Best School District? | Autism PDD
I am happy with North New Jersey for services. I wish I could be in the Florida sun.
I live in Vermont- and am pleased with the school, the environment, and how the state deals with Autism....very close knit community sort of rounds it out for us. I have made very, very good friends, enjoy my neighbors, etc.
BUT- its not perfect. I miss the city....its a trade off...the kids are happy- my husband and I are happy...but good healthcare is about 40 miles away....AND- our almost 11 yr old son misses NY State, and says he will go back when he is older.....
nothing is perfect... Vermont though is good to answer your question...
Gail
Mo -- well, the quality of school districts vary a LOT. But overall the state is 5th in funding autism services.
Our school district from wehat I have read is one of the better ones for psecial ed services. Fairly affluent district, too, but not my immediate neighborhood.
I'd have to second what Fred said about NC... although it sounds like "educationally" Tony may be a bit more severe than his girls. Its hard to tell, since he is 12 and they are nearing 5.
I think NC is very frugal in their spending on exceptional children (not just children with autism); I really get tired of hearing in the local/state news about not enough $$$ for education in the budgets. And that is just for NT kids... EC kids are even further down the "food chain".
For some reason, the state is a hot spot to move to for a lot of people. Taxes are relatively low, so lots of folks moving to get away from the higher taxes. And a fair amount of those are people retiring, or nearing retirement. The weather is reasonable, if you don't mind heat, and I've seen a lot of references to it being the next Florida for New Englanders.
School districts statewide are feeling a crunch... I would research NC very carefully over the next few years!
Mary
Illinois is a "follow the money state." I get what I need because I'm fortunate enough to live in an affluent school district, however the state as a whole is one of the worst for services.
NC seems good for classically autistic kids but not so good for the so called 'high functioning' autistic kids. The self contained TEACCH classrooms are well supported and have a very good repuatation, and their philosophy makes a lot of sense to me. Unfortuneately, even with their educational lable of 'autism', my girls do not get much from the school district. They'll be attending a regular kindergarten class next year with 5X30 minutes of resource teacher time and 2X15 and 2X20 minutes S&L therapy. They don't do much for kids like mine in Wake County. If I had a kid whos LRE was a self contained class , I would say that it's a great school system. Kids like mine fall through the cracks.Stay away from Chicago!! Although, I've heard Naperville, IL is excellent.Howard Countty, Maryland, is supposed to have good inclusion and services for autistic children, because so many of them are there. I'm thinking about a move there myself in a couple of years. Hi - for what it's worth, a teacher I know who has 20 years of experience with special needs children (and has a son with sped needs herself), said that, for autism, you'd want to stick to Massachusetts, NJ or North Carolina.
[QUOTE=Monksmom]I have an 8 1/2 year-old son dx with pdd-nos & adhd. I will go anywhere in the United States to find a school district which is well-versed and pro-active with their special needs programs. Does one exist? Any advice would be appreciated.
warmest regards,
aj
[/QUOTE] poway unified school district in california has the best special ed program,i'm a 17 year old special needs teenager, i've been enrolled in special ed since i was 3 in the pusd and the iep team has been wonderful, i can't believe i'll actually be a senior next school year,pm me if you have further questions such as schools in this district to send your child to pm meI have an 8 1/2 year-old son dx with pdd-nos & adhd. I will go anywhere in the United States to find a school district which is well-versed and pro-active with their special needs programs. Does one exist? Any advice would be appreciated.
warmest regards,
aj
Monks' another thing to look at is states that fund autism education and services well -- there is a stick in resources, I think that lists that ... to my amazement -- MO, which is notorious for NOT funding regular ed. is one of the top 5.
And KS which traditionally has a GOOD rep. for ed. -- has some of the poorest (at least, in some local suburban districts that USED TO be considered good).
Cost of living is quite low here -- but I am sure you were thinking of the coasts ... most people do.
It'd be nice to have a district-by-district survey, by a good Mkt Researcher (My brother used to be in on the Newsweek best colleges annual thing).
Thank you all for your wonderful responses. I am taking them all to heart and am going to research further. I agree with Linda that there should be something out there that show's the resources that each school district offers our wonderful children. You would think it would be something the district's would put out so they could be proud! I will move anywhere, could be cold, hot or rainy. Whatever is best for my son. Love to you all!
anne
[QUOTE=Powaygrl][QUOTE=Monksmom]I have an 8 1/2 year-old son dx with pdd-nos & adhd. I will go anywhere in the United States to find a school district which is well-versed and pro-active with their special needs programs. Does one exist? Any advice would be appreciated.
warmest regards,
aj
[/QUOTE] poway unified school district in california has the best special ed program,i'm a 17 year old special needs teenager, i've been enrolled in special ed since i was 3 in the pusd and the iep team has been wonderful, i can't believe i'll actually be a senior next school year,pm me if you have further questions such as schools in this district to send your child to pm me[/QUOTE]
Another benefit in choosing a school district in California, is that you can avail yourself to the local Regional Center, who provide a myriad of services, like ABA and social skills therapy, as well as representation at IEP meetings. The downside is cost of living. The larger California cities are very expensive. I live in a suburb of Los Angeles, and it would probably give most of you the vapors if you knew what my monthly nut was to maintain an upper middle class existence in LaLa Land
There are many good resources available her in CA, both in The
SanFrancisco bay area, and here in Southern California.
I get the vapors myself when I pay my mortgage, though.
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