hello,
my son is 4 years old and on the spectrum. Im having a hard time finding an elementary school for him. He starts kindergarten in September and I feel like every school I call for open house never knows how to answer any questions about children with autism. They're very dismissive and I'm kind of getting discouraged. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Has anyone hired an aide for their kid in public school and paid out of pocket? How hard is it to convince the school in the first place? My daughter will be starting kindergarten without an aide. School thinks she won’t need one and they maybe right, but, I want to be prepared if she ends up needing one. I’m willing to pay if it comes to that. Any opinion is welcome even if you haven’t done it yourself. Thanks

My son is refusing to learn in class and is interfering with the learning process of others. I am considering homeschooling or online schooling with my son. My son does participate in social groups outside of school so that element will not be completely missed.

Hello. My autistic son turned 7 and I know he’s supposed to start school. The schools in our area do not have enough support/resource for him. He was referred to a private school for autism but he is on the waiting list and 4th in that list. They said realistically it may take 4 years to make it to the top of the list. What do we do in the meantime? If he can’t start school until years later, how will he be at “grade level”? Also, how does grade level and state testing work with children who… read more

He'll be 5 in July.

I am looking for a elementary school in San Diego that have good special ed programs for my autistic son. We live in san Diego unified school district boundary. I wonder if it's complicated to enroll for schools in another district for a kid with IEP?

My 7-year-old autistic son is high-functioning and goes to grade 1 in a regular school and regular class. He has some challenges with paying attention, sitting, and following some rules but he is doing well academically. His teacher has told us we should consider sending him to special classes in other schools. We feel that the teacher's advice is mostly for her comfort rather than the benefit of our child. Any advice on what should be our strategy toward this problem?

Hello, we've heard great things about the school districts in Irvine. My 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with moderate ASD. She's been in a special day class in San Leandro, CA and has been in every type of service since she was initially diagnosed (private OT, ABA, Speech and music therapy). The school has offered the basics, and not even OT! After sending letters she will finally have an assessment. She is transitioning to Kinder. At this point we are willing to move wherever services are… read more

My son is Re-peating kindergarten. We had moved prior to school finishing april 2013. In his previous school he was getting reevaluated for special ed services because he was not doing as well as they hoped with a 1 on 1 aid. BUT during that process we moved
AT this other school however.. I am having so much difficulty getting him the help he had atvthe previous school.

Well during the summer I was able to get some referrals from his dr to the school for a psychoeducational eval & for speech &amp… read more