Special Ed in Albany Area (Colonie, Schenectady: dorm, school districts, college)

[joanimal0]

I live in So Cal - and have a 5 yr old with Asperger's. We may move to area near Guilderland due to family being there. I wanted to know if any of you have experience with special ed dept.s of any of the school districts - which are easiest to work with and most generous with things like aides and social groups. What other resources are there in the area for recreation, social groups, ABA, speech therapy, etc. I heard that Pine Bush Elementary is good. Any private schools accepting of special needs??
Joanna in Santa Barbara

[catchick30]

Unfortunetly I dont know the answers to your questions, I used to work Special Ed in columbia county.
Here are 2 of the agencies I know about, Maybe they can be of some help, or at least you can grab some phone #'s to people who can help answer these questions for you.
https://www.questar.org/
Statewide BOCES & Education Department

[hammish2]

Originally Posted by joanimal0

I live in So Cal - and have a 5 yr old with Asperger's. We may move to area near Guilderland due to family being there. I wanted to know if any of you have experience with special ed dept.s of any of the school districts - which are easiest to work with and most generous with things like aides and social groups. What other resources are there in the area for recreation, social groups, ABA, speech therapy, etc. I heard that Pine Bush Elementary is good. Any private schools accepting of special needs??
Joanna in Santa Barbara

Hi, Joanna,
If you want a great school district for Spec. Ed., go to Averill Park Central School District, in Averill Park, NY. The Superintendent is wonderful. She was previously the CSE chair and Director of Spec. Ed. for the District. They have amazing programs, do great work and the administration is extremely supportive. The Superintendent is Dr. Moccia, call her if you want or call their Spec. Ed. office directly, you can even take a tour of the school before you decide. Good Luck to you and your child. Hammish

[Kitty1957]

Joanna,
I have a child with LD as I have also served as a parent advocate. My son has been in a few school districts and the ones I recommend you avoid are Guilderland, Bethelehem, and Averial Park ..... however I did find that the best Special Ed. Prgms. were through the South Colonie School Dist.My son was failing in Spl. Ed. until he got into the Colonie Dist. where he went from reading at a pre-school level in 3rd grade to a 5th grade level by the time he left 4th grade, His math scores also went up from 1st grade level to 4th grade level ... They do BOTH Academics and behavioral as where the other Districts don't pay much attention to the Academics and just concentrate on the behavioral problems our children may have ... The other Districts also try to "bully" the parents into thinking they don't know whats best for their OWN child and while some don't there are a lot of use that do.... Also, get yourself a copy of the laws for Spl. Ed. in NY. you'll need it to make sure you child gets what they need and are entitled to. Best of Luck to you too.

[hammish2]

Hi, Joanna,
Good luck to you finding a new school district. I saw the posting by Kitty and honestly, I don't believe it. In any case, your best bet is to ask the district if you can visit their program prior to having your child attend. I was a legal advocate for special ed children. The kids were my clients and I can assure you that there are numerous districts in the upstate area that will fill your needs, however, S.Colonie is not one of them as we had many cases with them and they were by far one of the most difficult to deal with. They did not have a good committment to special ed, however, things may have changed, just go and see their programs, speak to the sped people and and see what you like and don't like.

[j12308]

My neighbor has a son, a junior in HS who has aspergers as well. We live in Sch'dy but because of the aspergers he is allowed to attend a special program at another school in the area for children w/aspergers. He was having a hard time fitting in the HS here in Sch'dy, he tends to get along w/ adults better than people his own age. She has been very pleased with the program. Unfortunately I can't remember for sure what school it is. Schalmont or Mohonasen, in Rotterdam.......
This summer he is attending a special program for young adults w/disabilities for entering college, which also was great for him. He spent a week at U Albany in the dorm and took classes/seminars; got a taste of college life.
He has a job and seems to be a great kid. He was lucky to be diagnosed early and start therapy and his mom has been such a strong advocate for him.
Unfortunately on the flip side my cousin, the same age also has aspergers and attends Burnt Hills HS, wasn't diagnosed until a year or so ago. He has no social skills, doesn't do well in school, many times going to summer school and doesn't have any plans whatsoever for after graduation.

If you email me directly, to remind me I will ask my neighbor about the school her son attends.

These may be helpful:

Albany Chapter of the Autism Society of America website: Albany Chapter Autism Society of America

Asperger's Syndrome Advocacy Group of Schenectady
email: aspergeradvocacy@aol.com

Saratoga Springs Asperger Syndrome Support Group
The group holds monthly meetings at the Saratoga Springs Public Library from 7-9 p.m. Contact Deb Garrelts at 584-5447 or ggarrelt@nycap.rr.com.

[jharris213]

We live in the Pine Bush School District. Town of Crawford, NY. My son gets special ed and he is doing great. We had some thoughts he may have aspbergers also, but he hasn't been diagnosed and since he has been in special ed in school and they gave it to him over the summer, he has fit right in with the other kids. The Pine Bush School district is generous in giving services to kids who need it. Some people say they have to fight for services for their kids. We had no problem getting all the services he needed and they have been wonderful to him and to us as parents in the district. Check out Pine Bush Schools.

[averillparkre]

Hi I am going to say Averill Park as well - I have a 10 year old daughter with aspergers and we started with their special ed intervention at age 2 - they have been great with her and us - supportive, understanding, informative, and she has really done well academically and emotionally. My bro-in-law is moving in with us this week and he has a 5 yr old with aspergers and has been communicating with the school. Seems good so far for him.