High functioning autism preschool programs in fairhope (Mobile, Daphne: attorney, transfer)

[pao2310]

Looking to move to fairhope area and wanted to find out if anyone in the forum had experiences with the baldwin school district special education dept.

My son has an iep as developmentally delayed even tho he is diagnosed autistic by neurologis and geneticist. He had a great experience
In miami dade school system attending a half day mainstream classroom (inclusion). He had a wonderful dedicated teacher, only 8 kids in class (4 high functioning delayed and four neurotypical models who were a year older ), received OT and private ABA.

What can I expect if I teansfer my son to baldwin school district for pre-kinder (4).

He is very high functioning.

I am so stressed out about this.

Thank you

[pkp337]

We live in downtown Mobile. Our twin girls have recently been accepted into the Little Tree School, which is highly recommended by developmental pediatricians in the area. We are looking forward to it. Our plan is 2-3 years there then move into the Catholic school system in Mobile. Let me know if you have any questions.

[hokie98]

I live in Fairhope and have a kindergartener. I don't have any experience with special ed, but know that during budget cuts a couple of years ago, I understand they included all but the severely disabled into the public classrooms. My daughter goes to Newton Elem, which is just outside of the town limits. It's a smaller school (3 K classes, versus I think either 6 or 8 at Fairhope Elem), and we've been satisfied there. The public schools in Baldwin county, including Fairhope, are pretty decent (Fairhope, Daphne & Spanish Fort being the best in the county). Mobile is a different story. If you're interested in private schools, Bayside Academy, Christ the King, and Bayshore Christian are your options on the Eastern Shore. I may be worth mentioning...there has been some overcrowding issues at Fairhope Elem. It may be worth calling the elem schools and asking some questions.

Back to your question about preschools...I'm not familiar with any K-4 programs in the public schools, however there are a ton of other programs. Most are church bases "mothers day out" and preschools. Our daughter went to The Learning Tree at First Baptist Fairhope for 2 years, and had a little boy in her class that has high functioning autism. Her teacher last year was a retired teacher and I was quite pleased with their activities. That being said, alot of friends are extremely happy at Fairhope United Methodist Church preschool, and Country Day School is very popular as well. My daughter only had 6 kids in her class at The Learning Tree last year. There were 2 5-day/week classes of about 6 kids, and 1 3-day/week class with 8, I believe. By comparison, Country Day's K-4 had about 16 in the class. I'm not sure of the class sizes at FUMC, but it's probably somewhere in the middle.

I can't really answer your question about what school deals best with high-functioning autism, but I'd look at the link below, and call some of the schools (the numbers of those I mentioned above are on there) and talk to the directors:

2011 Child Care Guide

[fridgudare]

Alabama in general is very poor with special needs. If you look at state rankings as a whole the state ranks very low on education. I cannot give any personal experience with Fairhope but I had friends that had a child with autism there and they moved to another state.

[Coastal29]

Residing in Fairhope with two children in the school system (one child of which requires IEP), I Do NOT recommend Fairhope for any child with an IEP (Individual Education Plan). Fairhope city school system is under a state investigation(as of 2012) concerning their special education departments. Most of these families residing in Fairhope school district (including children of residing well-known pediatric physicians) request a transfer out of this school system. You will need the help of a special education representative (attorney) to conquer your child's special education needs in the Fairhope Elementary and Intermediate schools. These two schools deter special education children. These teachers fall short on special education training and following state education laws, let alone their lack of genuine concern for the education, future, and safety of these children.
Of Baldwin County Schools, I would recommend Spanish Fort school district This school is known for their phenomenal academics and special education curriculum.