looking for info on services in WA state | Autism PDD

I can't speak for much outside my area, but dd was dxd at the ASTAR clinic downtown Seattle - they seemed both laid back and competent, and were informative and reassuring.  Lot of references for various therapies.

We're in the Northshore School district on the eastside of Seattle, and dd's in a developmental preschool which seems really good -- her teachers are very positive and kind spirited -- nothing like some of the horror stories I hear about.  Even the bus drivers have been nice, and everyone's always anxious to tell me how nice/smart/fun dd is .  She's in half days and gets solo speech and group speech once a week, and has made a *ton* of progress in the last school year.

So, for preschool they seem pretty good -- I can't speak to elementary school.  (On a side note, I know families with other special needs children - medically fragile, Down's - who love Northshore.)

I also know someone on Mercer Island who really likes the ASD therapies they've received there, as well, though I don't know much about the specifics.

Welcome twinzrock.  I'm from WA so will attempt to answer your question.

First and foremost, it really depends on where you live.  If you live in the greater Seattle area, the UW Autism Center is by far the best, IMHO.  There are several other autism consulting firms in the area, a few of which I can also recommend.  Outside the Seattle area, it becomes harder to find resources.  The east side of the state can be particularly challenging.  The advantage to living close to Seattle is you also have the University of Washington close by and there are many grad students who are majoring in early childhood development that you can draw from for help with therapies, etc.  The one thing that we are short on is ABA behavioral consultants.  The wait lists for these can be long, again depending on which consulting firm you hook up with.

There are also a few private autism schools that have just opened.  One is offered through FEAT, and the other is being run by an women who co-owned a behavioral consulting firm with another individual and has now branched off on her own.  Both are expensive, and you'd be hard-pressed to convince the SD to pay the tuition.  

School districts vary as well.  There's no one school district in the state that I can point out as being the best.   I belong to a Yahoo group for the state that might be able to provide you with more insights about the various school districts.  I'm most familiar with the one my son's in, and know a little about a few other in neighboring school districts. 

Feel free to PM me if you would like more specific information.  I'd also be happy to send you some links to some of the resources here.

Shelly

(PS)  I also have B/G twins.  How old are yours? 

what are services like there? what are the best school districts to be in?

thanks!

Mom to bg twins, DD diagnosed as high functioning autistic

Twinzrock, I was wondering if you got any further in your exploration of WA school districts.  I find myself preparing to move to Seattle within the next year (though probably sooner than later), and so find myself with the same questions.  Yellow Pages for Kids had a nice starting place for different services and therapies, but the school district question is the most aggravating one. i lived in seattle for five years and can only echo the previous postings. the university of washington has a wonderful program and there are a lot of "alternative" public and private schools in the area that could work for your child (though you'll still have to do some research). a friend of mine lives in west seattle, and has a son who, though not autistic, has pretty intense sensory integration issues. she's really happy with the private kindergarten that he's in, as they are very sensitive to his needs and work one on one with him...i can get you the name of the school, if you're interested. the city of seattle itself is fantastic and very child-friendly. it's also very open minded and full of folks that are willing to think outside of the box, no matter what the issue is. I live north of Seattle and can't say that I am too happy with the schools.
Both the Seattle and the Shoreline districts are in a financial mess and it
has affected services for (and attitudes towards) my ds.
There are many services available in the area but it is expensive - I have
not really found anything usable that is less than 0 an hour. Rosemary
White in Shoreline (sorry I don't have the link but you could google her
-the website is very good and they do have satillite offices) has a good
reputation as an OT for autism.
If anyone has a recommendation for a district I'd love to hear about it
too.
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