Special Needs/Autism/PPCD School District Info That Might Be Helpful (Houston: home search, school districts)

[daddyworkhorse19]

I have read many of your responses. My son also went to wildcat way. It was a great school and I wish that I could have kept him there, but 5 is the oldest they will go. I decided to try Westview (private school), and enrolled my son there. The tuition is expensive,and my son did improve until this year. Like all schools whether private or not, it depends on the teacher. Can the teacher make a connection with your child? Sometimes not. A child with autism can be a great challenge for a teacher, and they have to be able to keep making the class interesting and structured at the same time. My son is diagnosed with "high funtioning autism", and his ability to communicate is rated at a 4 yr old level. He tends to hit, scratch, and kick the teacher when a change in his "matrix" takes place. We have been told that he will not be able to return next year because he will not fit into the school's group learning setting. We were shocked by this news because here we are saying, "wow...lets try a private school....all that money has got pay for some high qualified teachers that can really help my son". Sometimes thats not the case. We once again hit a fork in the road and I know there will be many more to come. We have already moved twice to areas of Houston seeking the best possible education for my son. Here we go again!!!

[navedrashid]

I am looking for a good special ed high school for my son who will be going to ninth grade next year. Does anyone has any info? Also what do you think about Fort Bend ISD?

[chasityjacola]

I am moving to the clear creek area and am looking for any information on the schools there. Are there any good programs for special education. My son is high functioning, but needs speech and occupational therapy. Also if someone could give me advice on good doctors, and therapy centers I would really appreciate it. I don't have any contacts in the area.

[oaklandmom]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

Hi Dorothy--
I'll send you a PM with his info

Hello, this information you gave regarding services is very helpful. May I know the name of developmental pediatrician? Because we will be relocating sometime July from oakland, california to tomball, texas. I was requesting an appointment here in Oakland, but pediatricians here are already fully booked.

Thanks.

[professorsenator]

NOTE TO PARENTS MOVING TO TEXAS: Texas is a low-tax state that is not generally well known for providing lots of high quality social services. Having lived in both Texas and Massachusetts--and being the parent of a child who is PDD--I can tell you that there is a night-and-day difference between the two states (MA is such a better state in so many ways). Those who move to Texas with kids who have special ed. needs must be VERY careful about where they move and must be prepared to fight hard for services.

[meletonmc]

What school districts in Texas did you have problems with? It would also be great if you could let us know specifically how the services were different. We may be moving soon, and this information could be very helpful to us. Thank You.

[Rarery2003]

Mom2Feebs thank you for starting this wonderful thread. I haven't read the whole thing, but it seems that you are providing wonderful information to lots of people.

I have had a terrible experience with child care centers not really being able to accommodate a special needs child. Does anyone have any suggestions on a child care center or a babysitting/nanny service?

I currently care for my autistic 5 y/o half-sister on my own. She was officially diagnosed with Autism about 8 months ago. It has been a long and emotionally draining fight that is nowhere near over. At 24 y/o, I currently have no children of my own, but I feel like I could write a book on fighting for a child with special needs. We are the champions for our autistic children.

I would like to relate my personal experience with PPCD and raising an autistic child in Houston.

My sister is currently enrolled in a Cy-Fair ISD PPCD program. We moved to Houston from Georgia in 2005. At this point, my sister was 2 years old and we'd had little to no professional intervention. All of the doctors we'd seen said she simply had a speech delay. Once in Houston, we began seeking help and were put into a state program that allowed for a speech therapist to visit our home once a week. She would not even sit still for the therapy.

She soon turned 3 and was introduced into the PPCD program. Her goals were all speech and behavior related. She did not do well. She had a late birthday and only did about 2 months of PPCD. The next year she had a new teacher as the PPCD program expanded to a school closer to our home. This should have given us a warning flag that Cy-Fair was/is not very experienced in PPCD. Her teacher suggested that we have her behavior assessed as it was affecting her learning. After hunting down a pediatrician that would listen and not simply dismiss our concerns, we were told she had ADHD. We reluctantly agreed to try her on medication. She improved and was able to slow down enough to learn.

By the time her 4th birthday and 2nd ARD rolled around, her wonderful teacher announced that she would be on maternity leave and not returning to our school. Unfortunately we were placed with my sister's original PPCD teacher who lacked the magical graces to keep her behavior in check. Yet again it was suggested that we have her evaluated. At this time, we had begun to suspect that she was Autistic but we were not sure how to proceed. Mind you that all of this time, the professionals who are "trained" did not recognize any of the symptoms. We researched online and bought books. We went to Texas Children's and joined the waiting list for every therapy possible. We were able to meet with a behavior therapist who gave us amazing tips to help us deal, deflect and redirect. We were also able to get in a speech therapy program.

Now my sister was receiving speech at school and once a week through TCH. Then our break came. My mom saw Jenny McCarthy's Oprah broadcast. Gluten Free Casein Free Diet. It sounded a little ridiculous at first but at this point I was willing to bathe my sister in chicken blood if they said it would bring her back to us. We discovered the Whole Foods Market and began to eliminate and integrate her diet. Within two weeks she "woke up". She looked at me one day with clear bright eyes and smiled. She smiled at me! A week later she looked at me and in a voice I'd never heard, she said "I'm hungry." She spoke to me! Not only had she spoke but she'd made a sentence.

Everyone was amazed at her dramatic improvement. Two months into our diet change, our turn came up on the list to see a Houston DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor. He finally told us what we needed to hear. She was autistic and we were doing everything we should. By no means have we perfected the GFCF diet. She has a terrible weakness for donuts (or zeros as she calls them) but we try very hard. Unfortunately, our mother had to temporarily take a position in California to help curb some of the costs of caring for an autistic child.

Near the beginning of this year, I found out that my sister's teacher was physically restraining her. The teacher was physically restraining my 36lb sister until she had carpet burns on her body. It wasn't until I pointed out several of the burns, at least one of which has made a scar, that the teacher finally told me that she was physically restraining her. I was brought to tears that someone was hurting my sister and she was not able to communicate it to us. Our biggest fears had come true. My sister kept showing us the marks and telling us that someone hurt her, but we could not understand the name she was giving.


At my sister's most recent ARD, I was appalled that her IEP mainly covered her speech delay. None of her goals had been adjusted to accommodate her ADHD or her Autism. At this point, I had been frustrated with Cy-Fair's system but I was instantly infuriated that through all of our hard work, they had not done anything to really help her. We kept everyone at the school AND at the daycare briefed on our work at home. They were aware that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and wore a medicated patch. They were aware that she was on a GFCF diet and that I prepared special snacks for them to serve to her. Yet here we are, more than a year after the ADHD diagnosis and 6 months after the Autism diagnosis and NOTHING was being done!

To make a long story short, I asked that all the necessary evaluations be done to get her goals to include Autism and ADHD appropriate modifications. Currently all of her evaluations are complete and she has tested well enough to begin her mainstream integration. I have an upcoming ARD in the next few days to review her new goals with the Autism and ADHD modifications.

At this point I am highly disgusted with Cy-Fair. I feel like the point of PPCD for young children is intervention. I don’t understand why she was in the program from her 3rd birthday and none of the specially “trained” individuals recognized the ADHD or Autism traits she displayed. I wonder why her special education “certified” teacher does not understand that very many autistic children do not like to be touched so physical restraint would only make the problem worse. I would like to know why it was okay to restrain her to the point that she was physically injured and I was never informed. I certainly feel like if WE had not continued to dig for the answers on our own, nothing would have been achieved.

I was fortunate to become friends with someone who has worked with special needs children in various districts throughout the city. She told me that Spring Branch ISD offers the best program for children with Autism. When my sister’s pediatrician saw the burns from her teacher, she also said that she had a colleague within the system that said Spring Branch offers the best program for autistic children.

I have not been successful in finding a house I think is within a reasonable price range in Spring Branch, but I have found an apartment. I intend to move to SBISD within the month as I continue my house search. I have spoken with the special education coordinator and she has been extremely helpful. I am very excited to see this program in action for my sister.

Now my only problem is that I need to find a good child care center in the area.

[LindaIL]

Just wondering if all High Schools in the Spring Branch ISD would also be considered as very good for spec. ed. services? I've only heard good things about the elementary level.

[rileysmom32]

I would appreciate any info you could forward to me regarding developmental ped. Thank you! Also I would like any info on Montgomery ISD.

[chicagomama]

I couldn't find on the school district's web site if there is an Early Intervention-type program for preschoolers? We are supposed to start in the fall here (outside Chicago) but obviously if we move to Houston I will be looking for a new preschool.The way it works here is that my son (3 1/2) would get the services he needs at pre-school (he has some speech, attention and OT issues). My daughter (also 3 1/2) does not need any services, and so she would go to the same district preschool but I would pay tuition for her (so its only free for kids who need certain resources as determined by an evaluation). It's great because they would be in the same class, and the classes run 5 times a week, 2 hours a day. Does the school district for Sugar Land offer anything similar? We are looking at Sugar Land (hubby will be working in Stratford) but also Meyerland and Bellaire. My son has different learning issues but so far they haven't said it is autism yet.