Relating with autistic child (Pittsburgh, Bethel Park: real estate, house, school district)

[nanny_babs]

Hi,
I am relocating to the Pittsburgh area with no specific area in mind at this point. I have an autistic child and am moving there mainly for the autism support and medical services that are available. What are some of the safest and best areas to move to? I need a home with a lawn (not huge but level and easily accessible and safe) and close to a GREAT school that has good support services for him. He is the main reason for my relocation so I want to be somewhat close to the services available for him. Can anyone give me some advice? I have the resources to spend about $85,000 for a home and only need a three bedroom home. Thanks for the help and suggestions!

[Hopes]

It MIGHT be possible to find a randon house in the North Allegheny School District in that price range. It's has great support services for autism, but it's a very wealthy district so you're going to be looking at the older homes that are almost 100 years old that are scattered throughout the area. Even then, 85k might be too low.

When you say small lawn, do you mean a city lot with a small yard?

[Hopes]

I take that back about North Allegheny School District. There's nothing in that price range at the moment. As a matter of fact, theres' very little available in the entire North Hills region under 100k. The South Hills has many properties under 100k. Bethel Park and South Park have a few in your price range.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Real Estate - Pittsburgh - Property - Proplist

[highway29south]

We live in Robinson township and love it here. There may be some homes available in Robinson or nearby Kennedy township. The area is called McKees Rocks but that is because our post office is located in McKees Rocks (weird, I know). You do not want to live in the actual McKees Rocks area, it's not a very safe there. A real estate agent can help you sort all that confusion out. Most homes around here have yards and I've always felt safe here.

Our son had autism (he is almost 6 now and is considered cured) and we were able to get wonderful services without having to go through the school systems. We had an eval done by Children's Hospital who then referred us to a case manager at Staunton Clinic through Sewickley Valley Hospital (near Bellvue which is another area you could try to look for a home in). The case manager helped us find several services for our son, the most important being wraparound services. They will go into the schools with your child and help work with the schools with anything your child may need. We also had top notch speech and occupational therapy right down the street from us. We had three years of constant services, none of which we paid for (except for a co pay we chose to pay with speech therapy). The state actually paid us for our mileage when I took our son to a therapy program across town. I was totally floored by that one! PA has some amazing services for autistic kids.

If you'd like to send me a PM, I will be glad to help anyway I can.