School district for Kids w/ Autism

[RatSnake]

Originally Posted by Dennis Packard

If you make 280K a year you don't need the public school system. You have an obligation to find a less expensive home and give your child the best education through a privite school. Us that have little money must deal with the inadaquate system because we have too. My grandson is subjected to poorly trained teachers who would rather not deal with his special needs. Do yourself and your child a big favor and find a good private school that won't treat your kid like another BRICK IN THE WALL!

I think the 250K - 280K was the range of the property values they were looking at.

[LCTMadison]

I have a client with a child on the high end of the spectrum and they attend Rainbow Elementary in Madison. She has always had excellent things to say about the school and the support she and her child has received. But, she has always said that the PARENT has to be the loudest advocate. She is VERY active in local/state advocacy groups for those with Autism/Aspergers.

[cissy1]

My grandson goes to Huntsville Achievement School. He loves it and he has aspergers. Richard Reynolds the principal is
great. [url=http://www.huntsvilleachievement.com]- About HAS[/url]

[shelley5cl]

Run, do not walk, from the idea of moving to Alabama. Aside from the lack of an adequate education, you need to move to a state with transitional programs in place when it becomes time for your child to transition from your home. Establish residency in such a state while your child is a minor and the process will be much smoother. We did all of this in Maryland. Our son died recently and we now live in Huntsville. When parents tell me about the lack of services here and how they struggle my heart breaks for them. My advice - look and listen to the experiences of other parents and look far down the road ahead for your child. Look past the time that they will be young and so cute, look at the time they may display disruptive behaviors and are mocked by others. Look at the time that you will be gone from their lives. You clearly have the resources to give your child a much better future than they will have if you move here. Do it for them: Don't move to AL

[trailblazer11]

Well, uh... That was nice.

I might not have much to say in this matter, but I do know one thing for sure: at my high school (in the HCS system), we loved our special needs kids. Sure, there were a couple of really rotten apples that tried to bully them, but when the rest of the school came to rally behind them it was awesome. All the kids in the inclusion classes (at least the ones I was in as a regular student) were welcomed with open arms and they all made our days better. They always got to be front and center for pep rallies and were able to participate in anything they wanted to with the student body cheering for them the whole way. A couple years ago, one young man with autism made our varsity football team as a kicker and scored the winning field goal in a tight game against another 7-A team. Everyone knows their names and they touch our hearts every day.

Sure, we may not be the best in education, but we do know how to love one another. Bring your kid to Huntsville and he won't just "fit in," he'll thrive.

[Dick Ellington]

Originally Posted by shelley5cl

Run, do not walk, from the idea of moving to Alabama. Aside from the lack of an adequate education, you need to move to a state with transitional programs in place when it becomes time for your child to transition from your home. Establish residency in such a state while your child is a minor and the process will be much smoother. We did all of this in Maryland. Our son died recently and we now live in Huntsville. When parents tell me about the lack of services here and how they struggle my heart breaks for them. My advice - look and listen to the experiences of other parents and look far down the road ahead for your child. Look past the time that they will be young and so cute, look at the time they may display disruptive behaviors and are mocked by others. Look at the time that you will be gone from their lives. You clearly have the resources to give your child a much better future than they will have if you move here. Do it for them: Don't move to AL

I agree if you are talking about Birmingham, Montgomery, etc... run fast!

However, Huntsville is the perfect city to educate and transition our special little guys and gals into mainstream fulfilling lives.

[gatesbrown]

Parent of a child with high-functioning autism, now in high school. We've had a mixed experience with HCS, though on the whole positive. Much depends on the teacher and aide you end up getting, and sadly there is a fair amount of turnover with both.
We have been able to successfully place and maintain our child in mainstream classes with support, but you will need to push for that and push for the accoms needed to make it work as well as possible. My advice about individual schools would be to try and get one which is as calm as possible, but also to think about middle and high school even at this point. You will probably want to be in the catchment area for HHS or Grissom. Maps avail online. Blossomwood and Jones Valley have good reputations. Get the cheapest house in an expensive area - always good real estate advice.
Side point - also know about the arts enrichment programs at Merrimack Hall. JSAP They've been great for us, not just as a wonderful program but also in hooking us up with other families and the broader special needs community. good luck!

[gatesbrown]

also - in addition to the above. the kids in hcs have been wonderful. never any bullying and very accepting and supportive.