Special needs in Iowa near Des Moines (Iowa) (Ames, Urbandale: best school districts, centers)

[heritage102]

Hello all,

We have development delay child around 5 years. he needs intensive Occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and special education program.. My spouse is getting a posting in des moines, IO area. how is it for special needs. which school district is good which offers the above services. are there private centers too.. which location around des moines is good for settling down.

can members please throw some light.. thanks in advance
regards.

[kakes]

Hi there,
I'm a speech-language pathologist. I believe that Urbandale (in the DM area) has one of the best school systems. There's one other area-but I don't recall it. I'll check and get back to you. As far as speech servcies, contact the Iowa Speech-Lanuage Hearing Association and see if they can be of any help. Also, once you find out the best school districts, contact them directly and ask to speak with the director of special services or special ed. You're in luck, as there are really good schools in that area. We're planning to move back there in the next couple of years.

Let me know if I can help in some other way perhaps.
Karen

[GeekPrincess]

Iowa is a wonderful place for a special needs child. I've never heard of a community being anything but supportive in most of central Iowa. And the Special Olympics are in Ames, which is up the road from DM.

[heritage102]

thanks guys,

will check out urbandale.. meanwhile if you can get back on the other schools info it will also be helpful..

thanks once again..

[patmc]

Originally Posted by GeekPrincess

Iowa is a wonderful place for a special needs child. I've never heard of a community being anything but supportive in most of central Iowa. And the Special Olympics are in Ames, which is up the road from DM.

If you're interested in finding out more about the towns around Des Moines (from the perspective of local residents) you might want to check out: glurb.com* <everything local>

[monica_thompson]

In Indianola we have great special needs programs in the schools. We also have many parent volunteers that assist in the classrooms with the mainstream students as well as the special needs students. Having parents in the classroom really helps control the teasing that would normally be a constant in a special needs child's day.
Irving Elementary also has a year round program, with special needs classes and teachers.
Check us out...it is a wonderful place to raise a child.
Indianola Community Network, Indianola, Iowa