Get an advocate. NJ is an excellent state for sp ed if you can get your school district ot obey the law.Have you considered upstate NY? Parts of New York are fairly affordable, but you might have to live in a more rural area. That's where I'm from originally, and we're considering moving back because, here in FL, which used to be considered affordable, the districts are overburdened and they only offered my son 3 weeks of services this summer. His teacher, a former NYer, told me this would never happen in NY. Although a lot depends on the individual district, NY state in general seems to be ahead of the game when it comes to providing for special ed kids. I know parts of NC are more affordable, and if you really want to live there, keep doing your homework. Here's a good link:http://www.city-data.com/forum/
I live in southern NJ. I have a soon to be 5 year old son that is currently in a special service district school. He came from a public school( which was not such a good school but better than where he is now-regression issues!) but had to transfer because my husband and I got married and obviously the three of us could not live in a one bedroom apartment. We want to move out of state so bad because we can't afford to live here and we aren't getting any of the so called wonderful services that this "great" state is supposed to offer. It's not that I don't look. I am very active in my son's education. I go to work shops, I pay for services out of pocket even while fighting for what I want and I am constantly on the phone with the case manager. So where should I be looking?
Before we decide to pack up and leave in two years, where should we be if we are to stay in state? I really don't see much of a difference from staying here and living in another state if it is the same crap. There is soo much hype over now NJ is so great for autism. I'd rather live in NC where there are programs and it is a bit cheaper to live than having to go to Trenton when mediation process doesn't work every year to still not get what my son needs. It's not like I am asking the school to bend over backwards or anything.
Contact COSAC they know everything and work great with our kids.
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