Move to Cleveland

[Guest guest]

Hi everybody,

I am a new member in this group, and currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA. We have

2 kids: a 8 y.o. daughter and a 6 y.o son (he is on the spectrum). My daughter

is in the Gifted Program at school. My husband's job is in Cleveland near the

airport, and we are thinking of moving to Cleveland at the end of summer/fall.

The big issue for us right now is choosing the community to settle in. My son is

in K right now, with the personal aid, spending part of his day in the Learning

Support Classroom. At his upcomimg IEP I will be asking for a more restrictive

environment (either autism support classroom (in the neighborhood district) or

approved private school). He is still not completely potty trained, his

comprehension is very low, and speech is limited. He doesn't reference other

children, and has a lot of self-stim. behaviors. He had home-based ABA/AVB

program since he was 2 y.o., and still does best in 1:1 setting.

We are currently considering the western part of Cleveland. Good schools are

very important. The districts we are thinking about are Westlake, Fairview Park,

North Olmstead, Olmstead Falls, Lakewood, Strongsville, Brecksville. Maybe there

are other good ones, too? If anybody could give us some recommendations or share

their experiences with some of the Cleveland school districts, that will help us

tremendously. Maybe some other counties have schools that offer good autism

programs? Good gifted programs? Are there any districts that would pay for a

private autism school like Cleveland Clinic or Monarch should the child need

such a restrictive inclusion? If we get a private school placement at our IEP

here, would that mean that in Cleveland my child also has to be sent to a

special school once we come?

, my husband, is planning to attend the June support group in Brecksville.

I hope you can talk to him about your experience, or feel free to email me

directly at natalyarcihter@...

I appreciate your input, as the parents' experience is the most important and

reliable information for us to make a decision on residence. Thank you for your

time and suggestions,

Sincerely,

Natalya Richter

Natalya Richter

[Guest guest]

Natalya,

I'd avoid Olmsted Falls... my husband and I just moved from there... a year and

a half ago because of the schools... our son is 7 and on the spectrum... I also

have an 8 yr old daughter who has ADD... we had to fight for anything and

everything and still lost most of the time.. no matter what we did... they are

also a very overcrowded district with very few special needs, so they do not

feel they should create programs for a minority... they wanted to shove my son

into a multihandicap room for the entire day where it was glorified

babysitting.. no thanks! I can tell you we moved to Brook Park (lower taxes)

to be in the Berea school district... and wow.. what a difference... they

attend Riveredge Elementary... and my son has thrived like crazy... they work

with him 1:1 but also take him in to a normal classroom for certain parts of the

day in which they think he will tolerate it with an aid... at the beginning of

the year it was circle time, and the fun stuff, art, computer lab, music, and

gym... now he spends 80% of his day in the typical classroom... they work with

us and we haven't had to fight or beg for anything for him... they have offered

and given... including the elusive ESY!! My daughter also thrived.. she went

from needing a tutor to being one of the first to be signed off the tutor in 6

months instead of her entire elemetary school years.. they empower these

kids... and it's made a huge difference... as for Brook Park itself.. there

are a ton of community programs and things for families to be involved in...

they have an awesome rec center (very affordable for families $225 a year for

residents) where my son just loves going to the outdoor swim park in the

summer.. and tons of sports for kids to be involved in...

Good luck on your move!!

J

Brook Park, OH

Proud mom of igh, 8 and Kiernan, 7

>

> Hi everybody,

> I am a new member in this group, and currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA. We

have 2 kids: a 8 y.o. daughter and a 6 y.o son (he is on the spectrum). My

daughter is in the Gifted Program at school. My husband's job is in Cleveland

near the airport, and we are thinking of moving to Cleveland at the end of

summer/fall. The big issue for us right now is choosing the community to settle

in. My son is in K right now, with the personal aid, spending part of his day in

the Learning Support Classroom. At his upcomimg IEP I will be asking for a more

restrictive environment (either autism support classroom (in the neighborhood

district) or approved private school). He is still not completely potty trained,

his comprehension is very low, and speech is limited. He doesn't reference other

children, and has a lot of self-stim. behaviors. He had home-based ABA/AVB

program since he was 2 y.o., and still does best in 1:1 setting.

> We are currently considering the western part of Cleveland. Good schools are

very important. The districts we are thinking about are Westlake, Fairview Park,

North Olmstead, Olmstead Falls, Lakewood, Strongsville, Brecksville. Maybe there

are other good ones, too? If anybody could give us some recommendations or share

their experiences with some of the Cleveland school districts, that will help us

tremendously. Maybe some other counties have schools that offer good autism

programs? Good gifted programs? Are there any districts that would pay for a

private autism school like Cleveland Clinic or Monarch should the child need

such a restrictive inclusion? If we get a private school placement at our IEP

here, would that mean that in Cleveland my child also has to be sent to a

special school once we come?

> , my husband, is planning to attend the June support group in

Brecksville. I hope you can talk to him about your experience, or feel free to

email me directly at natalyarcihter@...

> I appreciate your input, as the parents' experience is the most important and

reliable information for us to make a decision on residence. Thank you for your

time and suggestions,

> Sincerely,

> Natalya Richter

> Natalya Richter

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Natalya,

You mentioned the following posibilities:

Westlake, Fairview Park, North Olmstead, Olmstead Falls, Lakewood, Strongsville,

Brecksville.

This is what I've heard or know:

Westlake - very good school system for typical children; however, with respect

to special education services, parents have told me they have to fight hard for

certain services. ESY is practically impossible to get. I do not know (or have

heard) anything about their gifted program. Westlake taxes are low and people

generally love living there. They have a great recreation center, and many of

the " special needs " sports are through some program in Westlake (e.g., baseball,

basketball, etc.). There is some great shopping in Westlake.

Fairview Park - have not heard anything good or bad about the district. I do

know that they had some financial trouble with their school system a few years

ago (as probably most school districts did). Taxes are fairly reasonably as are

housing prices. Although FP has its share of retail, the shopping is not as

good as North Olmsted or Westlake. I do not know what services they offer for

gifted children.

North Olmsted - I live in North Olmsted and my oldest son (with autism) attends

the uppper elementary school and is in a regular classroom with an aide. I know

they have self-contained classrooms and some other districts in the area send

their children to NO because of the quality of those classrooms (I do not think

they have a classroom just for kids with autism). They have a great gifted

program (people rave about it). With respect to special ed services, we have

been happy over the last few years; however, we haven't been without our

battles. Taxes are very high in North Olmsted, but the cost of housing is

fairly reasonable. North Olmsted also has lots of retail.

Olmsted Falls - I have not heard anything good about Olmsted Falls (the prior

post pretty much sums it up). They do have a gifted program; however, they have

pretty strict requirements on the eligibility requirements. I believe taxes are

fairly reasonable, and housing costs are reasonable as well.

Lakewood - They have pretty good preschool services. The district is very big,

and not all areas of Lakewood are good for family living. If you move to

Lakewood, stick to the west end (I apologize to anyone living in Lakewood who I

may offend). I do not think that their services are as good as North Olmsted (I

have some special inside information that leads me to give this opinion). ESY

is unheard of in Lakewood. I do have any info on Lakewood's taxes. I do not

know anyting about their gifted program.

Strongsville - My husband and I lived in Strongsville for a year and hated it

(not because of the schools, but because of the traffic and just family matters

in general). I have heard good and bad things about Strongsville's special ed

services. Strongsville does have lots of retail. I believe taxes are pretty

reasonable. I do not know anything at their gifted program.

Brecksville - I have heard good and bad things about their special ed services.

I do not know anything about their gifted program. Many people who work

downtown live in Brecksville because it is a fairly easy commute. If your

husband is working near the airport, traffic will likely be very bad for his

commute in the morning.

You should know that Ohio does not have the same type of " wrap-around " services

PA offers. In fact, the state's services are somewhat limited. There is an

autism scholarship for $20,000 available to parents of children with autism to

send their school-aged child to a qualified provider. This information can be

found on the Department of Education's website. The $20,000 will not cover most

of the center-based programs for autism. It is close to covering a new

center-based program in Westlake (the name escapes me right now). That center

is an autism scholarship provider.

Also, you should know that there is a gifted charter school (they call them

community schools in Ohio) in Westlake that is very good. It is near Crocker

Park on Crocker Road (housed in the Church on the Rise). There is also a great

summer camp for special needs children in Westlake.

I can probably give you more information (I'm a westsider), but I don't want to

write a book (although I probably already have). If you have more questions,

feel free to email me (ddzlaw@...). Also, please look at the website

www.milestones.org. This is Milestones Autism Organization's website (I'm their

current board president). It will give you lots of information about community

activities throughout the NE Ohio area.

Thanks.

Debbie Z.

>

> Hi everybody,

> I am a new member in this group, and currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA. We

have 2 kids: a 8 y.o. daughter and a 6 y.o son (he is on the spectrum). My

daughter is in the Gifted Program at school. My husband's job is in Cleveland

near the airport, and we are thinking of moving to Cleveland at the end of

summer/fall. The big issue for us right now is choosing the community to settle

in. My son is in K right now, with the personal aid, spending part of his day in

the Learning Support Classroom. At his upcomimg IEP I will be asking for a more

restrictive environment (either autism support classroom (in the neighborhood

district) or approved private school). He is still not completely potty trained,

his comprehension is very low, and speech is limited. He doesn't reference other

children, and has a lot of self-stim. behaviors. He had home-based ABA/AVB

program since he was 2 y.o., and still does best in 1:1 setting.

> We are currently considering the western part of Cleveland. Good schools are

very important. The districts we are thinking about are Westlake, Fairview Park,

North Olmstead, Olmstead Falls, Lakewood, Strongsville, Brecksville. Maybe there

are other good ones, too? If anybody could give us some recommendations or share

their experiences with some of the Cleveland school districts, that will help us

tremendously. Maybe some other counties have schools that offer good autism

programs? Good gifted programs? Are there any districts that would pay for a

private autism school like Cleveland Clinic or Monarch should the child need

such a restrictive inclusion? If we get a private school placement at our IEP

here, would that mean that in Cleveland my child also has to be sent to a

special school once we come?

> , my husband, is planning to attend the June support group in

Brecksville. I hope you can talk to him about your experience, or feel free to

email me directly at natalyarcihter@...

> I appreciate your input, as the parents' experience is the most important and

reliable information for us to make a decision on residence. Thank you for your

time and suggestions,

> Sincerely,

> Natalya Richter

> Natalya Richter

>