Best Autism Services (Baltimore, Rockville: home, school districts, college)

[RyanneO]

Hey, everybody. I'm trying to do some research on the best area's to live in MD if your child is Autistic. I have a 12 year old with high functioning Autism but pretty severe behavior problems at home. I currently live in DE and the services here are practically non-existent. We only have two ABA therapists in the entire state!! I'm in a position to finally move out of this state so I'm trying to gather as much info as I can. I'm not finding much on Google about MD, good or bad and it's frustrating. My husband works in MD so living there and not having to commute from DC to DE every day would be fantastic. I'm wondering if it's easy for children with Autism to obtain Medicaid, also does the state have an abundance of ABA therapists? What school districts and areas are safe and offer good services? Are there any areas I need to avoid? These are the things I'm looking to find out. I would like parent opinions rather than some generic Autism website that does not offer realistic opinions. Every state likes to make it seem like they are amazing but it's the parents and caregivers who are the real people to go to for opinions. So, if anyone here is willing to give me any info that would be fantastic!

-Ryanne

[NJ2MDdude]

Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore:

Kennedy Krieger Institute |

[cjmeck]

I know parents with kids with autism specifically are choosing to come to Howard County Public Schools. I cannot speak on it personally but there is a Facebook page for the Howard County Autism Society that would be a huge help to you.

[It's Erica80]

I am also looking for resources in Maryland, I have a sister that have two children with developmental delays (both boys are 16 & 20 now) and she had them enrolled at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. I myself and looking to go back home to Maryland because of my own daughter who was recently diagnosed on the spectrum. Check out Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore, cssac.org in Montgomary Village MD, The Frost School in Rockville hope this helps a little. Stay Blessed

[TheCaliforniaMarylandPers]

There are several nice schools with children for autism in Maryland. As someone else mentioned, Howard County has nice disability services, as do certain Anne Arundel County Public Schools. All high schools in Anne Arundel County have a class called "Functional Life Skills." It's basically a class for students with disabilities such as down syndrome, severe autism, cerebral palsy, etc. Most of the students stay in high school till they're 21 to better prepare them for college or whatever they want to do after graduating, though some graduate on time. They usually stay in the Functional Life Skills classroom for all their core classes (Math, English, etc.), but have elective classes with general education students so that they are mixed with general education students, too. In Anne Arundel County, South River, Arundel, Broadneck, and Old Mill High Schools have a program called "Best Buddies," where students from the Functional Life Skills program get paired up with a student in the general education program, and they hang out, and be friends, etc., and it's a great program. The high schools in Anne Arundel county also have unified sports that students with disabilities can participate in. Good luck! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask!