best school 4 autistic children (Shreveport, Metairie: living, to move, special needs)

[wonderbread1968]

Hi there,
Came across your thread and I have one daughter with autism and another with developmental delay. I'm looking to relocate to Houston in the near future because there is *NOTHING* in the state of Louisiana. The schools here are deplorable. Home school is out of the question as their therapeutic needs outweigh the benefits and they need professional, expert attention. My advice to you is to get out of Louisiana while your child is young enough and early intervention is key.

Hope this helps. I'm on my way out.

[jocko500]

Originally Posted by wonderbread1968

Hi there,
Came across your thread and I have one daughter with autism and another with developmental delay. I'm looking to relocate to Houston in the near future because there is *NOTHING* in the state of Louisiana. The schools here are deplorable. Home school is out of the question as their therapeutic needs outweigh the benefits and they need professional, expert attention. My advice to you is to get out of Louisiana while your child is young enough and early intervention is key.

Hope this helps. I'm on my way out.

that why Louisiana is dead last or in the last place in Eduction. there a reson for it. why dont they go and study the school systems that is first and model after them.
Guess they do but nothing get done but party around and think they smarter.

[tristansmom32]

I live in Caddo and have a son that is considered low functional autistic. Caddo is NOT a good parish for assistance in getting your child the help he or she needs. I have been fighting that fight for over a month to get my child placed properly in a sensory program. Their first response was to just transition him into general population. I had to enlist a parental advocate to get anywhere with these people. I suggest you contact families helping families. They offer the support and assistance that is required in this type of matter. They are the only reason my son was finally placed. Even then, there are limitations to Caddo's sensory programs. The school he was placed in doesn't even have a fenced in playground. Desoto parish seems to have better programs for our children by far. I am in the process of relocating for that reason. Good luck with your search.

[jocko500]

I meet a man who say the school place him and other like him in a closet. they did not know what to do with them. He say all they did was tell jokes and draw pictures. the only reason they past him was because he always show up for school on time. He had to learn every thing by himself. he was 28 before he passed the driver test to drive a car. so sad

[BigGee]

I have an opportunity to move to Louisiana (New Orleans or Baton Rouge) and have a child with high functioning autisim. Any recommendations for any schools (private or public) between Baton Rouge and New Orleans?

[Daisy8]

I lived in Mandeville when my child was diagnosed with autism. I asked our developmental pediatrician what was the best thing I could do for my child, and the response was, "Move. Soon."

That being said, the ONLY school I would consider in Mandeville would be Woodlake. Madisonville Elem., which is not IN Mandeville, would also be good. Other than that, you won't likely find very inclusion-friendly environments with knowledgeable staff. I do not recommend Magnolia Trace. I've had several friends with autistic children go there and did not like it.

I worked in the public school system there, so I can attest that their services are not good. We did move, and while I miss the area and my friends, I'm glad we did for my son's sake.

[Daisy8]

My son's teacher from his autism class recently visited the Caddo Parish public schools to see what type of autism program they had. She was teaching a class to other teachers there. I grew up in Shreveport at a time when you moved to Bossier for better public schools if you wanted to do public school, so I was surprised when she told me how impressed she was wight their program. She visits a lot of schools, giving in services on autism and was previously an aba therapist, so she knows her stuff. She came home and asked me what part of Louisiana I had moved from to get better services through her school district, and I told her it was south Louisiana. She said that she had figured based on my description of poor services that it had not been Caddo Parish.

I know that there are still plenty of problems in Caddo Parish schools based on my reading, but I would say that this sounds like a shining spot in their schools, and good for them!

[Dredre1961]

Are there any suggestions on schools in Lafayette to look into for a pre-school high functioning autistic child that is mainstreamed in the classroom. Only attends speech and occupational therapy outside of class.

[Dredre1961]

My nephew is now 5 and attended Uptown Learning Center until he started John Dibert School in New Orleans. They were awesome with Kevin. He counts, reads, etc. He is really excelliing.

[backinNOLA]

I joined because I wanted to share my experience (so far) with my 3 year old autistic son. My son started speech therapy at 18 months in another state. When we knew we were moving back to NOLA we started the process of getting his therapy here lined up. He was getting speech therapy and special instruction through early steps. He has now aged out of the program and we had two options: 1) go through the public school system with a variety of therapies or 2) enroll him in a private ABA (applied behavioral analysis) therapy preschool called Within Reach. We have choose Within Reach and while it is expensive, ABA therapy is the only therapy with researched data about its success. The public school offered us two ninety minute sessions twice per week in an area public school. This program involved a speech therapist, occupational therapist and an adaptive PE instructor. They follow the TEACCH method for autistic children and, while I'm sure great, we decided was not what we wanted for our son. Please do as much research as you can because early intervention is key! There are places in NOLA for autistic children and many people ready to help.

For anyone that has a child less than 3 years of age it is an easy process to start. Contact early steps and they will help with the evaluation process. For a child older than 3 contact the public school special services department to begin the evaluation process. They will lead you in the right direction and if your child has an autism diagnosis it opens up many doors for therapy...including home visits if necessary.

Within Reach is expensive, but so is any ABA based therapy center. Many insurance companies cover ABA therapy and it should be looked into when considering schools.

I'm sorry so many have struggled to find help for their children, but with the right resources there are many options.