Best Long Island School Districts for Special Education (Islip, Levittown: credit, lawyer)

[mommytochris]

Yes three of my friends have had varied experience with them. One child who is not in special ed did amazingly well. She had focusing issues. Another child who is autistic the mother saw no difference even though the center reported successes in the sessions. It never carried over to home or school. The last child parents went to the evaluation and were told there son could not be helped. The program is expensive $5000 and up.

[rs121]

I had a few friends who went to a presentation by a chiropratic neurologist. The presentation was wonderful, all the promises, success stories etc. My friends heard the word "cured" and that the school district is lying to you and jumped right on it. They could "fix" just about any disability through their program.Their delightful little girl is 9 years old but is functioning more like a two year old. So they brought their daughter in for the "free" evaluation. The cost of the program was about $4500 for three months and my friends were tempted but after the "evaluation" they would not take her. It seems like they only choose the children that they think they will be able to show improvement in. From a statistical method, their testing methods were off because you don't give the exact same test througthout the program. Of course the kids are going to remember the questions. Everything was subjective. Thank God they were rejected from this program. As the parent of two children with moderate disabilities, I know of the pain we go through and would do anything to help our children but I am just very wary of programs that promise the world and who knows what they deliver.

[jaust]

thnaks for the input. My wife went to the presentation and heard all the same stuff. I went to the evaluation nad they"accepted"my 8 year old son who has autism...pdd nos. We are going to bite the bullet and go for it. I know there is no magic cure but we have to at least try.

[mommytochris]

Try to get them to give you a guarantee. They are telling my friend her son is doing amazingly while in the session but she has seen nothing at home or school. She has spent thousands over the past few years (her son is 7 and is autistic) to try to get him to be more typical. She did a sensory program where the child is put on a moving table with sound and light stimulation all going on at the same time. That was $7k and she saw no benefit. Please be carefull. If you would like I could give you her email before you commit. Just PM me.

[rs121]

Thanks that was my point I am "lucky" in the sense that even though my children have significant learning issues they are still being successful with academic support. I asked my friend to look up some of the "highlights" from this presentation from her notes and they included:

1) Saying that ALL parent interviews are always "objective" measures not the subjective measures that they are.
2) Giving the same test measure several times in the course of the program to show progress and not taking into account that the student will be familiar with the questions and answers
3) Reporting scores in grade equivalent and age equivalent rather than standard scores.
4) Using the word "cured" repeatedly in a presentation to parents of signicifantly impaired kids.
5) Showing testing results of a student in the power point presentation and having the student's actual name appear on the screen and then using it several times in the presentation.

The "parent" needs to beware. If it sounds too good, it just very well might be. It would seem that when a group can hand pick who they want to work with of course their results will be what they want them to be. As a parent I know we would all do anything we could for our children. I just can't put into words how I feel about those people who give parents false hope while taking their money and then are unable to produce the desired results. So please be careful!!

[jaust]

Thanks...let you know how it goes. Has anyone tried the gluten free/dairy free diet?

[pjandamom]

I did last November for about 4-5 weeks it was very hard, but I did it. I didn"t notice too much of a difference, but then again some people say you must do it for a couple of months to see a difference. And each case is different I've heard of it working and I've heard of it not working.

[sharon s]

I am in the north shore school district. It is very small and they have really have tried to help my son. I still think there must be BETTER programs out there somewhere.He will be going to middle school next year and I plan to search outside the district. I HATE the quality of education my older children got from North Shore.

[yeaitsme]

Thanks Sharon so far we have had 2 negative reposts of North SHore School district unfortunately. So when I complie the list again I will be sure to add it. I am just waiting for some more schools to be added to our list. Anyone else have an experience in their district they would like to share?

[foreric]

I am having a hard time finding a good autism program for high school age. Many are "life skills" programs that seem to just group everyone together...OHI, MR, etc. It's not a one size fits all diagnosis, and therefore should not be a one sizr fits all HS class. I'm in Nassau county. I hear good things about Levittown and Wantagh, but just at the lower grade levels. Any suggestions???
Thanks