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Hi,
We currently live in a suburb of Atlanta and want to move closer to PA without being in PA to be closer to family. We have a special needs child who will not grow up to be independent as an adult and having a support system is critical for our family. We are looking to move somewhere with a more rural feel where we can establish relationships in a stable community.
Our child is in the special needs program at our county school and attends school as any other child. So, I would love an advice on the best schools, counties, zip codes or other thoughts for us to consider. We are also open to other parts of Maryland. We are looking for a ranch home due to our child's disability with a small pool not in a neighborhood governed by a HOA. We need some space and a slower pace with our life circumstances.
I also have a teenage son starting high school and would appreciate any insight anyone has to offer. We are open to really any part of Maryland but want to stay away from suburbs around DC or Baltimore. I certainly don't mind driving 10 minutes to visit a local grocery store.
We are looking to make this move quickly so our son can get established at a high school. However, we don't want to rush a decision and end up in the rat race like we are here in Atlanta. We are a relatively conservative family. However, our disabled child is on CBD oil (some call it medical marijuana) which is legal in Georgia for qualifying individuals. Our child is relatively stable medically but also want to consider proximity to high quality medical care professionals and hospitals without living in a metro city or suburb with commuters.
I appreciate you taking time to read my note and thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts.
However, our disabled child is on CBD oil (some call it medical marijuana) which is legal in Georgia for qualifying individuals. Our child is relatively stable medically but also want to consider proximity to high quality medical care professionals and hospitals without living in a metro city or suburb with commuters.
I am following, bc we are in a very similar boat.
My son is 16 months but very high special needs. He sees at least 7 specialists, but we don't want to move anywhere near a city either. We have been looking at New Market. We are also conservative, and at first we're very hesitant to move to MD (hubby still is as he is very PRo Gun, and they have very strict laws), but if it's what will be best for my son that is more important.
I was at his pediatrician today and he said he has worked at both John Hopkins and national children's in DC, he says he would recommend D.C. bc if I have to take my son to the hospital alone JH is in a not so great area of town (right in downtown Baltimore), whereas children's is on the NE outskirts of D.C.. He said medically they are about equal, so just something to think about.
Children's hospital in DC has satellite offices in the Frederick and Gaithersburg areas- not all specialists in those offices every week but all of children's is connected via computer system so every specialist can instantly see what the others docs are doing for your child.
Urbana and Oakdale schools - elem thru high- are excellent.
Good luck to both of you in your moving and finding the best for your children .
Hi,
We currently live in a suburb of Atlanta and want to move closer to PA without being in PA to be closer to family. We have a special needs child who will not grow up to be independent as an adult and having a support system is critical for our family. We are looking to move somewhere with a more rural feel where we can establish relationships in a stable community.
Our child is in the special needs program at our county school and attends school as any other child. So, I would love an advice on the best schools, counties, zip codes or other thoughts for us to consider. We are also open to other parts of Maryland. We are looking for a ranch home due to our child's disability with a small pool not in a neighborhood governed by a HOA. We need some space and a slower pace with our life circumstances.
We are looking to make this move quickly so our son can get established at a high school. However, we don't want to rush a decision and end up in the rat race like we are here in Atlanta. We are a relatively conservative family. However, our disabled child is on CBD oil (some call it medical marijuana) which is legal in Georgia for qualifying individuals. Our child is relatively stable medically but also want to consider proximity to high quality medical care professionals and hospitals without living in a metro city or suburb with commuters.
I appreciate you taking time to read my note and thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts.
Thank you!
I'm a Realestate agent licensed here in Maryland and very familiar with the Frederick/Hagerstown area. If I can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to message me....Good luck 😀
Question 1 - Where will Hubby and/or you be employed? That is the first question before looking at where to live. Frederick County has very good Special Needs programs in the schools. That said some are better than others I know Middletown is excellent but it is very important to get a location that is near where you/he will be employed to minimize daily travel time.
I'm not sure how schools are structured where you are now but in Maryland they are large county systems. In Frederick County the Special Needs program is administered at the county level so the process and resources can be available at any school. The real difference is in the individual teacher and principle at the school. There is no way to reliably predict that more than a couple years into the future since they can be reassigned, retire, etc. and change the tone of the school. The one constant is parental involvement. Involved, knowledgeable parents can get the resources applied in whatever school in the county the child attends.
As a real estate agent, I cannot comment on some of your requests (quality of schools for example) but I can offer some help perhaps on seeking a rural atmosphere with proximity to hospitals. You can live in Montgomery County and still be quite rural. Home values are going to be higher than some of the surrounding counties though. Frederick County, which has easy access to both I-270 and I-70, as well as US Rt 15, which goes right through Gettysburg, PA is one of those. Washington County gets even more rural, and home values can be lower than many other areas in the state. I-70 runs through the county, which, headed east goes to Baltimore, and connecting south at Frederick to I-270 towards Washington.
Point is, although MD is a small state that can often feel overcrowded, there are still plenty of places to find a little oasis to call home...it is a farm friendly state after all!!
Our family has two kids in the "special needs" category (one with Asperger's and the other with depression/anxiety disorder and ADHD).
We live in Frederick County currently, and also rented a property in the little town of Poolesville, MD for a couple years (part of Montgomery County, MD).
I can definitely relate to preferring a smaller community with more of a rural feel, so you actually get to know some of your neighbors as individuals (even friends), and not just statistics.
Unfortunately, I can say that the state of Maryland is in a near crisis situation with a lack of mental health options for kids/teens. If you're dealing with drug addiction, you can probably find someone. (That seems to be the "hot topic" of late, with the heroin epidemic all over Baltimore and spreading out into Frederick and other communities.) But for a "child psychologist" or "child psychiatrist" for other ongoing issues, it's slim pickings -- especially if you need them to take a specific health insurance policy. The major provider for the Frederick or Hagerstown, MD area is probably "Brook Lane", which is rapidly growing -- but from my experiences and what I've heard from others? Not necessarily a great option. EG. A kid in a crisis situation might be able to attend their partial hospitalization program for a week or two, in lieu of going to regular school, to try to help "pull things together" again. But the psychiatrist "in house" who prescribes any medications to them while they're in the program will probably NOT be able to take them as a patient after that... too booked up.
If that's not necessarily a deal-breaker, then I definitely think you have some options in MD.
For a more laid back, relaxed and rural atmosphere, I think you want to look at Western Maryland for sure. Montgomery County, with the odd exception of Poolesville, really doesn't qualify anymore. (Poolesville sits in an Agricultural Reserve area. So in a sense, it's only artificially kept rural, thanks to legislation blocking a lot of other development.)
As far as the public school systems go? I think Montgomery County does take more of an attitude of doing everything they can do to assist a special needs child, *if* that child is clearly bright and able to get good grades with the assistance. They're pretty proud of keeping their high nationwide ranking though -- and I suspect they partially do so by trying to discourage/force out the kids who will just drag down the overall GPAs of their graduates.
Frederick County public schools, by contrast, can be more of a fight to get what you need for your kid(s). Funding is more limited for them, so they don't always have some of the resources you might demand in an IEP. Also, they've had some issues in the past because they keep changing their curriculum every few years. They're "common core" now, but some of the kids in the system today were learning a different method of doing math until they suddenly had it switched on them. They've had other changes like this in the past too, causing some kids to get way behind even though they had been performing pretty well and understanding the material. They don't have as much of an "elitist, snobby" attitude on the whole, though -- which I appreciated. I feel like with Frederick's public schools, you have a real mixed bag of teachers. Some are amazingly good and make you really happy you put your kid there, but others can ruin the whole experience.
(For kids who are lower functioning and have more severe problems, they do have special schools like the "Jefferson School" in Jefferson, MD.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by adunsmuir28
Hi,
We currently live in a suburb of Atlanta and want to move closer to PA without being in PA to be closer to family. We have a special needs child who will not grow up to be independent as an adult and having a support system is critical for our family. We are looking to move somewhere with a more rural feel where we can establish relationships in a stable community.
Our child is in the special needs program at our county school and attends school as any other child. So, I would love an advice on the best schools, counties, zip codes or other thoughts for us to consider. We are also open to other parts of Maryland. We are looking for a ranch home due to our child's disability with a small pool not in a neighborhood governed by a HOA. We need some space and a slower pace with our life circumstances.
I also have a teenage son starting high school and would appreciate any insight anyone has to offer. We are open to really any part of Maryland but want to stay away from suburbs around DC or Baltimore. I certainly don't mind driving 10 minutes to visit a local grocery store.
We are looking to make this move quickly so our son can get established at a high school. However, we don't want to rush a decision and end up in the rat race like we are here in Atlanta. We are a relatively conservative family. However, our disabled child is on CBD oil (some call it medical marijuana) which is legal in Georgia for qualifying individuals. Our child is relatively stable medically but also want to consider proximity to high quality medical care professionals and hospitals without living in a metro city or suburb with commuters.
I appreciate you taking time to read my note and thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts.
Giving this a bump: I have a 4 yr old on the Aspbergers end of the autism spectrum. I currently rent in Frederick but could relocate my job to Fairfax County and live there (possibly commute from Montgomery County). I am trying to wade through school options.
In Frederick, which elementary schools do the best job of incorporating social/emotional skill development and not just academics? Are some schools better at working with non special ed students to promote their engagement of those in special ed? Are some better at arts integration?
My short list of schools right now includes Oakdale, Middletown Primary, Carrol Creek (though I've heard the midde and high schools It feeds into aren't great), and Ballenger
Creek. I'd love to hear parents experiences with these schools, especially if you have any experience with the IEP process. Thank you!
As far as the public school systems go? I think Montgomery County does take more of an attitude of doing everything they can do to assist a special needs child, *if* that child is clearly bright and able to get good grades with the assistance. They're pretty proud of keeping their high nationwide ranking though -- and I suspect they partially do so by trying to discourage/force out the kids who will just drag down the overall GPAs of their graduates.
Frederick County public schools, by contrast, can be more of a fight to get what you need for your kid(s). Funding is more limited for them, so they don't always have some of the resources you might demand in an IEP. Also, they've had some issues in the past because they keep changing their curriculum every few years. They're "common core" now, but some of the kids in the system today were learning a different method of doing math until they suddenly had it switched on them. They've had other changes like this in the past too, causing some kids to get way behind even though they had been performing pretty well and understanding the material. They don't have as much of an "elitist, snobby" attitude on the whole, though -- which I appreciated. I feel like with Frederick's public schools, you have a real mixed bag of teachers. Some are amazingly good and make you really happy you put your kid there, but others can ruin the whole experience.
(For kids who are lower functioning and have more severe problems, they do have special schools like the "Jefferson School" in Jefferson, MD.)
you took the words right of my last 2 years of experience in Frederick. These people seem to fight for your kids. The other places just weed out what doesnt keep everyone grades up. So much for "no one left behind".
OP, if you havent already spoken to FCPS Special Education department, seen what your options are, I'd highly suggest doing so. I came from southern maryland and they absolutely no options. There are a few number of schools that have different programs for these special ones. If you have not already heard of Rock Creek Elementary... even if a parent does not have a child in the spectrum, this place should be a wake up call to society. I dropped by and couldnt leave without tears.
PS I've toured, and have been through a few of the schools, feel free to PM me.
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re: Move to MD?
