Best state to move into for special Ed-Autism (boys, old, people)

[Deb_from_Trevorton]

My answers are in blue. DEB
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Is your child in the public schools at all?
No, my son JR, goes to a private school in Hershey.

Does your child receive any ABA therapy through the school?
Yes his school programming is ABA and CLM. For those unaware of CLM it's an acronym for competent learner model.
What it does is break down even farther the ABA protocols.

How hard was it for your child to receive the medicaid?
No problem at all

May I get some info on the summer program?
His summer programming is part of his IEP. He gets what is conventionally known as ESY or extended school year. This is 5 weeks between the first week of July and the 3rd week of August.

Hope this helps you.

Warmest Regards

DEB

[robee70]

Originally Posted by urvashi

We are currently in Kansas and very disappointed with the public schools uncooperative nature for my autistic 7yr old. SHe is in a private school but I really want to work on getting her mainstreamed ASAP.
My husband is an Aerospace Engg.
So, what would be the best state/city to move into for the special Ed good public schools where there are aerospace companies.

Thanks
Urvashi

I am in NJ and have 2 boys on the spectrum. The oldest is an Aspie and is mainstreamed in Honors classes, with support services (OT / social skills). My youngest is in a private school which offers an ecclectic approach.

All in all, I believe that not only are the NJ public school districts high quality in general, but there are many excellent private school options in the area.

[firefightermom]

Originally Posted by bman14

Firefightermom I am currently in VA and am researching a possible move to the Chambersburg area. I have a almost three year old son who has Autism. He is on the mild scale. I have a few questions regarding the schools in the Chambersburg area or the Adams County schools.

.

I send you a PM with info on Chbg...I don't know anything about Adams County, sorry!

[MissLucky]

Montgomery County MD seems to be doing a very good job. Excellent special education. programs and we even enjoyed tons benefits up until they had a budget cut sometime last year. However my son is still waitlisted for autism waiver 5 years, later which is dissapointing.

[LauraC703]

To echo one of the earlier posters, NJ is a good state for a special needs child, and autism has been generating a lot of interest in the past few years. There are specialized autism programs within a few school districts, as well as private placements geared towards autism. Some even specialize in ABA methodolgy if that's something of interest to you.

[firefightermom]

Originally Posted by MissLucky

Montgomery County MD seems to be doing a very good job. Excellent special education. programs and we even enjoyed tons benefits up until they had a budget cut sometime last year. However my son is still waitlisted for autism waiver 5 years, later which is dissapointing.

I'm so sorry to hear you're still on the waiting list. We moved from MoCo two years ago, and my son received his diagnosis one year ago. People are constantly asking us if we moved bc of his diagnosis. Apparently lots of Marylanders jump the state line into PA to take advantage of the government mandated autism insurance and the services available here.

Good luck to you and hope you don't have to wait too much longer.

[biglallyb]

Originally Posted by firefightermom

I live in Chambersburg, PA, and there is an autism school here in town. My son has Aspergers and is very high functioning. He attended a program called Stepping Stones all summer. It was 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, and it started the week after school got out and ended the Thursday before school started. They also provided transportation. Now that school is back in session, he attends the program one night a week for 3 hours. There is also a local therapeutic riding program and a special ed playgroup.
We moved to PA almost 2 years ago, before my son's diagnosis, and thank God we did. We would still be on a waiting list for services in MD, and probably paying out of pocket, too. In PA, everything is covered by the state insurance. We also have a behavioral specialist and a therapeutic support person who come to our home. The improvement in just a few months is wonderful. I can't say enough good things about PA!

Hi firefightermom! it was a blessing to read your post. we live in northern il and are planning a move toward pa. it'll be like going home. my parents grew up in pa and wv and once married, grew their family in va.

we have a 13yr old son with aspergers. bullied 3 years, suicidal from that, pulled out of public school in 5th grd, christian school for 6th grade. great school, they just had no idea how to deal with aspies..messy handwriting, never remembering to bring homework home, melting down at the thought of homework, forgetting to turn his homework that he did do, in! typical AS issues.

this year, 7th grade, we are homeschooling him. Lord help us! ;O) It's FANTASTIC not having the "school" related melt downs, but the intensity of our days is maddening and all-consuming. we've checked into equine therapy, aspie schools (costing crazy sums of money! can only wealthy kids with aspergers go to these schools?)

as my husband and i read your "story" we were both like, that is EXACTLY what noah needs.

how old is your son? are these places still active that he is going to? being that this will be a huge lifechange for our family, we are researching it into the ground as you can imagine. :O)

thanks so much for any info you can offer.

[iron_woman]

california. more oppurtunities for special need people for a brighter future. theres this program in california called TPP program, its for special needs, and ppl with learning disabilities (like myself) and the ppl who own the program helps the ppl with special needs with their work and what their gonna do after they graduate, such as help out with college, jobs, militarys, whatever.
hope this helps!

[dorrien12]

Originally Posted by LauraC703

To echo one of the earlier posters, NJ is a good state for a special needs child, and autism has been generating a lot of interest in the past few years. There are specialized autism programs within a few school districts, as well as private placements geared towards autism. Some even specialize in ABA methodolgy if that's something of interest to you.

Which parts of NJ? Can you name some counties, cities or schools?

[sak9210]

We lived in Chester County, PA when my son was diagnosed. We were happy with his early intervention, doctors, therapies, preschool, choice to vaccinate, etc. He's now 4 yrs old, and we made a mistake moving to GA. We are moving back to PA, but Bucks Co this time, which I also heard great things about. There's a place called Theraplay in PA, has a bunch of locations, which my son loved! He had speech, OT, PT and feeding therapy there. And with Keystone Mercy medical assistance, everything is free. No copays! I think you'll be very happy with PA.