Good school districts for autism?

My son was just diagnosed with high functioning Autism. Right now he is an integrated pre-k class and doing okay. I haven't been too happy with my interactions with our school district. And we are in a small district, which I realize isn't great for special education resources (less to go around, not as many class options, etc). I'm just curious what others experiences have been with their children. For example, I don't think my district offers an integrated option for K. It's either self contained or go into a regular class with limited supports. I feel a co-teacher model would be good, but they don't offer that.

Good school districts for autism?

I feel like this is so much more dependent on the child or family than it is on the district. I am in a large district that is supposed to be great for Special Ed and I hate it here. I would change schools in a heartbeat. But other parents are so happy here. I feel like there is no way to judge this.

Good school districts for autism?

It's hard. I don't even know if moving is practical. I'm just so nervous about what the district will recommend for kindergarten.

Good school districts for autism?

I am in a small district and i love it! They have been amazing for us. My daughter has a medical condition and some learning disabilities. Our school did not have inclusion for K so our option was 15:1:1 or general ed. We knew she couldn't do general ed - we were upset about the self contained at first but we toured the class and spoke to a few parents and felt better about it. It was basically just a smaller sized class with all peers of hers in the same situation (could be in inclusion). It was the BEST thing for her! Her first year she had a smaller class with 2 teachers and they really helped her get more caught up and eased into the full time public school thing. After K she was placed in inclusion now for 1st grade with most of the kids from her self contained class, so I was happy they even stayed together. She did so well in the 15:1:1 class I was worried about her even going into the inclusion for 1st! But we went with their recommendation and she is doing well.
I know the self-contained sounds scary but it truly was the perfect and best fit for her for K. And bc the district didn't offer the inclusion - the class was basically all the kids that would have been in an inclusion class anyway. I am so happy we went with the schools recommendation for that class.

Good Luck!

Re: Good school districts for autism?

It is so hard to say because even within one district one family may have a vastly different experience than another. My son has dyslexia, and we moved from one district to another one. Our new district is phenomenal for us. With that said, we have friends whose child also has dyslexia in our district and they have had to fight to get everything the school has offered to my son. Their child's testing was not as drastic as my son's, their child was borderline, where my son was incredibly clear that he has dyslexia. The progress my son made was dramatic after intervention. Their child, did not make progress so now everything is a fight for them so they ended up moving.

Re: Good school districts for autism?

I've heard good things about Half Hollow Hills and Commack.

Good school districts for autism?

I don’t agree that smaller districts are not great for special education resources. My friend’s daughter is in a small district, North Merrick, and is very happy with the services there. Kids are bussed to that school to take advantage of their services. We are looking to move to that district as well. If you have districts in mind I would suggest going to a SEPTA meeting which is held 1x or 2x a month at one of their schools. You can talk to the president and parents and get a feel for the services there. You are right that some districts will not have co-teacher models as they believe getting more attention in self-contained while gradually mainstreaming is a better model, but every child and every school is different