Re: New intro and help needed in cross-country move!

[Guest guest]

Hi Becky,

Welcome to our Group!

What a move you're making from California. Steetsboro is only about 20 minutes from where I live in Garfield Heights. That's great you won't be far.

I'm not sure what county Streetsboro is in. I think it's close to the border of cuyahoga and Summit. I may be wrong. I should study my maps.. LOL

My husband has some reletives living in Streetsboro too.

About Schools. My son is currenly attending a special needs pre-school but it is a Cuyahoga County contracted school. This is his 3rd school year. It's been a very helpful schooling program for him, and I'm pleased about how well he has grown there. There is also a good OT, ST and PT center that is going to have a new program running in the summer for children with autism that provides social and speech interaction. Located in Beechwood the Galvin Center is about 20 min by I-271 from Streetsboro. My son will be in the program.

You will also be close to the Little Gym, in Twinsburg, not far from Streetsboro which is a neat program for pre-school children. They have programs for NT children and allow special needs children to attend with parent or an aide. My son Loved the Little Gym and I attended with him and he grew to be able to do the program along with the other NT children. He wasn't social much but the program was good for him.

Glad your family is in Ohio that will really help with getting settled here in Ohio. Do you know the date when you are moving yet?

If you need help getting things settled when you arrive, let me know. I'll see what I can do to help.

Yours,

n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

rwulfe@... writes:

Hello all! My husband and I have two children. Our oldest is 4.7 yrs old and is autistic/hyperlexic. Our daughter is almost 3 (next week!) and is NT. My husband works full time days then comes home and I work full time afternoon/nights. This is the reason for our move - so I can stay at home and provide the therapy my son needs and the time for both my kids. We are looking to move from California to the Streetsboro, Ohio area. I have received some info from other newsgroups and this newsgroup was recommended to me as you are in the area I am going. I have heard that Kent has a great program for autistic kids. I have also heard Hudson has good schools (not sure about special needs kids, though). We will be moving asap so your input will be extremely helpful.

In California there are some great resources for autistic children; HOWEVER, you need to live close by, not work, etc. You get no help from the state once your child is 3 (our son was diagnosed at 3.6) they push you to the schools. I am dealing with some very nice, but uninformed teachers. No one knows about hyperlexia so I spend most of my time explaining that and setting up a program and then things change. My son started spec preschool when he was 3.6 in the last year we have gone to two different schools, and have been through three different teachers! Change is hard enough for an NT 3-5 year old but you add being on the spectrum and you are in for some terrible times. All this change was not my choice - public school problems. With all the problems in California the first thing that seems to get cut is special education resources. Anyway it seems with the housing market good, a job available, etc. we need to move to help our kids. Ohio seems to have some great programs. I also am originally from Ohio so I do have family which will be a big plus because in CA we have no support. (Although I am a MOMS Club member and am involved in some community children programs) or childcare for any kind of "break." I think this move is what my family really needs to get back on track.

Anyway........

If you can provide me with school/therapy information to help us find a place to live, I would really, really appreciate it. Also - any advice and suggestions in regards to moving, house hunting, etc. is always appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help!

Becky - (4.7 (autistic/hyperlexic) and Harlee's (2.11 NT) mom

[Guest guest]

Becky,

Welcome to Ohio....however, to be the devils advocate, I am not sure

where you received your info prior to moving. Hudson does have a

decent program for children autism....my understanding is they have

ABA consultants contracted with the school. However I am not quite

sure what other great services Ohio has to offer unless you plan on

financing it on your own. We have been battling with our MRDD and

the best services they can offer us is $300. 1/2 year for family

resource money and 20 minutes of speech a week with a speech

therapist who knows a lot less about learning disabilities than I

do. I have not met too many families (who were not receiving waiver

services) who were happy with the services being provided to their

children via the state. However a few school districts have been

helpful..Hudson being one of them. There are families who are

receiving waivers via the county/state who are able to fund very

nice programs for their children...they are the few lucky ones. I

am not sure if whomever explained to you that there is an extremely

long wait to receive waiver services, many parents have already been

waiting several years and of course with the explosion of children

being diagnosed one could expect to be waiting even longer than just

several years (so essentially especially at the age of three and up

you are at your schools mercy in Ohio). Not trying to dampen your

move...but also want you to move to the state with your eyes open.

If you can afford to finance your own program DTT seems to be the

popular form of ABA in NE Ohio and many of the consultants in the

area charge outrageous prices....the reputable ones running

approximately $150./hr for a BCABA (in some states your PHD's charge

that much or less)...not sure where in CA you are from but if you

will be attempting to find a consultant versed in

VB/Sundberg/Partington good luck...it is not popular here..many

families are not even aware of the true logistics of a VB approach.

I truly wish you luck in your move and your acquisition of

services...but also wanted to point out some of the many downsides

to Ohio. So as you can see, many of the parents who are happy with

the services are a select few...there are many who find Ohios system

to be completely inadequate.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Thank you n for the info! I would love to meet up with you once we get settled. I think we will be moving in about 6 weeks. I'm not even sure how we're going to do it but I'm researching the details. My main area of concern is to pick the right place to live for services and schooling for my son and my daughter. People think in California there is "so much available." But I am not really friends with anyone who has a child on the spectrum. There is no support groups here (I live about an hour from L.A.) - I thank God for the MOMS Club I joined when my son was only about six months old. I was actually looking for playgroups and stuff and saw their poster in my pediatritian's office. Although it's mainly a group for stay at home moms, since I worked nights, it worked out well. I joined because we had no family out here and our friends' kids were already teenagers or they didn't have kids (we started in our late 30's). It has been the BEST group for me - mainly my playgroup moms. There is a group of four of us who all had our second babies about the same time and they are just great. They know my kids better than my family and I'm so glad because really needs the socialization and he's been around them at least once a week since he can remember. It will be hard to leave. But support groups? programs? state support? I'm going crazy trying to find help. It is almost worse because he is high functioning because our latest director is trying to push him into regular kindergarten withOUT services. DUH! Needless to say, the IEP is still not signed and my REVISIONS (two pages worth) are waiting to be approved. I've heard from some great people in the NE Ohio area - I'm excited to actually talk (in person) to people who understand. For that reason I'm really excited about the move - despite the stress and big change.

I need to get moving and quit gabbing (haha) but I feel I can now add Garfield Heights in my housing search! Thanks for the input - I'll be in touch!

Becky - mom to (4.7 autism/hyperlexic) and Harlee (almost 3 and NT)

----- Original Message -----

From:

Sent: 6/4/2004 6:25:25 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] New intro and help needed in cross-country move!

Hi Becky, Welcome to our Group! What a move you're making from California. Steetsboro is only about 20 minutes from where I live in Garfield Heights. That's great you won't be far. I'm not sure what county Streetsboro is in. I think it's close to the border of cuyahoga and Summit. I may be wrong. I should study my maps.. LOL My husband has some reletives living in Streetsboro too. About Schools. My son is currenly attending a special needs pre-school but it is a Cuyahoga County contracted school. This is his 3rd school year. It's been a very helpful schooling program for him, and I'm pleased about how well he has grown there. There is also a good OT, ST and PT center that is going to have a new program running in the summer for children with autism that provides social and speech interaction. Located in Beechwood the Galvin Center is about 20 min by I-271 from Streetsboro. My son will be in the program. You will also be close to the Little Gym, in Twinsburg, not far from Streetsboro which is a neat program for pre-school children. They have programs for NT children and allow special needs children to attend with parent or an aide. My son Loved the Little Gym and I attended with him and he grew to be able to do the program along with the other NT children. He wasn't social much but the program was good for him. Glad your family is in Ohio that will really help with getting settled here in Ohio. Do you know the date when you are moving yet? If you need help getting things settled when you arrive, let me know. I'll see what I can do to help. Yours, n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rwulfe@... writes:

Hello all! My husband and I have two children. Our oldest is 4.7 yrs old and is autistic/hyperlexic. Our daughter is almost 3 (next week!) and is NT. My

[Guest guest]

Hi Becky (and everyone else)

In addition to all the wonderful information and suggestions you've

heard from the others, I wanted to let you know about one other

resource you might find helpful. There is an Autism Task Force in

Ohio that has recently published a comprehensive book on autism (the

disorder itself and best practice treatments). It also has a nice

glossary and resource listing toward the back. The book is available

online at http://psychmed.osu.edu/AutismBook_1.pdf. You can also

request a hard copy (free to parents) by sending an e-mail to

badgerl@.... I've heard there is a six-to-eight week

delay in getting a hard copy so you might want to have it sent to a

relative here in Ohio. Hope this helps!

Norah

--- In , " Wulfeck " <rwulfe@e...>

wrote:

> Hi Patty - can't dampen my spirits about Ohio. In fact, I am from

Ohio originally and moved away - so, on a selfish note, I have been

having a hard time getting my mind set on going back and leaving my

beautiful California. However, I think in the area we are moving,

the school programs seem really great - especially compared to what I

am receiving which is pretty much zilch. I also think that if I can

be a SAHM it will help immensely as I will have more time. Living in

California I HAVE to work and that just adds more stress and takes

more time (although working is the 'easy' part of my day now - I

actually consider it my rest time if you know what I mean - haha!).

I am lucky that is high-functioning and probably doesn't need

as much intense therapy as some - but he does need help. Because he

is hyperlexic teachers/therapist/aides seem to think he is social.

When I get the good ones that listen, they understand he is acting

out what he read. I have a great speech therapist who has really

been working with the social issues with and using his

hyperlexia to help (I LOVE HER!!!) but only has her 20 minutes

group and 20 minutes indv a week! And they are cutting back more for

next year and letting so many go because the schools are in bad shape

financially - she's going to be the only one left. Gee! Thank you

for your honesty and frankness and for your input on Hudson (I wasn't

sure about special services there). I personally think all 50 states

need to relook at their services for ASD because they are ALL lacking

and autism is epidemic. I have been involved in CAN and did their

WalkNow. I did an Autism Awareness display for April (national

autism awareness month) and put up information daily. People

couldn't believe it and I told them this is NOTHING - the tip of the

iceburg. I also learned a lot more doing research for the month (I'm

on our Diversity Council) and really found out that autism is

increasing in some states over 1000% in five years. Scary! I didn't

know anything about autism (I was informed as much as Rainman) but

boy have I learned and learned and learned. Doing the display at

work really brought up questions from people and people

sharing " their stories. " I learn something new every day and these

newsgroups are a godsend. People with real experience are where I

learn the most.

> I must go but thanks again for your input!

> Becky mom to (4.7 autism/hyperlexia & Harlee almost 3 NT)

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: pcrawfo1

>

> Sent: 6/4/2004 8:35:54 AM

> Subject: [ ] Re: New intro and help needed in cross-country

move!

>

>

> Becky,

> Welcome to Ohio....however, to be the devils advocate, I am not

sure

> where you received your info prior to moving. Hudson does have a

> decent program for children autism....my understanding is they have

> ABA consultants contracted with the school. However I am not quite

> sure what other great services Ohio has to offer unless you plan on

> financing it on your own. We have been battling with our MRDD and

> the best services they can offer us is $300. 1/2 year for family

> resource money and 20 minutes of speech a week with a speech

> therapist who knows a lot less about learning disabilities than I

> do. I have not met too many families (who were not receiving

waiver

> services) who were happy with the services being provided to their

> children via the state. However a few school districts have been

> helpful..Hudson being one of them. There are families who are

> receiving waivers via the county/state who are able to fund very

> nice programs for their children...they are the few lucky ones. I

> am not sure if whomever explained to you that there is an extremely

> long wait to receive waiver services, many parents have already

been

> waiting several years and of course with the explosion of children

> being diagnosed one could expect to be waiting even longer than

just

> several years (so essentially especially at the age of three and up

> you are at your schools mercy in Ohio). Not trying to dampen your

> move...but also want you to move to the state with your eyes open.

> If you can afford to finance your own program DTT seems to be the

> popular form of ABA in NE Ohio and many of the consultants in the

> area charge outrageous prices....the reputable ones running

> approximately $150./hr for a BCABA (in some states your PHD's

charge

> that much or less)...not sure where in CA you are from but if you

> will be attempting to find a consultant versed in

> VB/Sundberg/Partington good luck...it is not popular here..many

> families are not even aware of the true logistics of a VB

approach.

> I truly wish you luck in your move and your acquisition of

> services...but also wanted to point out some of the many downsides

> to Ohio. So as you can see, many of the parents who are happy with

> the services are a select few...there are many who find Ohios

system

> to be completely inadequate.

> Patty

>

>

>

> ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

> - Parent to Parent for Autism Website:

http://hometown.aol.com/parentschat/homepage.html

> ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

>

>

>

>