Good schools for special ed not right outside Philly (Philadelphia: renting, middle school)

[GypsySoul22]

We're looking into somewhere 30 minutes north or west of Philly (like King of Prussia) or south (Delaware Valley, NJ). I have heard a lot from NJ posters about good schools in NJ but now I need help with PA schools.

My son has Aspergers and will be going into middle school. My husband has been applying in Philly but I want a more suburban feel so maybe King of Prussia or some other suburb is better for us. He has an IEP and is an honors student but needs some OT and PT and adaptive math.

We don't have a lot of money, so we will be renting with the hopes of eventually affording a home.

If anyone can tell me more about King of Prussia or Phoenixville schools and family feel, that would be great. My last area was a very small town in VT so I want SUBURBS with shopping and job prospects not rural areas. I like some diversity, too.

Thanks very much!

[kyle19125]

If you're husband is working in Philadelphia, avoid King of Prussia unless he's fond of sitting in traffic for long periods of time and having no access to reliable mass transit (which is a good thing in the winter). It takes 30 minutes to get to King of Prussia at around 3 in the morning...otherwise it's normally closer to 45 minutes unless there is an incident (which is frequent), so often it takes around an hour. Phoenixville would be a nightmare drive and I couldn't even estimate a drive-time.

I'd recommend looking at the Main Line area, particularly the towns of Wynnewood, Narberth, Ardmore and Haverford. These towns have easy access to the R5 commuter train to/from Philadelphia, very little crime, much less sprawl/congestion than KOP/Phoenixville yet still in a suburban environment with easy access to shopping and services as well as excellent sought-after schools. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynnewood,_Pennsylvania