Preschools for kids with special needs in Orange County (Los Angeles: school districts, pros and cons)

[Moose Jul]

Our family will be moving to Orange County so that my husband will take a position in the Laguna Beach area. We have an almost 4 year old son with a clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder who is on the mild end of things with primary issues with sensory processing and language (both expressive/receptive and social). Our priority is a community with quality
preschool/elementary schools with special education services. Sensory interventions will be key to his success in school. Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome.
Also if anyone has any suggestions on private therapy centers in the area --we are currently doing therapeutic listening, sensory interventions and Greenspans DIR floortime approach which work very well. Thanks much.

[Aguma]

I currently volunteer for occupational therapist who started up a program structured solely around kids with special needs. A lot of the children I see are high functioning autistic kids. One of the areas that I volunteer at is Sky Pediatrics in Irvine.

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[Moose Jul]

Thanks much. I will look up Sky Pediatrics on line.

[meletonmc]

There are some excellent school districts for autism here. I sent you a PM, and would be happy to talk to you more about services. I have a 3 1/2 year old boy with high functioning autism. He sounds similar to your son.

[crystal-sea]

testing.........my smilies. gonna see iiiiiif

[Coldjensens]

There is a private school in Tustin that specializes in educating children with high functioning autism. It is super expensive, but you may be able to get the school district to pay some or all fo th tuition if they cannot provide services. I do nto remember the deatails but we visited the school and loved it. Later they figured out that our child's problem was not autism after all.

From what I understand, Autism is one of the current favorite diagnosis (repalceing ADD and ADHD) and is misdiagnosed regularly.

We had diagnosis of Autism, ADD, Epilepsy, retardation (from a school counseler), dyslexia, and several other things. The ultimate diagnosis is "I do not know."

They were happy to prescribe various medications for I" don't know" syndrome, but they never knew exactly what it was that they ere treating. The problem with these various syndromes, diseases, disorders, ect is that the symptoms are all the same and/or many children have symtoms common to multiple disorders. However since our child is performing above grade level in all subjects now, I guess that "I don't know" disease is not too terrible. She still has emotional coping issues, but she is learning self control on her own. She asked to get off the mind control drugs and we were glad to give her the opportunity.

[shadow42]

You don't say where you will be living, but my suggestion is to contact the school district immediately and initiate an IEP. They have 30 days to get an assessment completed once you initiate. We have a 5yr old with Asperger's and pulled him out of his private preschool to place him in the Capistrano Unified public preschool program. It has been about 5 months and he has blossomed. The services are very good here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to pm me. Good luck.

[kelbelvash]

Although each district has it's pros and cons, Capistrano has a bad reputation while Saddleback has a better one. I personally believe that it all has to do with how many services your child needs in addition to the core program offered. Children who need a lot are often met with resistance while children who progress well from what is included in the classroom program do not have to challenge the district as often. If you are looking for a social/recreational community outside of school please visit Welcome to Sensory City!. Good luck in your move.

[caoceanbreeze]

We are in a similar situation. We are moving to Orange County as well. Our 5 year old son who has been diagnosed with mild autism is receiving decent services in Los Angeles county. His main issue is language.We are also looking for a community with good preschool/elementary school districts with special education services. Our son receives DTT and social skills training and OT services.We'd appreciate any recommendations as far as school districts, private schools as well as therapy centers.
Thanks so much

[Moose Jul]

Dear CAOceanBreeze

We still have not made our move to the OC but I continually hear good things about Irvine USD with regards to special education services.

As for private therapies for language and social skills, Kelly McKinnon & Associates was highly recommended.

Again these recommendations do not come from first hand experience.

Good luck and if you like, please feel free to private message.