Re: Private School vs. Public

November 23, 2009

It is so varied I am sure. It really depends on the child's

cognitive profile. Some AS kids have processing speed

that is in the deficit range(often found on an IQ test).

My daughter from young was very hard to transition she was very smart

but wanted to study everything. I was not too surprised when

we did the neuropyschological tests at the results. She also

had deficits in executive function (staying focused on non special interests,

organization skills etc). My daughter panicked at school starting in preschool

and continuing on. She had issues from kindergarten on that she couldn't get

herself organized to

put her coat on and pack up the school bag with her lunch.

Perhaps your son won't need more help.

WE spent years advocating for special services. Finally the

school agreed she needed help (6th grade) and paid for a smaller

school. I regret that we couldn't afford the special ed school

($40,000) for her to get her more comfortable earlier.

As I mentioned my daughter's profile is that she does have deficits

in executive skills so both at school and home she is being

helped to stay organized and she needed special help with behavior

too to stay motivated to do things she is not interested in.

The special education school provides many excellent services.

They have small classes, individual attention to the child's

issues, they sat my daughter with other girls and have an aide

eat with them, they help socialize her, they offer on supportive

PE classes, they help her stay organized etc.

But as I said it took years of advocacy to get this support.

She had a nervous breakdown before they agreed to transfer her.

It has been very difficult for her to be calm in school in public school.

On the flip side we are friends with a family that has an AS son

in the same grade in our school. He does not have the anxiety

problems my daughter has, he has better processing speed and

executive skills, he likes PE. He is doing well in our public

school and always has. He received speech and OT from an early age.

He is in the school band playing drums. He is in an class with

2 teachers and one is a special education teacher. I would guess he

will manage at the high school too.

My daughter's issues were present at such an early age.

It sounds hopeful that your son's issues won't get worse.

And perhaps regardless of which school he will do well with

some services to help.

Pam

>

> Hi There... So far the problems my son is having in kindergarten are minor

and mostly related to socializing. We currently have him in private school,

which we love. I was wondering if most asperger's kids have a lot of services

in public school, or if most do not. I understand there are so many unique

situations and some kids need more help than others, etc... Our teacher

encourages me that she doesn't think he would need to switch schools at all. I

agree, he seems like he is doing well so far. But he is in kindergarten now and

I wonder... do kids' behaviors get worse? Maybe what I mean is, what is the

likelihood of him needing more help later, in 4th or 5th grade, when it comes

time to write down and keep track of assignments, etc... Are most AS kids

getting help with those things, or do many do fine on their own with minimal

help from mom and dad making sure they stay organized?

>

November 23, 2009

I think if you have a good relationship with the school (teachers, prinicipal, counselors), it doesn't matter if it's private or public. As long as they are willing to work with you, I would bet your son will be OK. In my experience, the behaviors get "better" as they get older. My 4th grader is pretty disorganized, his papers come home crumpled up in his backpack all the time. And he is supposed to write his assignments in his agenda, which he forgets at least once a week. But overall he is doing OK.

The only services he gets from the (public) school are having the social worker coordinate his behavior plan, and participating in a social skills group.

If your son is doing well and it's a school you love, I would not change it for something that might or might not be a problem in the future. Take it as it comes.

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

Suzanne

suzmarkwood@...

From: Lori <have_faith_2008@...>Subject: ( ) Private School vs. Public Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 10:48 PM

Hi There... So far the problems my son is having in kindergarten are minor and mostly related to socializing. We currently have him in private school, which we love. I was wondering if most asperger's kids have a lot of services in public school, or if most do not. I understand there are so many unique situations and some kids need more help than others, etc... Our teacher encourages me that she doesn't think he would need to switch schools at all. I agree, he seems like he is doing well so far. But he is in kindergarten now and I wonder... do kids' behaviors get worse? Maybe what I mean is, what is the likelihood of him needing more help later, in 4th or 5th grade, when it comes time to write down and keep track of assignments, etc... Are most AS kids getting help with those things, or do many do fine on their own with minimal help from mom and dad making sure they stay organized?

November 23, 2009

We have had our son in private school since Kindergarten and he is now in 4th

grade. We only received the AS diagnoses this past May. He had been in speech

therapy for 2 years and had a few OT sessions.

He has difficulty in PE where everything must be " fair " (in HIS eyes). He had a

tough time with handwritting, especially cursive. He still does not enjoy it

much now, but at least we don't spend all of our adult energy just getting him

started.

Our school has been very supportive and his teacher insists that she and the

school can handle his challenges.

Tim