Re: Need information on Autism Docs / school special ed departments in Plano and , Texas areas

[Guest guest]

,How do we get in touch with this person?  Does she post on the group or just to the FB page?Haven

[Guest guest]

I asked her to send me her email so I can forward any responses, but have not received yet.  May want to just reply to her via the facebook page.  

 

,How do we get in touch with this person?  Does she post on the group or just to the FB page?Haven

[Guest guest]

,  I replied to her via the FB TAA.  Unfortunately I wish I could have been more positive.  While there are some very good private schools in that area, I just haven't heard of good PS programs for ASD kids in Texas.  I'd love to hear about them if they are out there.  Do you know of any schools who are truly providing appropriate programs here?

Haven

[Guest guest]

Vanguard Preparatory School 4240 Sigma Road Dallas, TX 75244 is a great private school. My son has been attending for almost 2 years now and is doing great!

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 9:40 AM Subject: Re: Need information on Autism Docs / school special ed departments in Plano and , Texas areas

, I replied to her via the FB TAA. Unfortunately I wish I could have been more positive. While there are some very good private schools in that area, I just haven't heard of good PS programs for ASD kids in Texas. I'd love to hear about them if they are out there. Do you know of any schools who are truly providing appropriate programs here?

Haven

[Guest guest]

Haven:We are down in the Corpus Christi area and I have not heard of any outstanding school districts in my area, when it comes to special needs children.  We have had a few dealings with our district when it comes my 11 year old step son, but he was just diagnosed in October 2011.  

My son will be 3 in July, and he is PDD Non-verbal with major sensory issues.  We are just now dealing with our district on him to see what they have to offer.  The special ed director is also going to test my 4 year old daughter to see if she qualifies, since she was born with spina bifida.  With my daughter, the only hinderance we have seen so far is a neurogenic bladder.  She runs, walks, talks, etc.  I would feel comfortable putting my daughter in public school because she would excel, but with my youngest son, probably not or at least not until he is much older.  My step son is in PS and is doing well in most classes, but struggles in a few as well.  Accomodations are pretty limited for him right now.  The thing I have noticed is that public schools seem to base everything on grades and don't really intervene until the grades are bad!  To me they also need to consider the stress that goes along with it as well as other factors.  And with the severe cases of autism involving low functioning, non verbal, major sensory kids, I think that PS fall way short.  I would never solely utilize services that PS has to offer.  I would keep doing the therapies with our own therapists after school as well.  We will be learning more about our district soon.  

 

,  I replied to her via the FB TAA.  Unfortunately I wish I could have been more positive.  While there are some very good private schools in that area, I just haven't heard of good PS programs for ASD kids in Texas.  I'd love to hear about them if they are out there.  Do you know of any schools who are truly providing appropriate programs here?

Haven

[Guest guest]

Sheryl,I second the motion about Vanguard.  I think it is a wonderful school.  We visited there and considered placing our son either there or at Focus On the Future, which is a great school in Plano for kids with ASD.  But our problem is that we live so far out, and either of these schools would have put us on the road for three hours a day.  My son burst into tears when I told my cousin about placing him in one of these schools, and I could well understand his feeling of being in traffic all the time, and for us the gas would have been a huge issue, so we opted for home schooling and I developed a home program.  

This has been wonderful for our son, and he has gained about three to four years academically in reading, writing, and math.  It was just the right time, since he is on MDCP and he gets through PT, OT, and speech through that waiver program.

This is not an easy thing to do, and a parent has to have the resources or have the PS supply resources for appropriate things the parents cannot provide.  Of course that entails being able to prove a lack of FAPE or adequate progress in a PS, so that is not easy either.

Parents face tough choices.  Unfortunately in Texas, appropriate programs are just not there.  Someone needs to do a study as to what has happened to special needs kids in the past twenty years who have gone through the PS system.  Did they get into in college?  Were they successful there?  Did they get in and succeed in a trade school?  Are they independent?  Are they gainfully employed?  I think this study would be a real eye opener to those who say Texas provides appropriate educations to special needs children.

For now, at the very least, parents will have to supplement PS programs to elicit adequate progress in their children.Haven

[Guest guest]

We placed there almost 2 years ago and since that time he has not been hospitalized once, but before that he was in the hospital with sucidal idealizations and was hospitalized I think 8 times in 4 years, twice for 4 months of residential treatment. Since going to Vanguard he has got back on track to graduate this July and is doing a lot better.In May, we continue our due process hearing as we started it in Jan but the hearing officer was sleeping thru it and we got him removed with the help of Fox News, the star telegram, you tube, twitter and facebook as Keller ISD refuses to see his autism. Like he takes it off when he goes to school. He is now physically 19 but still has major delays in social and emotion areas. Sometimes he still acts 10 and that is when we have melt downs but we have been

able to keep a handle on it and that is what is important. I don't know what we would do without Vanguard. We spend 4 to 5 hours on the road each day taking him and picking him up let alone the 25 or so dollars in gas a day. But it is worth seeing him happy. He has friends for the first time since we moved here to texas 7 years ago. Vanguard is a BLESSING!!!! To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 12:12 PM Subject: Re: Need information on Autism Docs / school special ed departments in Plano and , Texas areas

Sheryl,I second the motion about Vanguard. I think it is a wonderful school. We visited there and considered placing our son either there or at Focus On the Future, which is a great school in Plano for kids with ASD. But our problem is that we live so far out, and either of these schools would have put us on the road for three hours a day. My son burst into tears when I told my cousin about placing him in one of these schools, and I could well understand his feeling of being in traffic all the time, and for us the gas would have been a huge issue, so we opted for home schooling and I developed a home program.

This has been wonderful for our son, and he has gained about three to four years academically in reading, writing, and math. It was just the right time, since he is on MDCP and he gets through PT, OT, and speech through that waiver program.

This is not an easy thing to do, and a parent has to have the resources or have the PS supply resources for appropriate things the parents cannot provide. Of course that entails being able to prove a lack of FAPE or adequate progress in a PS, so that is not easy either.

Parents face tough choices. Unfortunately in Texas, appropriate programs are just not there. Someone needs to do a study as to what has happened to special needs kids in the past twenty years who have gone through the PS system. Did they get into in college? Were they successful there? Did they get in and succeed in a trade school? Are they independent? Are they gainfully employed? I think this study would be a real eye opener to those who say Texas provides appropriate educations to special needs children.

For now, at the very least, parents will have to supplement PS programs to elicit adequate progress in their children.Haven

[Guest guest]

Sheryl,I am so happy to hear of his progress.  It is a shame that parents have to go through what they go through to get an appropriate education for their children.  I hope you are successful in winning your due process and hope that you will be able to recoup some of your expenses regarding this.  I know it is not an easy road.

One good thing about going to due process is that it will become a matter of the public record and then the truth will be public for all to see.  Unfortunately, due to several factors, one of which is financial, many parents must opt for mediation in which the facts do not become public: therefore, there are so many abuses of the IDEA that go unknown to the public.

I applaud you for getting your son's story out there for everyone to see.  Let's hope that this next time you get a decent hearing officer who is dedicated to (not only staying awake) but listening to the evidence and rendering rulings in a fair, judicious, and impartial manner.

So glad that you have found Vanguard!