Louisville, Lexington or Cincy suburb, where can I find this. Good school district needed for Autistic Son. (Richmond: house)

[bls5555]

I am going to need to buy a house w/ a basement for NO more than $110,000 or so. Fixer upper preferred but must be move-in-able.

I have a son with autism so the school district would need to be good and one where I will not have to fight for the individual attention he needs.

Location doesn't matter for a job or anything, just somewhere as close as possible to 1 of those cities with a good school district and a house that is in a decent family area for not very expensive.

Any thoughts? The cincy outskirts or Louisville outskirts would be preferred over Lexington but again costs and school districts are the main thing. As per the sticky a small town feeling is always nice but sometimes the school districts don't add up.

Thank you for your help. Not sure what the housing market is like there but from the looks of it the house would be needed sometime next summer.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by bls5555

I am going to need to buy a house w/ a basement for NO more than $110,000 or so. Fixer upper preferred but must be move-in-able.

I have a son with autism so the school district would need to be good and one where I will not have to fight for the individual attention he needs.

Location doesn't matter for a job or anything, just somewhere as close as possible to 1 of those cities with a good school district and a house that is in a decent family area for not very expensive.

Any thoughts? The cincy outskirts or Louisville outskirts would be preferred over Lexington but again costs and school districts are the main thing. As per the sticky a small town feeling is always nice but sometimes the school districts don't add up.

Thank you for your help. Not sure what the housing market is like there but from the looks of it the house would be needed sometime next summer.

Suburban Louisville's Oldham County has arguably the best school district in the state. However, even as our Oldham County expert Tomocox will agree, the schools in Oldham are not too great for an autistic or special needs child.

I would recommend looking into Louisville/Jefferson County schools. The special needs schools are very good with top notch teachers and are not in limbo like the rest of JCPS. You could live in an area like Lyndon, a northeast suburb in Jefferson County, on your budget and price range. There are many nice 1970's era subdivisions with ranches off Westport and LaGrange roads with prices in that range.

With your needs, I think Louisville would be your best option, and then Lexington/Fayette.

[bls5555]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Suburban Louisville's Oldham County has arguably the best school district in the state. However, even as our Oldham County expert Tomocox will agree, the schools in Oldham are not too great for an autistic or special needs child.

I would recommend looking into Louisville/Jefferson County schools. The special needs schools are very good with top notch teachers and are not in limbo like the rest of JCPS. You could live in an area like Lyndon, a northeast suburb in Jefferson County, on your budget and price range. There are many nice 1970's era subdivisions with ranches off Westport and LaGrange roads with prices in that range.

With your needs, I think Louisville would be your best option, and then Lexington/Fayette.

Thank you very much. I will look into it.

[EclecticEars]

I agree with stx12499. Do stick to eastern or northeastern Jefferson County. I can't think of any other systems in the Louisville area that would be good for autistic students...maybe New Albany/Floyd County or Floyd's Knobs Schools. Shoot, other than Oldham Co., Floyd's Knobs, or select Jefferson Co. schools, I put no stock and barrel AT ALL into Greater Louisville's schools.

Lexington might be another good option. I'm not a huge fan of Fayette County Public Schools, but it is the second best system in the Bluegrass region in my opinion and it offers, I'm sure, a great array of programs for special needs students. (The best system is Model Lab, a very small school operation jointly by the state and EKU in Richmond, but they are very small.) Otherwise, Central Kentucky sucks when it comes to public schools. That's NOT a bad attitude on my part; that's FACT!

Greater Cincinnati has more options to choose from. My first pick would be Boone County. Smaller systems like Beechwood and Fort Thomas might not have much for special needs, but are among Kentucky's strongest academically. Look across the river in Ohio--Mason, Montgomery, Fairfield, West Chester, or Maineville--and see what those systems have to offer.

I'm not a huge fan of Kentucky public schools for the most part, can't you tell? But I encourage you to go, pound the pavement, make phone calls, and make a very educated decision. I wish you luck.

[chele11]

As a parent of a child with Autism, I will politely disagree with ALL of the above statements.

What parents of NT children don't know is this: A special needs child goes to school where he/she is placed, NOT near your home (unless it just so happens to work out that way). His/her classroom is based on his/her needs and the openings in that classroom. You could live on Dixie Highway and your child could attend school across town off Westport Road-a solid 30-45 min drive, longer for a bus. And yes, I speak from experience. So, in saying this, it doesn't really matter how you feel about a specific school or area of schools bc unless your child is in a mainstream classroom, he/she may not be necessarily attending his/her school near your home.

I have heard, however, that Indiana has the best for Autism in regards to health care coverage (something to ponder bc Ky is fighting with it continually!) but I know nothing of their school system. Personally, JCPS are horrifying. The special needs teachers are not trained for Autism directly. With the influx of our children saturating the school system, it should be mandated by the state for all special needs teachers to have a few classes WHILE IN SCHOOL for Autism PRIOR TO GRADUATION!

Personally, your best bet is private school. IF your child is mainstreamed, you might not have as much of a problem. If you're looking for smaller classroom sizes, choose a county outside of Jefferson-perhaps between Lex/Lou? Danville, Lawrenceburg, Harrodsburg are all very nice towns. I know nothing of their school systems, but I'd think the classroom sizes would be smaller, which often alleviates many of the sensory overload our children face.

GOOD LUCK! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! My son is 11, btw. Just entered Middle School.