son.

Hate to tell you but no SN private school is going to have the type of academics you are looking for if a Big 5 school could not. We had a long discussion about this with our neuropsych for our ASD/ADHD kid with an IQ in the profoundly gifted range who does not have LDs. Our son currently attends a language immersion school which does provide challenges bc he has to work at the target language in reading and writing which is an innate characteristic of Mandarin. We especially like the fact that he has to "work" at something academic and not slide along bc it is "easy".

Most SN private schools like Lab, etc provide academic remediation not acceleration. The private schools that can provide challenges are schools like GDS, Sidwell, St. Albans and St Anselm's but like AAP, they are not ideal for someone with your son's profile either.

If you are looking for math acceleration, you will probably be best off in AAP even with the large classes.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP of the rising 7th grader. He's Neurotypical aside from ADHD and the processing issue. Very active in sports and has friends. He's just super smart and he does have issues that stem from that. His teachers don't know how to teach him and he gets bored. That said he loves school and wants to do well AND be in an environment where people get him.

What percentile is a processing speed of 73? If he does not have any other issues than that, I'll just put in at a regular private school with smaller class size and not too much homework like Field.

If processing speed percentiles are like IQ, then it would be in the 3rd-4th percentile. [/quote]



Not quite sure what is being said here but the I.Q. points and processing speeds should be reported by tester back to the parent on the standard bell curve. For some 2e kids like mine, their I.Q. will be two to three standard deviations above norm (norm = 100; I.Q. = 150) but their processing speeds can be two standard deviations below (but still one standard deviation above norm). Or their I.Q. may be one standard deviation above normal (@ 120) but processing speeds at 70. It is that struggle between what is in the brain and the difficulty of expressing it that ties these kids in knots. That's the difficulty most of us parents are trying to express here.

PP here. Yes, he is at least two standard deviations above norm.