Re: Looking for a nice community

[Guest guest]

Where are you now?  We moved from Chester County PA - close to many schools for kids with disabilities for which SD will pay to send your child.  We were pretty happy with those circumstances and the support services available - respite, habilitation, camp.  BUT since we have moved - camp has closed, money is much less available. 

The one constant is Hershey Medical Center where we went for medical care.We left because the taxes were ridiculously high - in order to stay there we would have had to put off retirement for years. 

BUT we moved to North GA mountains :  housing very cheap, food and gas cheap.  Taxes VERY LOW.  Medical care great and nearby.  For our son (last year of h/s) education was the best he ever had.  And now he was able to get  medicaid Waiver - which allows him to live in his own home and hire staff! 

Tell us more of what you are looking for. 

 

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

-- Sara- different pathways lead to Nirvana.

[Guest guest]

We live in the Lehigh Valley, PA...just west of town and when we were thinking of moving, the services were a great factor in our staying put.  We have been so very fortunate with all of Tori's services...and don't think we could get any better anywhere else.  We have docs locally and at CHOP (in Phila) that we work with very closely!

LizMom to Tori  (12 on 2/23)DS/ASD/ODD/OCD/GERD/Hashimoto and a few more acronyms..-- Liz DeSantis

" The person who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before. "

" Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they'll say it was obvious all along. " ---Temple Grandin

" Anyone

can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength. " - Reeves " Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can understand persistence. "   - Hal Borland

[Guest guest]

I am happy in Indianapolis and wouldn't think of moving. However, if you have a Medicaid waiver or are on a wait list, your waiver or your wait list spot won't transfer to the new state. I have heard Pennsylvania has no wait list, can our PA friends confirm that?BethSent from my iPhone

We live in the Lehigh Valley, PA...just west of town and when we were thinking of moving, the services were a great factor in our staying put. We have been so very fortunate with all of Tori's services...and don't think we could get any better anywhere else. We have docs locally and at CHOP (in Phila) that we work with very closely!

LizMom to Tori (12 on 2/23)DS/ASD/ODD/OCD/GERD/Hashimoto and a few more acronyms..-- Liz DeSantis

"The person who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before."

"Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they'll say it was obvious all along."---Temple Grandin

"Anyone

can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." - Reeves"Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can understand persistence." - Hal Borland

[Guest guest]

There are wait lists all over the country, unfortunately...But because of the dual diagnosis, we have been able to get almost everything we have ever needed for Tori.Liz

 

I am happy in Indianapolis and wouldn't think of moving. However, if you have a Medicaid waiver or are on a wait list, your waiver or your wait list spot won't transfer to the new state. I have heard Pennsylvania has no wait list, can our PA friends confirm that?

BethSent from my iPhone

 

We live in the Lehigh Valley, PA...just west of town and when we were thinking of moving, the services were a great factor in our staying put.  We have been so very fortunate with all of Tori's services...and don't think we could get any better anywhere else.  We have docs locally and at CHOP (in Phila) that we work with very closely!

LizMom to Tori  (12 on 2/23)DS/ASD/ODD/OCD/GERD/Hashimoto and a few more acronyms..-- Liz DeSantis

" The person who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before. "

" Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they'll say it was obvious all along. " ---Temple Grandin

" Anyone

can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength. " - Reeves " Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can understand persistence. "   - Hal Borland

-- Liz DeSantis " The person who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before. "

" Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they'll say it was obvious all along. " ---Temple Grandin

" Anyone

can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength. " - Reeves " Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can understand persistence. "   - Hal Borland

[Guest guest]

Do not move to NH. Good luck.

Looking for a nice community

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

[Guest guest]

Stay out of Connecticut!Subject: Re: Looking for a nice communityTo: Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 11:11 PM

Do not move to NH. Good luck.

Looking for a nice community

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

[Guest guest]

The services, education, and medical care in northern Nevada are lacking at

best. Wait times for most respite programs are in excess of two years Medicaid

loves to yank you around even after the wait and our state is 50th in education,

unless you count Puerto Rico, then we're 51st. Oh and our unemployment is over

14 percent.

On the up side we have lake Tahoe.

Good luck

Mom to Aden 8 DS ASD ADHD and Aren 5 ADHD

Sent from my iPod

[Guest guest]

Hi

I live in Colorado and I have a 10 year old daughter with DS and Autism. She has had many issues over the years in the school system. We lived in Pueblo Colorado and they broke her arm, throwing her in the lockdown chair. Sounds crazy, it was!! We have a huge lawsuit going and this is 5 years later. They won't give an inch. I won the due process and they were forced to pay for a wonderful private autism school in Pueblo. That was awesome. They were only required to pay until last August. I would never ever let her go back to any school in that district. It is such a horrible district all the way around but worse for special needs kiddos. Therefore, I moved 40 miles north to Colorado Springs. Purposely, I moved to the north end of Colo. Springs because they supposedly had the best school dist. When we started there, it was a nightmare!! However, they have such a wonderful attitude. They worked it out. Put her in another school. Every teacher in that school and every single staff member has been trained to make it work for Ebonie. She was terrified of school and therefore aggressive. Now she loves it and and can hardly wait to get there in the morning. They have even got the bus drivers working to make it work for Ebonie. They have truthfully been an absolute delight. It is school district 20. Wonderful!! Colorado Springs is a fun place to live and lots of supports for special needs kids. If you have any questions, let me know. Happy to help. You didn't say where you live now.

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Checkout our homepage for information, bookmarks, and photos of our kids. Share favorite bookmarks, ideas, and other information by including them. Don't forget, messages are a permanent record of the archives for our list. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/--------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

i live in iowa, and our community does pretty good, my boys are both seniors, and we have had occasional issues with school, but they have all been solvable. the staff and teachers all love nathan and are all sad that he will be graduating this spring. We also have many group homes and workshop settings, for the adults and they all seem happy, we are not going group home route at this time. And we see many of the adults also working in the community at hyvee or pizza hut etc. got in on his waivers and moneys when he was 3yrs old, there wasnt a waiting list then, but I know there had been for awhile when state moneys were tight i imagine, I am not sure if there is a waiting list now or not, and I think your county that you are from has to pay the moneys, but

not positive on that. I think that no matter where you go, there will be some things that are great and some things not so great. good luck! shawna

http://sewshawna.blogspot.com

To: Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 11:12 PMSubject: Re: Looking for a nice community

Hi

I live in Colorado and I have a 10 year old daughter with DS and Autism. She has had many issues over the years in the school system. We lived in Pueblo Colorado and they broke her arm, throwing her in the lockdown chair. Sounds crazy, it was!! We have a huge lawsuit going and this is 5 years later. They won't give an inch. I won the due process and they were forced to pay for a wonderful private autism school in Pueblo. That was awesome. They were only required to pay until last August. I would never ever let her go back to any school in that district. It is such a horrible district all the way around but worse for special needs kiddos. Therefore, I moved 40 miles north to Colorado Springs. Purposely, I moved to the north end of Colo. Springs because they supposedly had the best school dist. When we started there, it was a nightmare!! However, they have such a wonderful attitude. They

worked it out. Put her in another school. Every teacher in that school and every single staff member has been trained to make it work for Ebonie. She was terrified of school and therefore aggressive. Now she loves it and and can hardly wait to get there in the morning. They have even got the bus drivers working to make it work for Ebonie. They have truthfully been an absolute delight. It is school district 20. Wonderful!! Colorado Springs is a fun place to live and lots of supports for special needs kids. If you have any questions, let me know. Happy to help. You didn't say where you live now.

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Checkout our homepage for information, bookmarks, and photos of our kids. Share favorite bookmarks, ideas, and other information by including them. Don't forget, messages are a permanent record of the archives for our list. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/--------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

We live in Northern New Jersey where there are several programs for special needs ( a lot for autism), some in-district, some out of district. Our incidence of autism is higher in NJ compared to the national average.Our son attends the Developmental Learning Center (DLC) In Warren, NJ (www.mujc.org). This program is part of the -Union Jointure Commission and is considered to be an"alternative" public school placement for special needs students who are on the autism spectrum. It is an ABA school, staffed with behaviorists, PTs, OTs and Speech pathologists, as well as teachers and teacher assts. It is a 12 month program serving students ages 3-21, focusing on both academic and vocational skills. Twenty nine local school districts send their out-of-district students there. It hosts 2 pools and a gym for exercise/sensory activities. The school also has a "main street" that includes a Shop-Rite, TD Bank, a barber shop, apt., Broadway Diner, etc. where students learn vocational skills. Parents are allowed to schedule one-hour observations per visit with prior notice.DLC also runs Saturday movie socials, swim programs and a bowling club during the week.The local ARCs run day camp programs in the summer. Camp (founded by the NJ Elks) runs a free overnight camp (one week) for special needs children, ages 7-18.Of course there is no perfect school, but if your daughter has been successful with the ABA method, this is a good program. We have found the staff to be willing to work with us and dedicated to the progress of the students (at least so far). Parents have to advocate for additional services through their local Special Services/case managers, but we have found the staff at DLC to be supportive of our requests when they are warranted.Best of luck to you as you research the best options for you and your daughter.Mom to , 8 yrs. old DS/PDD-NOSNorthern New JerseyTo: From: mommyofsix2003@...Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 02:39:17 +0000Subject: Looking for a nice community

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

[Guest guest]

I'm in south Jersey. The school district has been helpful, but we get very little in the way of wrap-around services. There is no Beckett waiver for Medicaid. The DDD hasn't been able to do anything for us. But, people are, for the most part, supportive. Sent from my iPhone

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

=

[Guest guest]

Hi,

We live in Lake Forest Park, Wa. It's on the north boundary of Seattle. One of

the nice things about Washington is it's very liberal. Anything goes, no

judgements. That includes my 4 special needs kids. I belong to quite a few

on-line groups and when people talk about bad schools, no friends, no support,

no services within their area etc. I don't know what they are talking about.

Apparently we have it good here. I'm very pleased with the schools, teachers,

services available, psych care, medical care etc. But I'd say the best part is

walking down the street and having my kids be smiled at by perfect strangers.

>

> For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community

for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get

feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your

children.

>

[Guest guest]

Charlyne - would you elaborate on CT? We are currently in NE PA and we have great services here. But we may be moving to CT because of a job change. We would most likely be in the Waterbury area. I appreciate any info., tips, etc. that you could share.Thanks,

Stay out of Connecticut!Subject: Re: Looking for a nice communityTo: Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 11:11 PM

Do not move to NH. Good luck.

Looking for a nice community

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

[Guest guest]

We live in Harford County, land and are fortunate to have Kennedy Krieger close by because we've needed to access a lot of services there in recent years (psyc, neurobehavioral, DS Clinic). My 11 year old son has been on the Autism Waiver wait list for services for 5 years and has moved such a very small amount that he'll never receive services before he ages out. The schools generally are good and most children are included though there are a couple of autism specific centers I know of and a county "Level 5" school specifically for children with special needs. Feel free to contact me directly if you want any more information on land.

Barbara

Mom to Elliott, 11, and Ethan, 14

[Guest guest]

Hi ,The sped subgroups are vastly underperforming in this state. There are few services if you are looking for supports from DDS. I can only speak about my own town which is located in northern Ct that is not disability friendly. Waterbury schools are not good. You can check the individual schools and districts on the CT DOE website. CharlyneSubject: Re: Looking for a nice communityTo: Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 11:11 PM

Do not move to NH. Good luck.

Looking for a nice community

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

[Guest guest]

Hi,That's interesting. DH's uncle is very conservative. He lives in WA, but in the eastern part of the state. I figured that the non-Seattle part of the state was like him. Guess not!Sent from my iPhone

Hi,

We live in Lake Forest Park, Wa. It's on the north boundary of Seattle. One of the nice things about Washington is it's very liberal. Anything goes, no judgements. That includes my 4 special needs kids. I belong to quite a few on-line groups and when people talk about bad schools, no friends, no support, no services within their area etc. I don't know what they are talking about. Apparently we have it good here. I'm very pleased with the schools, teachers, services available, psych care, medical care etc. But I'd say the best part is walking down the street and having my kids be smiled at by perfect strangers.

>

> For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

>

=

[Guest guest]

My son has the med waiver in Florida (and they are cutting services) but there are 20,000 + on the waiting list for services. Please do not consider Florida. To: From: pastmidvale@...Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:04:45 -0500Subject: Re: Looking for a nice community

Where are you now? We moved from Chester County PA - close to many schools for kids with disabilities for which SD will pay to send your child. We were pretty happy with those circumstances and the support services available - respite, habilitation, camp. BUT since we have moved - camp has closed, money is much less available.

The one constant is Hershey Medical Center where we went for medical care.We left because the taxes were ridiculously high - in order to stay there we would have had to put off retirement for years.

BUT we moved to North GA mountains : housing very cheap, food and gas cheap. Taxes VERY LOW. Medical care great and nearby. For our son (last year of h/s) education was the best he ever had. And now he was able to get medicaid Waiver - which allows him to live in his own home and hire staff!

Tell us more of what you are looking for.

For personal reasons it has become necessary for me to find a better community for me and my daughter (10 year old with DS and Autism). I would like to get feedback from all of you about where you live and the services available to your children.

-- Sara- different pathways lead to Nirvana.