I am an autism teacher in Maplewood, and I also do private tutoring and consulting. There are tons of services in the twin cities, but they are scattered. My client who lives in eden prairie is more moderate/severe autistic, but he is mainstreamed most of the day with pull out for resource.... so he is not getting too many autism specific services, and mom does not feel that the school quite knows what they are doing.
You can PM me here if you want to chat more specifically with me.
Julia
Thanks! I did PM you. Anyone else who has advice/tips/resources please let me know! We are anxious to get going on looking for housing and want to make sure that resources are available!Hi! I posted on the Parents with Autistic Children board but wanted to post briefly here as well. I won't re-write what I did on that board - see that for more details if you're interested! (I wrote a novel - sorry!).
We are re-locating to Eden Prairie in about 6 months and my 5 1/2 year old son will start kindergarten next year. He has a diagnosis of very mild PDD-NOS and is very bright. He does attend ECSE two afternoons a week, but otherwise attends Head Start with no para and does very well. He even passed his developmental screening that is required by the State of Minnesota before entering into kindergarten!
Anyway, we are looking for a good school district that offers good services for kids on the spectrum. We are coming from Rochester which has the 2nd highest rate of Asperger's in the country but almost nothing in terms of services for those children! So, from what I have heard the Twin Cities have 10 times the services we have here - even though it may not feel like it. We had an in-home therapist coming for a brief time who had just moved down here from the Cities and she was appalled at the lack of services here. My son scored at the 1st percentil last year for fine motor skills and I had to fight to get him OT through the school if that gives you any idea! I also had to fight to get him speech since his articulation is fine - it is just his pragmatics that need a lot of work. They wouldn't give it until this year. I could go on and on but I hope you get the picture.
Thanks in advance for helping! I have found that parents are the best resources in helping each other - particularly on who to stay away from as well as who to go to! Thanks again.