Help me find out the elementry school for my high functioning autism son (Virginia Beach: best school)

[WUHAI]

hi all
I live in Norfolk now and move in VA last summer and has a autism son, will be in K this Aug. I am trying to find out school for him, public and private is both ok for us. he is very smart so academic learning is great but delay in language and social and a little sensory. he like small size class with is not so much noise to him and like to play with kids but do not know how to communicate with them,most time he like jump run dance with kids but talking very little. he is high level look after himself is OK and out of diaper in 3, very cute but some times had bad tantrums because he want to keep do some thing what he like and not interested in what he do not like. he is now in a regular preschool. some parents said Virginia beach and Chesapeake public school is much better than Norfolk, so we want to move to there but I do not know where is the great and the best school, and hard to decide VB or Chesapeake? we went to Chesapeake bay ,we do not like there students looks hard to learn ,my son is very smart, it is different, so we do not want to spend a lot of money on that , we want to spend money on speech therapy.
any one who has experience please tell me and I want to discuss which school is good for high functioning autism for the smart but delay in language and social . welcome any great information, some one said Chesapeake has ASD class , VB only has SECEP, ASD is better than SECEP for high functioing autism , but VB has more recourse ,so what should I do ?

[Mrs. Lindo]

Hello. Im the parent of an Aspie, and I have recieved tons of information that was helpful to me from The Endependence Center on Virginia Beach Blvd. They have a couple of parent groups and Im sure that someone can point you in the right direction. Good luck!!

[ghostcrabs]

I'm a parent of a child with aspergers in the Norfolk school district. I highly recommed that you go to the website meetup.com and search for the Tidewater Apergers Support Team and South Hampton Roads Autism groups. Register to join those groups (it's free) and post your questions to the group members, as they have a lot more insight/info regarding the schools and your specific situation. I will say that both Va Beach and Chesapeake have better services then Norfolk - not great services, but at least a little better. Also, you mentioned that your child has expressive language problems, if that's the case, usually speech therapy would be provided through the school - and you wouldn't have to pay for those services. My son didn't get diagnosed with Aspergers until he was in 1st grade. But I am wondering since your child is in preschool that perhaps you might benefit from contacting the school district now to get the IEP process started for the next school year. Even if you plan to move from Norfolk to VA Beach, getting the ball rolling early might be benefit for when he starts school in the fall.

I would also agree with the above poster to contact the Endependece Center, as they have a lot of resources for parents in this area.

Best wished to you and your child.

[dondemp21]

We are moving to Virginia Beach this summer from Philadelphia, PA. Currently we have an 8th grader with Aspergers High functioning and a 6th grader. Both are going to a good private school. My 8th grader is in 3 main stream classes with resource room support, doing well but hasn't been in public school since 3rd grade. I have heard the schools in Chesapeake are better, would it be worth starting her in public school or going with private school? Also, how does transportation work in VA? In PA the public school is still responsible for busing.

[marnay]

I don't have any info on which schools are better for a child with Aspergers, but all public schools provide bus service and there is no charge as long as your child is going to the school they are zoned for. We live in Chesapeake and like the schools we are in but I don't have any experience with other than main stream classes.