Inclusive school

[LBW]

Are you sure you'd have to move? If your county/district doesn't offer a similar program, you should be able to request an out-of-district placement w/transportation. I'd call both the school and the home district special ed supervisor to find out about your options.

[melrose7]

Are you sure you'd have to move? If your county/district doesn't offer a similar program, you should be able to request an out-of-district placement w/transportation. I'd call both the school and the home district special ed supervisor to find out about your options.

We would be fighting the school system..ie lawyer and who knows how long that will take and even if it would work out in our favor anyway. I feel like it is not worth the battle. Especially since the school is doing everything right according to them.

[melrose7]

OP, is it an option to 1) rent out your house; and 2) rent a house in the new county. If there is *any* way to make this work I think it is vastly preferable to buying esp since your child's admission prospects seem extremely strong but not guaranteed. Beyond there are issues of whether you will like the new school, whether it will be viable for the rest of your family, etc. There are downsides to this -- it is harder to sell your house while it is rented or post-renters while vacant. Also it is hard to find decent family rental housing and it is generally less than what you would get for the same mortgage payment. However, it seems to me like there is tremendous upside in being able to try out this placement and see how it goes. Also buying/selling are expensive, both directly and indirectly.

Good luck! I would def. go for the new school. I don't even see the choice -- something has to change from what you are describing and it isn't going to change at your current school.

We are planning in renting an apartment for the first year to have county residence and to make sure we like it and it's a good fit.
Then we will try to sell our house next year and either rent for awhile until we find a house we like.
It won't be easy either way since I run a in home daycare but not many other ways around it.

[melrose7]

Hi!
My understanding of an inclusive preschool is where there is a mix of typical kids and kids with different challenges. That way the kids with challenges get a chance to mingle and learn from the typical kids, and vice versa and everyone is happy.
That said, even if it were a school for children with only needs a lot of the times, especially with Autism and related diagnoses, there is such a variety of needs and also strengths that children, if paired correctly can and do learn from each other. For example, a verbal but socially withdrawn child would do well to be with a child with a child who may have some speech issues but is otherwise very social and is able to seek and bring the withdrawn child out and on the other hand might benefit from the verbal child for communication. I am sorry this is not a great example, but my point is that a good school would put the right mix together, with complementary skills, so they can learn from each other. So, I would pay special attention to the peer group that your child will have and see if what the strengths of the kids are in there and if they can complement your child in her areas of need. I would also check with the school how they go about it and if they pay specific attention to this issue. The big downside to this is that you and sometimes the school cannot control the enrollment of the children - they may choose to move away/out etc.
I also think that sometimes children with autism just do better when they are not around NT kids. It was a hard one for me to understand, but a critical one. For my child, also with Autism, the NT kids move too fast. He does not process things as quickly as they do and hence finds it frustrating to be around them, and then throw in 15 of them and he is completely acting up. On the other hand, in a social group where it is all kids with needs, some with autism and some without, he does much better becuase of the small group (6) and when he is having a hard time, the teacher/therapist immediately intervenes and helps him through. sometimes it behavior, sometimes it's a skill and often times he does not realize that he needs the help and acts up and they are able to catch it immediately.
I know this is hard, and more so when you have to think of your other kids. good luck...

Thanks for the reply. My idea of a inclusive school is that it is just for special needs kids, otherwise I think a mainstream school for both special needs and typical kids.
Anyways, when we toured the school we saw some kids with varying degrees of disabilities and we worried about our daughter not having the NT kids to communicate with but we think she's not interacting with the that much at school right now anyway. We know that kids come and go in school but we liked what we saw in the classrooms even if there might be a lack in students that can communicate with her. Sometimes I think the other kids talk to fast that she has trouble following and figuring out what they say.