Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say C/A does not welcome children with autism: you only have one parent here saying that, and even he hasn't said it as bluntly as Lab does. Before ruling out any school, check it out. Don't take one anonymous person's opinion on, well, anything!

TRUE! I'm a special needs counselor. I'm not sure how a thread on a 2e with ADHD got off on autism but IMHO I have noticed fewer and fewer private schools willing to take ASD children since Va. Tech massacre and the Sandy Hook incident. That's just my personal opinion. When it was said that Commonwealth Academy is not licensed for ASD, that was a true statement - it is not licensed by the county to receive county funds for autistic students. In other words, a mild ASD student might apply there and find a perfect fit and C/A says "great" and all is well and good, but the County cannot send funds to educate autistic students to a school that has been not licensed for it. C/A could take ADHD and Dyslexia students (for which it is licensed) with the Counties paying the fee, but not ASD. And, by the way, those cases are extremely rare because the county system will find some way to try and teach your child so it doesn't have to pay for an outplacement. Often parents have to lawyer up to get those placements; it can be very hard on the family, the SN child and the bank account.

My advice is to go and visit both public and private and get a feel about how your particular child would do in that environment. I've had ASDs/ADHD/GAD flourish in public because of particular interests that the smaller privates could not offer; I've had others flourish at the privates for the attention they receive there. You really must go and visit and talk to current parents. Good luck!

Commonwealth is not approved for private placement funding from DCPS, the school system that places the most kids at private SN schools in the area.

Here is the list of SN schools approved by DCPS for placement. ADHD is included under OHI although like you stated, funding for private placement for "just" ADHD is very rare.

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/NP%20List%20-%20Day%20-%205.4.15.pdf

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'm not seeing this parent you chastize - what I am seeing is that C/A is from weppage says it will handle: "Commonwealth Academy is a welcoming school where many different kinds of learners can succeed. Average to superior students who require the individual attention available only in very small class sizes, as well as students who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability (LD) and/or with AD/HD will find an environment that celebrates their unique talents and supports their areas of need. It’s a place where students gain the self-confidence required to connect with their teachers and peers, and engage in and take responsibility for their education. As they travel from Lower to Middle to High School, they become aware of their learning differences, accept them, and learn to advocate for what they need to excel."

And that is what I, a parent at C/A has experienced. The school does not advertise for ASD/Aspergers students because a) that is not in its charter or mission statement and b) it is indeed not licensed by the state of Virginia to handle Autism children. As a PP said, that licensing goes to when county or state dollars travel to a private school. So if you had a severely autistic child that FCPS was willing to pay for placement because FCPS has exhausted its sources and cannot find a suitable placement, the County could not ask C/A to take that child because C/A is not licensed to do so. C/A is licensed only for ADHD/dyslexia and mild LDs. However, should a child come along with mild ASD tendencies and the school think it a good fit, then they might take him or her, providing the county is not paying the tuition. I, too, have an Aspie, who is the most rule-abiding, docile create in the world, but when Aspergers was linked to Sandy Hook and to other horrendous massacres, then schools have to take a step back and consider marketing, safety of other children and liability. It's not fair or right, it's just the way the world works. After Sandy Hook parents were unnecessarily frightened of Aspie children and that's when LAB and others quietly stopped saying they would take them.

So can we get back to finding a 2e school for OP's ADHD child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say C/A does not welcome children with autism: you only have one parent here saying that, and even he hasn't said it as bluntly as Lab does. Before ruling out any school, check it out. Don't take one anonymous person's opinion on, well, anything!

TRUE! I'm a special needs counselor. I'm not sure how a thread on a 2e with ADHD got off on autism but IMHO I have noticed fewer and fewer private schools willing to take ASD children since Va. Tech massacre and the Sandy Hook incident. That's just my personal opinion. When it was said that Commonwealth Academy is not licensed for ASD, that was a true statement - it is not licensed by the county to receive county funds for autistic students. In other words, a mild ASD student might apply there and find a perfect fit and C/A says "great" and all is well and good, but the County cannot send funds to educate autistic students to a school that has been not licensed for it. C/A could take ADHD and Dyslexia students (for which it is licensed) with the Counties paying the fee, but not ASD. And, by the way, those cases are extremely rare because the county system will find some way to try and teach your child so it doesn't have to pay for an outplacement. Often parents have to lawyer up to get those placements; it can be very hard on the family, the SN child and the bank account.

My advice is to go and visit both public and private and get a feel about how your particular child would do in that environment. I've had ASDs/ADHD/GAD flourish in public because of particular interests that the smaller privates could not offer; I've had others flourish at the privates for the attention they receive there. You really must go and visit and talk to current parents. Good luck!

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.

Anonymous wrote:For heaven's sake. There are kids with mild ASD in every mainstream school in the country, and adults with mild ASD in every workplace. And my Aspie DS is not going to shoot up your school. He's much more likely to end up tutoring your kid in math. I can't believe we're having this conversation in 2015, and on this board of all places.

And it's particularly strange when we're talking about a school that specializes in ADHD--which shares an awful lot of the emotional traits characteristic of high functioning autism. Indeed, the things that make HFA kids potentially disruptive in a school environment probably have more to do with their ADHD (which essentially all of them have) than with the additional social challenges layered on by the autism. We are not at Commonwealth but we know some parents there, and when we talk about our kids we find tons of commonalities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say C/A does not welcome children with autism: you only have one parent here saying that, and even he hasn't said it as bluntly as Lab does. Before ruling out any school, check it out. Don't take one anonymous person's opinion on, well, anything!

TRUE! I'm a special needs counselor. I'm not sure how a thread on a 2e with ADHD got off on autism but IMHO I have noticed fewer and fewer private schools willing to take ASD children since Va. Tech massacre and the Sandy Hook incident. That's just my personal opinion. When it was said that Commonwealth Academy is not licensed for ASD, that was a true statement - it is not licensed by the county to receive county funds for autistic students. In other words, a mild ASD student might apply there and find a perfect fit and C/A says "great" and all is well and good, but the County cannot send funds to educate autistic students to a school that has been not licensed for it. C/A could take ADHD and Dyslexia students (for which it is licensed) with the Counties paying the fee, but not ASD. And, by the way, those cases are extremely rare because the county system will find some way to try and teach your child so it doesn't have to pay for an outplacement. Often parents have to lawyer up to get those placements; it can be very hard on the family, the SN child and the bank account.

My advice is to go and visit both public and private and get a feel about how your particular child would do in that environment. I've had ASDs/ADHD/GAD flourish in public because of particular interests that the smaller privates could not offer; I've had others flourish at the privates for the attention they receive there. You really must go and visit and talk to current parents. Good luck!

There are a lot of inaccuracies in your statement. What kind of special needs counselor are you? I've never heard that term before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say C/A does not welcome children with autism: you only have one parent here saying that, and even he hasn't said it as bluntly as Lab does. Before ruling out any school, check it out. Don't take one anonymous person's opinion on, well, anything!

TRUE! I'm a special needs counselor. I'm not sure how a thread on a 2e with ADHD got off on autism but IMHO I have noticed fewer and fewer private schools willing to take ASD children since Va. Tech massacre and the Sandy Hook incident. That's just my personal opinion. When it was said that Commonwealth Academy is not licensed for ASD, that was a true statement - it is not licensed by the county to receive county funds for autistic students. In other words, a mild ASD student might apply there and find a perfect fit and C/A says "great" and all is well and good, but the County cannot send funds to educate autistic students to a school that has been not licensed for it. C/A could take ADHD and Dyslexia students (for which it is licensed) with the Counties paying the fee, but not ASD. And, by the way, those cases are extremely rare because the county system will find some way to try and teach your child so it doesn't have to pay for an outplacement. Often parents have to lawyer up to get those placements; it can be very hard on the family, the SN child and the bank account.

My advice is to go and visit both public and private and get a feel about how your particular child would do in that environment. I've had ASDs/ADHD/GAD flourish in public because of particular interests that the smaller privates could not offer; I've had others flourish at the privates for the attention they receive there. You really must go and visit and talk to current parents. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say C/A does not welcome children with autism: you only have one parent here saying that, and even he hasn't said it as bluntly as Lab does. Before ruling out any school, check it out. Don't take one anonymous person's opinion on, well, anything!

TRUE! I'm a special needs counselor. I'm not sure how a thread on a 2e with ADHD got off on autism but IMHO I have noticed fewer and fewer private schools willing to take ASD children since Va. Tech massacre and the Sandy Hook incident. That's just my personal opinion. When it was said that Commonwealth Academy is not licensed for ASD, that was a true statement - it is not licensed by the county to receive county funds for autistic students. In other words, a mild ASD student might apply there and find a perfect fit and C/A says "great" and all is well and good, but the County cannot send funds to educate autistic students to a school that has been not licensed for it. C/A could take ADHD and Dyslexia students (for which it is licensed) with the Counties paying the fee, but not ASD. And, by the way, those cases are extremely rare because the county system will find some way to try and teach your child so it doesn't have to pay for an outplacement. Often parents have to lawyer up to get those placements; it can be very hard on the family, the SN child and the bank account.

My advice is to go and visit both public and private and get a feel about how your particular child would do in that environment. I've had ASDs/ADHD/GAD flourish in public because of particular interests that the smaller privates could not offer; I've had others flourish at the privates for the attention they receive there. You really must go and visit and talk to current parents. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I understand differentiation and I am really glad you have found a great fit for your child and I think C/A is doing a great job in their niche, but not everyone is in their niche. Plus, a couple of things that would not work for everyone. One is summer courses. For example for my DC, summer is a time of needed respite from school. He will take the summer science research programs, because he likes the research aspect, but a full one full scale math course is quite a bit of work. It isn't because math is not his thing, he will be taking the AP Calc BC next year as a junior, but a full year math course over a summer is intense. I would have trouble with my DC taking a math class that has not been taught at the school before, the expertise derived from experience is important.