Public school autism services (Greenville, Blythewood: elementary school, camping, living in)

[TWINMOMMA2010]

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask a question before I get to deep in looking into relocating to the area. My family is currently living in NJ but we would like to move to the area to live a little more comfortably & to be near family in Blythewood & Charlotte. My question is does anyone know about the special services offered in the public schools in Greenville? I have twin boys that are on the spectrum. They are 5 & currently enrolled in my towns public school in a special education class. They do a therapy in school called ABA, they also receive Speech therapy & Occupational therapy. My kids are partially-verbal meaning they just started forming words but the speech isn't conversational at this point but we are hopeful with the right therapy they will be able to have a conversation soon. Does anyone know if kids in the Greenville public schools that have autism are able to be kept in the public schools or are they sent out to a specialized school for kids with learning disabilities? Any help would be appreciated. We aren't looking to move for possibly another 2 yrs & I know things can change a lot within that amount of time. Any help, insight would be appreciated or if someone has someone I can contact that would be most helpful.

[Toto7SC]

I sent you a PM

[Longsally]

My son is autistic and has adhd. I will say this...Elementary school here was a disaster as they are just not really set up for a child like him unless it is a self contained class room. We found EINSTEIN academy. It is a private school here in Greenville specifically for autistic/adhd kids. They go from 4th grade through 8th and they have 7 kids in each class so there is plenty of attention and your child can go ahead or lag depending on what they are doing. They do social skills training and other things to prepare your child for high school. Also, SC now has help with tuition by the palmetto scholarship. Essentially it says that if you have a special child that cannot go to public school for reasons such as autism etc...they will pay your tuition for the year up to 10,000. We paid for my son for 6th grade and they paid 7th and 8th. My son is now in a charter high school and is an honor roll student there....good luck.

[TWINMOMMA2010]

Hi Longsally, thanks for your response. Congrats to your son being a honor roll student! I'm sure you are thrilled about that! So is your son mainstreamed in the charter high school now? Also, the charter schools here in Jersey are by lottery, is it the same process in South Carolina?

[kamban]

Originally Posted by TWINMOMMA2010

Hi Longsally, thanks for your response. Congrats to your son being a honor roll student! I'm sure you are thrilled about that! So is your son mainstreamed in the charter high school now? Also, the charter schools here in Jersey are by lottery, is it the same process in South Carolina?

If the number of applicants exceed the slots available the lottery kicks in. This is mainly visible for coveted charter schools like Langston.

Years ago there was the stupid rule of first come first served requiring camping outside for up to a week outside the school (for the charter schools and county schools that is open to all). But a major incident in 2012 requiring a person to be treated in the ER after a scuffle led to the lottery system, which is fair to all parents.

In December of 2012, one parent suffered minor injuries at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School when some parents began pushing and shoving, according to district officials. The incident led the district to review the idea of students getting in on a first come, first serve basis.