My husband and I are seriously thinking of making our dream come true by moving upstate. Of course, we can only do this if our kids (both on the spectrum) can get the help they need.
I'm finding out more about CARD at SUNY Albany at the moment, but does anyone have anything to say about services in the upstate area? (I know, that's quite a big area, but CARD covers the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensellaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington.)
I would appreciate any comments from anyone living in the upstate area.
Thanks!
Patty
I dont know much about CARD in Albany except I have heard from friends they are VERY effective.
As for the Albany County/Saratoga area- there are many great school districts.....
they are pretty large- but still are very good.
Guilderland, Burnt Hills, Voorheesville, Shenendahowa(Clifton Park), Queensbury up near Lake George...very large area, lots to do, I am from there originally, but now live in VT which is pretty good, but pretty small....I worry Jeremy won't have alot of options 10 yrs from now, but will still get good support from St. of VT....
Sometimes I think of going back there, maybe I will- and if I did I would move to any one of those areas!
Gail
Thanks Gail, I appreciate your feedback.
Patty
Well, I'll be living in Ulster or Dutchess so I guess CARD won't be helping us. Is this the same CARD that is in other states, in FL it's called the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities out of University of South Florida. I was in the process of registering my son with them when we decided to move. They weren't too specific about the services they provided. It seemed more like an info/referral source and they would observe your child's placement or something. Someone mentioned on here that FL CARD was not helpful to them at all, so maybe it's not the same organization.
THis is the link to Albany CARD. It's for all of New York State, however they offer workshops most often in the Albany or at least upstate area. They do, however, do more distant workshops. It would be worth getting to know what is available there no matter where you live in NYS. I know they've done workshops on Long Island.
Hi Joan,
I live in Baldwin right now, and it's been a real dream of mine (and my husband's) to live in the country.
I would really appreciate any help you could give me. It would be GREAT to know the best places to live up there. We could start visiting these places and researching it.
Thanks so much!!!
Patty
CARD is a great resource. Of course, in upstate they have to follow all the same NYS regulations that they do downstate. Where do you live now? I know of a good advocate up in the Albany area. I'll try contacting her about the best places to live up there. She has an autistic son.That's not true. I know TONS of parents whose child is cross-contracted. There are drawbacks for anyone who is cross-contracting, though (and this applies anywhere in the country). For one thing, no district anywhere has to ACCEPT a child from another district. Each district is obligated to their OWN children first. Along those lines, there's another really big drawback. Let's say your child is accepted by another district for kindergarten and he does well in that district. But, for first grade, that district needs your child's "seat" for a local child. YOUR child gets bumped, since the other child's parents are paying school taxes to that district and they get first dibs.
One of the problems in NY is that each tiny, little village is a separate school district, so there is a lot of overlap and few school districts have enough kids with one particular disablity to form a specialized class. In other states, like Maryland, the whole county is one, huge school district, so there is much more movement. The law is the same, but the circumstances and the way the resources are allocated are different.
You know tons of parents whose kids go to different districts?? Wow. I went to a seminar at my kids' school not long ago, and a rep from an advocacy group (can't remember the name) who was speaking said it does NOT happen. A father who was speaking in front of the group (from RVC) said that he was suing because of it. Their district didn't have the right placement for him (it was basically nothing) and they refused to let him go to another district.
So, I'm only going by what they said. And I don't know anyone whose kid goes to school out of district.
Patty
I'm getting a parent packet and a map (of the coverage areas) mailed to me from Albany CARD.
Here's a good one...on Long Island there is no such thing as going to a different district to get better services for your child. It is not done. You must belong in that district to get their services. My contact from Albany CARD said that children are often transferred to another district if their program better suits the child's needs! And I was looking for services as good as what I was getting here - but I may be getting even better services!
I'm getting very excited about this, and I hope it all works out.
Patty