special needs outside of NY

We're really happy with the district and services we're currently receiving but I don't know that we can afford to stay here. I refuse to go into the city system, I feel like the sped services there suck.

We've been talking about moving oos to live a more comfortable life, but don't want to compromise ds education.

How are the schools in Maryland, DC, VA?? Florida? Carolinas? Texas? DH works where opportunities to relocate are available. I need to find a guidance counseling job...impossible in NY so far.

I don't even know where to begin with this.

Re: special needs outside of NY

DS' has a little boy in his class. They lived in TX and moved to LI because of ABA.

DH and I are not moving out of NY because honestly NY is the best for therapies. I should say LI. NYC is NOT great. Very difficult to get services and long wait time.

We are STUCK!!! That's the way I feel.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Posted by smdl

DS' has a little boy in his class. They lived in TX and moved to LI because of ABA.

DH and I are not moving out of NY because honestly NY is the best for therapies. I should say LI. NYC is NOT great. Very difficult to get services and long wait time.

We are STUCK!!! That's the way I feel.

Re: special needs outside of NY

I had a student in the school I worked in move to I think NC. Less than a year later they were back on LI. Her parents said that they were put on a long waiting list for ABA services. They came back to long island and she was put right back into her intensive ABA program at DDI.
It def stinks because long island is so ridiculousy expensive. And I am an educator and know that I have to stay at my private school because I will not get hired in public. But all that said I feel Long Island (as a special educator who works with children with Autism) is the best place for them with the most services

Re: special needs outside of NY

My sister lives right near Frederick MD and her daughter is in the EI system receiving speech and special ed. services and is quite happy...Honestly I don't know if my niece would have qualified if they lived on LI even though she clearly needed services. The requirement for getting services down there was only a 25% delay in one or more areas versus here where you need a 50% or more delay in one area or a 33% delay in two or more areas...The approach is a bit different as they were willing to start with speech services only twice a month and slowly work towards getting more but my niece went up to once a week speech and two times a week spec. ed. within two months of tx, and it was all covered by the county per se...

Down in MD and Washington DC area is where Floortime/DIR originated and where the first Zero to Three institutes were opened....I believe that there are really great, fantastic professionals just about everywhere... you just have to find them....HTH

Re: special needs outside of NY

I have lived in Northern VA and am now in MD...honestly, the services are pretty much awesome..however Northern VA had more school options for kids with issues such as pdd-nos/SID and when we moved to MD they were more limited. But the actual services have been great...

Re: special needs outside of NY

Thanks Kristy and Maureen, this gives me hope. I have a lot to think about these days

Re: special needs outside of NY

Maryland is fantastic for special education. I just had this discussion recently with some colleagues- one of whom used to work for the NYC school system.

I work in Anne Arundel County.

Re: special needs outside of NY

It's good to know about MD.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Thanks again everyone.

Maureen, where in MD are you? Are there certain areas better than others? I know NOTHING about the state. I do know that if it's near DC, I think Dh has more opportunities to transfer. I did a search on Craiglist to look at housing and am so confused about what town's to look at. Also I'd nee a job (hopefully in a high school) any ideas on where to go for that?? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated

Re: special needs outside of NY

Services are definitely the best here. But I have to disagree with you about services in the city. I work in Queens and Brooklyn. The CPSE administrators are much more generous here and every child I know that has aged out into CSE has gotten the private school setting they have asked for (some have required going to hearing) but I would definitely recommend NYC if LI is no longer an option for you.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Posted by Little-J-Mommy

Thanks again everyone.

Maureen, where in MD are you? Are there certain areas better than others? I know NOTHING about the state. I do know that if it's near DC, I think Dh has more opportunities to transfer. I did a search on Craiglist to look at housing and am so confused about what town's to look at. Also I'd nee a job (hopefully in a high school) any ideas on where to go for that?? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated

Re: special needs outside of NY

my cousin lives in Herndon VA and she said the services suck big time... she shelled out a LOT of money out of pocket. for EI and CPSE.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Posted by maybebaby

Posted by Little-J-Mommy

Thanks again everyone.

Maureen, where in MD are you? Are there certain areas better than others? I know NOTHING about the state. I do know that if it's near DC, I think Dh has more opportunities to transfer. I did a search on Craiglist to look at housing and am so confused about what town's to look at. Also I'd nee a job (hopefully in a high school) any ideas on where to go for that?? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated

I am actually in Anne Arundel County-town called Crofton. We moved here to be near Fort Meade which is where DH works.

The services are good-anything I've requested (testing, IEP conferences, a SEIT etc..) I've always had quick responses to. However..when we first moved, they wanted johnny out of special ed b/c they claimed he didn't need it. Was nice to hear, but they didn't observe him nearly long enough...

Are you def. looking into MD? If you afford the area, my dream town is Bethesda or Chevy Chase and i'm sure services are top notch!

If you need an area by DC I would HIGHLY recommend Arlington or any areas of Northern VA (Alexandria, old town specifically). Great services in Northern VA and so so close to DC. DH used to commute 20 minutes to work in DC...

Let me know how else i can help. Johnny doesn't have many services anymore, which is good...but i am not as up on the different services as i used to be!

Re: special needs outside of NY

We were in VA-- Hampton Roads area. It was awful- beyond awful. In EI if your child has autism you receive speech 1x a week. That's it! Only if your child has feeding issues can you get another session. When I asked for additional therapy, their equivalent to an EIOD said my son had severe autism and no amount of therapy would help. I wish I would have moved here sooner.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Re: special needs outside of NY

This is probably irrelavant because NJ is just as expensive as LI.

NY by far exceeds NJ in this regard both interms of cost and amount of services given.

EI has a cost share so the family has to pay a portion of the costs. Once the child is over age 3 you're at the mercy of your school district. Not CPSE like in NY. Cost is free at that point.

I've always found from reading this board that NY offers families an immense about of services (I'm specifically talking about those of us with ASD diagnosis). My son is PDD-NOS and he is only in a p/t preschool program where he gets PT, OT and speech. If I were in NY I would bet he'd be in a f/t program with an SEIT and family training.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Re: special needs outside of NY

Posted by smdl

Posted by maybebaby

Posted by Little-J-Mommy

Thanks again everyone.

Maureen, where in MD are you? Are there certain areas better than others? I know NOTHING about the state. I do know that if it's near DC, I think Dh has more opportunities to transfer. I did a search on Craiglist to look at housing and am so confused about what town's to look at. Also I'd nee a job (hopefully in a high school) any ideas on where to go for that?? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated

I am actually in Anne Arundel County-town called Crofton. We moved here to be near Fort Meade which is where DH works.

The services are good-anything I've requested (testing, IEP conferences, a SEIT etc..) I've always had quick responses to. However..when we first moved, they wanted johnny out of special ed b/c they claimed he didn't need it. Was nice to hear, but they didn't observe him nearly long enough...

Are you def. looking into MD? If you afford the area, my dream town is Bethesda or Chevy Chase and i'm sure services are top notch!

If you need an area by DC I would HIGHLY recommend Arlington or any areas of Northern VA (Alexandria, old town specifically). Great services in Northern VA and so so close to DC. DH used to commute 20 minutes to work in DC...

Let me know how else i can help. Johnny doesn't have many services anymore, which is good...but i am not as up on the different services as i used to be!

But the price of houses are similar to LI in those area. Northern VA is not cheap.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Posted by Porrruss

Posted by smdl

Posted by maybebaby

Posted by Little-J-Mommy

Thanks again everyone.

Maureen, where in MD are you? Are there certain areas better than others? I know NOTHING about the state. I do know that if it's near DC, I think Dh has more opportunities to transfer. I did a search on Craiglist to look at housing and am so confused about what town's to look at. Also I'd nee a job (hopefully in a high school) any ideas on where to go for that?? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated

I am actually in Anne Arundel County-town called Crofton. We moved here to be near Fort Meade which is where DH works.

The services are good-anything I've requested (testing, IEP conferences, a SEIT etc..) I've always had quick responses to. However..when we first moved, they wanted johnny out of special ed b/c they claimed he didn't need it. Was nice to hear, but they didn't observe him nearly long enough...

Are you def. looking into MD? If you afford the area, my dream town is Bethesda or Chevy Chase and i'm sure services are top notch!

If you need an area by DC I would HIGHLY recommend Arlington or any areas of Northern VA (Alexandria, old town specifically). Great services in Northern VA and so so close to DC. DH used to commute 20 minutes to work in DC...

Let me know how else i can help. Johnny doesn't have many services anymore, which is good...but i am not as up on the different services as i used to be!

But the price of houses are similar to LI in those area. Northern VA is not cheap.

But the taxes are MUCH lower.

I also agree that NOVA is top-notch in services for spectrum disorders. I have a student moving to fairfax County and I am thrilled at what he'll be getting.

Re: special needs outside of NY

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'm sure I will be asking a ton of questions in the coming months. I guess I have a ton of research ahead of me. I have some time though. We will be staying where we are for this school year (I'm pretty sure). I'm just so nervous of the unknown out there. I KNOW the district we're in is giving ds the best of everything kwim?

Ugh, if I could just get a freakin job in NY this wouldn't be an issue. Any word on a guidance counselor job would help ladies ;)

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We live in southern MA (Cape Cod) - a part of the state that you wouldn't think would have great services but they have been fantastic. EI is amazing here. There is just one agency covering all of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. EI ends at 3 and then the schools take over. Luckily we happen to live in a district that many parents move to be included in. The school has an ABA program and an integrated preschool combined. There are very few negative reports coming from parents of kids in the program. DS will be starting there this summer.

Taxes in our town run between 2k and 4k a year.

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I am an autism consultant/BCBA and live in Raleigh, NC now. I have worked int he Wake County Schools and the Chapel Hill schools.
The services here are not even close to those on LI. They have CAP here, a medicaid waiver, rather then the school systems paying for home programs. The waiting lists are insanely long and there are even more cuts coming. The Wake County Schools will fight you in court if you want any type of ABA in the classroom or at home.
I will say, the Chapel Hill schools have done a much better job...which is why I still work there.
But, in general, most people have to pay out of pocket for ABA services, and it is hard to find people who are well trained.
Also, there is only one private school here (not sure what type of services your son is receiving now) and it is really not the best...and super expensive. Otherwise, your only other choice is public school.

That being said, I have been here for 6 years and have seen major growth in the amount of BCBAs in the area, as well as knowledge. We have TONS of autism resources through TEACCH and there is a state ABA chapter, that has great conferences and some good people.
Now, the Charlotte area and Wilimington area have much more ABA because of programs in the universities there.

I love this area and it is a great place to raise children. It really just depends on what your son needs (how much support). If you do ever decide to come down here, feel free to FM me and I can give you more info.
GL!

Btw, have you considered NJ? They have amazing services there and there are some more affordable areas.