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Old 09-09-2016, 06:26 AM
 
5 posts, read 4,672 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello everyone !

We just discovered this useful forum and we decided to register so we can discuss with everyone about the great city of austin.

We are crossing the ocean to live in Austin (we are coming from France) and we fell in love with the city during our last trip in February. I will arrive next month but the whole family will come in November/December/As_soon_as_I_manage_to_settle_down_.

We don't know yet where to live and which school we should apply for our kids (7 years old, 4 years old and baby that will stay home for now).

Our eldest son will need special education (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and he is currently having 25 hours of ABA per week in France. We already found our ABA center but we are very lost with the choice of schools we can apply... We know that ABA therapist can shadow him in a private school but we have no idea about the cost of such schools and which schools are private or public ...
We heard Eanes has the best schools in Austin but we ain't looking at which school has the best grades ... We just want a school that is the best for special kids like mine/your ....

The location of our future home will heavily depends on the school's location.

If there are some parents in the same boat as we are, feel free to reach us. That will be greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank you for your time and support

vPackets
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Old 09-09-2016, 07:25 AM
 
9 posts, read 7,513 times
Reputation: 23
Hello and Welcome!
I have a 13 year old who has PDD (on the Autistic spectrum) and he has been in public schools since age 5. He does not have behavior problems at all, but does have many learning disabilities and qualified for special Ed.

According to my pediatric neurologist, you need to find a "good school" meaning the school is well rated based on testing scores and parent involvement. This is not an exact science Eanes, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis are going to have pretty much great to very good schools across the board. These areas did not work for us (Eanes out of our price range, DS and LT were too far from work and we were not willing to commute). Private schools are not in my budget, and I personally feel it's better to spend more on a house which is an asset and get the best public schools you can afford vs. pay for private schools ...JUST MY OPINION...so I won't be able to offer any advice on private schooling.

When you're dealing with large districts that cover a huge metro area (Austin ISD, Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD) you will have areas with good/great schools, very low performing schools, and everything in between. My son is in AISD with an exemplary elementary, an exemplary middle school and a recognized high school. I had to fight for services initially (Texas is in general a low tax/low services area) so you will have to prove that he needs to be tested. His first grade teacher and I had to basically document that he was failing to keep up for 6 months or so, then he was tested thoroughly. Basically, they won't just test because you ask for it, you will have to prove that there's a need. Once you are tested/qualify for services, federal law will guarantee you have a right to an education and whatever services are needed to accommodate your disability. Maybe your documentation from France will be enough proof to justify the testing? I would bring as much documentation from his previous school as possible, knowing the school here will do their own testing.

Once we were in the system I feel he's gotten great services. The teachers and special Ed teachers and even administrators have been helpful and supportive and communicate well with me.
I have done lots of private therapy (OT, PT, vision) as well if you need recommendations on that. I hope this helps!

To summarize: find the best neighborhood you can afford with well rated schools, then be prepared to push hard for testing. Once your son has qualified, your son will be fine!!!
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Old 09-09-2016, 11:07 AM
 
668 posts, read 780,455 times
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vPackets, is your son bilingual in English and French, or is he going to need ESL as well as ASD special ed assistance?
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Old 09-09-2016, 11:20 AM
 
5 posts, read 4,672 times
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Hi and thanks for your help

Our son understands French only for now (even though he can count to 20 in English and French)...
He is also non verbal
That will be a challenge for him I guess... At first we were considering Jean Jacques Rousseau (French school ) or international school ..

Thanks a lot
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Old 09-09-2016, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,260 posts, read 35,537,960 times
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Very generally, outside of a few specialized private schools dedicated to special needs kids, the public schools tend to have a much better infrastructure. With the money you save, you can spend it on outside assistance.
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Old 09-09-2016, 11:38 AM
 
Location: East TX
2,116 posts, read 3,037,529 times
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We have seen many of the schools will work with students to identify needs and then use outsourced services to provide the necessary aid. As already stated, bring any and all documentation and be prepared to advocate heavily for your child, as this state is not proactive in providing the services compared to others.


Texas Parent to Parent - Help for Parents is a very helpful site with additional information that you should access and utilize.
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Old 09-09-2016, 12:23 PM
 
668 posts, read 780,455 times
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I would strongly advise you NOT to take your son to Jean-Jeacques Rousseau. I speak fluent French and sent my daughter there for 2 years. It was the biggest educational mistake we've made for her--and they are absolutely, positively not equipped to deal with the kinds of special needs your son has.

We have several Francophone friends whose kids go to the Austin International School and it is a great school, but I am not sure it would be a good fit for you either as I do not know of too many kids there who receive intensive special ed assistance. However, if it is important to you that he receive some instruction in French, it is your best option in Austin.

Leander ISD has some of the best special education services in public school districts around here. My BFF is a special ed teacher at Rutledge, which is just one of several schools in Leander with a really great special education team.
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Old 09-10-2016, 06:45 AM
 
5 posts, read 4,672 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by eirenecat View Post
I would strongly advise you NOT to take your son to Jean-Jeacques Rousseau. I speak fluent French and sent my daughter there for 2 years. It was the biggest educational mistake we've made for her--and they are absolutely, positively not equipped to deal with the kinds of special needs your son has.

We have several Francophone friends whose kids go to the Austin International School and it is a great school, but I am not sure it would be a good fit for you either as I do not know of too many kids there who receive intensive special ed assistance. However, if it is important to you that he receive some instruction in French, it is your best option in Austin.

Leander ISD has some of the best special education services in public school districts around here. My BFF is a special ed teacher at Rutledge, which is just one of several schools in Leander with a really great special education team.


Thanks for the advices !

Got more and more questions as I am reading all your posts guys. The amount of useful informations is crazy !

How do we know which school is well equipped with special education ? How do we know the staff will manage to handle my son (my son is not doing any sort of "crisis" but he has autism and does not speak english at all) ...

This is a kind of very stressful situation as we are going to settle down very son


Edit: Currently reviewing the Leander ISD website on special education and I am very please about it ... Will call them on monday morning to gather more informations ...

Thanks everyone for your help.

Last edited by vPackets; 09-10-2016 at 07:24 AM..
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Old 09-10-2016, 07:39 AM
 
9 posts, read 7,513 times
Reputation: 23
ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS will have special education services. It is considered the right of every person in the US who qualifies. if you were moving to some very small town, there might be hardships in finding these services, but this will not be the problem in Austin.

Yes, some schools have "better" services. Sometimes this has to do with the specific administrators or teachers and can be hard to predict (and can change quickly). In you are in a nice neighborhood with Schools that are well rated re: general education (use Great Schools or other metrics) then you will get good special education services.

I think finding someone who speaks French until your child can learn English is going to be the hardest thing! I have no idea how they will accommodate that (I'm sure they will though!). Hopefully someone else has info re: getting translators.
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Old 09-10-2016, 08:33 AM
 
Location: Warrior Country
4,573 posts, read 6,763,951 times
Reputation: 3978
Quote:
Originally Posted by vPackets View Post
Hello everyone !

We just discovered this useful forum and we decided to register so we can discuss with everyone about the great city of austin.

We are crossing the ocean to live in Austin (we are coming from France) and we fell in love with the city during our last trip in February. I will arrive next month but the whole family will come in November/December/As_soon_as_I_manage_to_settle_down_.

We don't know yet where to live and which school we should apply for our kids (7 years old, 4 years old and baby that will stay home for now).

WHERE WILL YOUR JOB BE LOCATED?

Our eldest son will need special education (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and he is currently having 25 hours of ABA per week in France. We already found our ABA center but we are very lost with the choice of schools we can apply... We know that ABA therapist can shadow him in a private school but we have no idea about the cost of such schools and which schools are private or public ...
We heard Eanes has the best schools in Austin - THIS STATEMENT IS NOT ACCURATE

but we ain't looking at which school has the best grades ... We just want a school that is the best for special kids like mine/your ....

The location of our future home will heavily depends on the school's location. BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE YOU WILL BE WORKING? IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE LEANING TOWARDS LISD (WHICH HAS GOOD - GREAT SCHOOLS AND IS A VERY NICE AREA TO LIVE), BUT IF YOU END UP WORKING SOUTH OR SOUTHEAST YOU WILL HATE YOURSELF.

If there are some parents in the same boat as we are, feel free to reach us. That will be greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank you for your time and support

vPackets
Good Luck.
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