Relocating with Autism to Eglin AFB/Hurlburt Field (Fort Walton Beach, Destin: travel, work)

[ASDMom247]

Anyone know anything about primary grade schools in Santa Rosa or Okaloosa counties? Relocating in Spring 2008 with Autistic child who will be in 2nd grade. Currently in self-contained classroom. High-functioning, Verbal, PDD-NOS/ADHD--behavior & social skills biggest challenges. Any feedback (negative or positive) regarding experiences with Special Needs kids within these 2 counties would be very much appreciated. We're considering Gulf Breeze/Navarre but would consider any other areas near Eglin AFB with good reputation for working with Autistic children. Thanks!

[deckardc]

Are you relocating to Eglin or Hurlburt? The bases are only 15 miles apart but which base you are located on makes a big difference in the commute time from various communities. I would not recommend commuting from Gulf Breeze to either Hurlburt or Eglin. That would be a minimum of an hour commute assuming the traffic is moving and there are no accidents. Navarre to Hurlburt is about 20 minutes and Navarre to Eglin is 45 minutes. The only route to travel from the Navarre area to either Hurlburt or Eglin is on Hwy 98 so there aren't any good alternatives if there is a back-up unless you go all the way up to I-10 and circle around.

Florida schools are not that great but Okaloosa and Santa Rosa are two of the best school systems in the state. Okaloosa is ranked #1 and Santa Rosa is ranked #6. Both districts have a fairly small student body which gives the students more time with the teachers. We used to live in Navarre and my daughter attended school in Santa Rosa. We currently live in Fort Walton Beach and my kids attend school in Okaloosa.

Both districts have a pretty good program for exceptional student education (ESE). It is my understanding that they prefer to mainstream children as much as possible. The only children who are in separate classes are those that require the most assistance.
Personally I liked the school in Navarre a bit better than the school they attend now but my issues are more about management than education.

The major universities in Florida have a state run Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD). Those centers work with the various school districts to achieve optimum programs for autistic students. The CARD center affiliated with the districts on the panhandle is located at Florida State. If you contact them they will be more than happy to assist you with any questions or concerns you have as well as direct you to appropriate resources. Here is their website: Center for Autism and Related Disabilities

Here is the site for Santa Rosa's ESE department:
Exceptional Student Education Home

Here is the site for Okaloosa's ESE department:
Exceptional Student Education

[CPMOM]

Good Morning. I can only hope that you are still checking in on this post. We currently reside in Okaloosa county with our six year old child with special needs. My daughter is in kindergarten but has been in the public school system here since for the past three years. Our experience has been that while the schools are rated #1 and may be good for "typical" children, they are insufficient for children with special needs. I am a very involved mother who advocates for her child and have been met with much resistance from the school and the district when requesting more services for my daughter.

I must disagree with the previous poster who states that the schools here prefer to mainstream. When developing my daughter's IEP before kindergarten, mainstreaming was not an option the school was willing to consider. Through six IEP meetings and at our insistence they finally agreed to it and it has been a wonderful experience for our daughter. It is my opinion that they want all of our special children in separate classrooms and offer as little services as they can get away with. (I have seen children with severe speech needs only receive speech once a week because their parents aren't involved enough to know. )

There are plenty more instances of trouble we have had with the schools but I don't want to bore you with the details of my experiences. I will just say that we are considering moving somewhere else so that my daughter can receive the education she deserves. My advice would be to anyone coming to this area NOT to move into Okaloosa county schools with a special needs child.

[keantesi]

Hi, my friend relocated with her 7 years old autistic son last year to Fort Walton Beach. I'll try to contact her to get more but I can give you a little info. There is a place called Brilliant Minds in Fort Walton Beach and Destin, FL that deals soley with special needs kids and autism and they can hook you up with everything you need to know about the area and the schools. I believe her son attends Edwins Elementary in a special class which is also in FWB but I know that she had the option to observe all the other schools before she decided on where she wanted him to go. She has also been sucessful in getting him into ABA therapy, though I don't know where and I think that her son's doctor (PCM at base clinic) has been able to help her get Tricare to cover some of the costs. Hope this helps!

[Robbied]

I would call the Family readiness and assistance center on base and they can give you more info.