My autistic child need a Elementary School in Fort Worth (Arlington: how much, school districts)

[BPE437]

Hello all, I'm going to live in Fort Worth soon, and I'm looking for public schools that can provide support because I have a child with autism. If you have someone who can help me with this information, I will be very grateful.

[abelinkkin]

With the exception of Tanglewood Elementary, the Fort Worth School District is not thought of very highly. Look at some of the suburbs to the north/south. Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Lewisville, Burleson, Mansfield are all considered decent school districts.

[bmlx]

Originally Posted by abelinkkin

With the exception of Tanglewood Elementary, the Fort Worth School District is not thought of very highly. Look at some of the suburbs to the north/south. Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Lewisville, Burleson, Mansfield are all considered decent school districts.

If you're looking to the south, be mindful that Crowley schools are not very good either. You would want to go further south (Burleson or Mansfield) or look into FWISD's McLean MS/Paschal HS feeder pattern (though its FWISD, even the non-Tanglewood elementary schools in that pattern are fairly decent to my understanding, namely Westcliff and Lily B. Clayton; not sure how they do on special education though).


I have heard good things about Birdville ISD special education in the past. Not sure how much that is still the case though. I would recommend asking people with a local non-profit called FEAT-NT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment-North Texas) and seeing what school districts they would recommend if you are moving into the area.

[BPE437]

Hi!
THank you very much for your advise!

[tcualum]

Just because a school is well respected by the parents of neurotypical kids doesn’t mean it does a good job of serving kids with special needs. I wish I had advice regarding which school but I don’t. Have you tried contacting the administration office for the school district and asking to speak to the special ed department?

[Gone Again]

Originally Posted by BPE437

Hello all, I'm going to live in Fort Worth soon, and I'm looking for public schools that can provide support because I have a child with autism. If you have someone who can help me with this information, I will be very grateful.

As someone with a child who has a diagnosis of autism, here's what I can tell you from experience.

You're going to need a 504 designation. I assume you have that already. If not, you'll absolutely have to have one. That can't be obtained with a diagnosis from a psychologist or other appropriate specialist. Here in Arlington (also part of Tarrant county) we couldn't get *anything* from our daughter's school without the diagnosis. They did agree to testing, but can you guess what they found? Nothing. Except a possible learning disability (which isn't true per the specialists at Children's Medical who did extensive testing). So, no 504 for us, and no help for our daughter.

Even with the 504 it has been difficult. they've given us as little help as they can get away with. this is from what is considered one of the two best grade schools in Arlington. Fortunately we now have help from someone who has been working with autistic children for 25 years ( Nancy Wainscott, Spectrum Services on Manhattan Blvd in Fort Worth) and she is helping us as an advocate with the school (as well as in other capacities).

Unless you're experienced with this sort of thing, be ready for a battle. Knowing Wright's law and all the other legal information you need to be armed with may not be enough. The person I mentioned above tells us that what we experienced with our daughter's school is all too typical.

Nancy Wainscott at Spectrum Services has been a huge help to us, and other parents when it comes to getting support from schools.

[tcualum]

Thanks for the suggestion of Spectrum Services. We've been looking for help for our son but everything I'd found thus far is just ABA therapy which I don't think is a good fit for him. He's seeing one of the best child psychologists in Fort Worth but I feel he's gone as far as he can with that doctor.

[Gone Again]

Originally Posted by tcualum

Thanks for the suggestion of Spectrum Services. We've been looking for help for our son but everything I'd found thus far is just ABA therapy which I don't think is a good fit for him. He's seeing one of the best child psychologists in Fort Worth but I feel he's gone as far as he can with that doctor.

Glad to help. I exhausted everything that was listed in the resources provided by Children's Medical, and it came to naught. Some of the ABA therapy facilities we visited were a bit scary. After giving up, and being put on the long wait list for the Child Study Center at Cook's, we found Nancy Wainscott by accident. I've talked with other parents who have been with her for some time, in some cases years, and everyone reports tremendous benefit from working with her.

She's been helpful in other ways too. She educated us to the fact that many with autism are seriously impacted by gluten in the diet. We took our daughter off all gluten and after some time, noticed positive changes. She's very knowledgeable across the board with regards to autism, asperger's and all related spectrum disorders.

[tcualum]

What was scary about some of the ABA places?

[calgirlinnc]

Sorry, this info is very vague, but I have a neighbor whose autistic son attends an elementary school in a Birdville ISD. They are very pleased with the school and their approach. Wish I could be more specific.