Autism/Special needs- Good School Districts/services (Boston, Newton: renting, insurance)
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We just found our our son is on the spectrum. Services have already started but we are in the process of finding a home to buy. Having just found out what is going on with our son, we are rethinking the areas we have been focusing on.
Currently renting in Burlington and hear the services/BECC school here are good ones. Anyone out there with an Autistic child that recommends a particular area within a 1 hour commute of Bedford?
So far, i have been looking at Burlington and Natick. The areas we were originally looking at were Wakefield, Melrose and Stoneham.
From personal experience i would say Natick is a mixed bag
some years have been awesome-with good teachers and services and others have had less than enthusiastic teachers which have definitely impacted progress-you have to really keep on top of things which tends to get more difficult as they get older-in high school you rely on your once a year meeting and progress reports-my pet peeve is they always manage to inform me of "issues" the last week of the school year! Thus almost useless at that point-despite them having my email and multiple phone numbers they could contact me on when issues arise! Some people love the natick services others feel very differently-I think in elementary the services are good but for us it all a bit of a mixed bag from there. FYI we are Aspergers diagnosis
NECC and Nashoba learning center are the best, in our extensive searching experience. The former is for higher functioning kids than the latter. The May Institute is for relatively lower functioning kids and is also highly regarded. All three require out placements from your local school district and are very expensive both for private clients and for school districts. Picking a district that will give you an out placement to one of these schools is tricky and often requires a lawyer and always extensive expert reporting on the need for intensive schooling (which all kids on the spectrum need). Some wealthy districts feel that they provide sufficient services in house, and so are reluctant to give an out placement, while some poorer districts know their programs are insufficient for kids with many needs and give out placements more easily. But the reverse in both cases also occurs. But in any event you probably want to settle somewhere in the greater Boston area. Visit districts and ask about out placements and you will get a sense of their openness to them pretty easily. There are also many outside facilities like OTA that are great if your insurance covers them. This is definitely a great place to live if you have a kid on the spectrum. People here "get it." There is great acceptance and openness to kids and families dealing with ASD. You don't feel alone or second class, and the medical facilities are cutting edge. You are making the right move.
NECC and Nashoba learning center are the best, in our extensive searching experience. The former is for higher functioning kids than the latter. The May Institute is for relatively lower functioning kids and is also highly regarded. All three require out placements from your local school district and are very expensive both for private clients and for school districts. Picking a district that will give you an out placement to one of these schools is tricky and often requires a lawyer and always extensive expert reporting on the need for intensive schooling (which all kids on the spectrum need). Some wealthy districts feel that they provide sufficient services in house, and so are reluctant to give an out placement, while some poorer districts know their programs are insufficient for kids with many needs and give out placements more easily. But the reverse in both cases also occurs. But in any event you probably want to settle somewhere in the greater Boston area. Visit districts and ask about out placements and you will get a sense of their openness to them pretty easily. There are also many outside facilities like OTA that are great if your insurance covers them. This is definitely a great place to live if you have a kid on the spectrum. People here "get it." There is great acceptance and openness to kids and families dealing with ASD. You don't feel alone or second class, and the medical facilities are cutting edge. You are making the right move.
Is there a school district that won't fight you on an outplacement? My understanding was that everyone will fight you. Some are just easier to make a case against. The cost of outplacement is high and school districts don't want to pay it. Last I heard, Nashoba (for example) was $105,000/year. NECC in Southborough is somewhere north of $150K.
I heard a terrible story recently about 6 kids with ASD who live in Sudbury. They sued the town and won and all 6 got outplacements. In order to fund the outplacements, the town had to have a prop 2 1/2 override. Apparently, one of the selectmen in town made it very clear that these 6 kids were the reason why everyone's taxes were going up. He couldn't legally name them but people figured it out and were none too nice to these families none of which ever asked to deal with ASD.
Every school district fights you in out placement. It costs thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to pay for private schooling. My sister works with kids with ASD and has worked in both public and private schools. If anyone has any questions feel free to inbox me and I can pass them along. And I know this thread is a million years old but FWIW, if anyone new is reading and in need, I've heard Braintree is amazing with kids with SN.
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From personal experience i would say Natick is a mixed bag
