What IS there out of NY?

amother

Amber

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 11:47 am

Yes yes, all the threads about special needs conclude that the place to be is NY.
But I'd like to challenge that, or at least find out even if NY is the best regarding special needs services, I want to know exactly what else is out there. Let's say despite knowing this we do move out of NY, what to expect, what to look for, where to go. I'm going to start a separate query about Israel but because there are so many other factors involved in making Aliyah, for now I want to know about USA out of NY. I'm not even sure if we can get what we need in NY anyway so I'm shopping around.

Child in question is extremely intelligent and sometimes I wonder what the relationship is between her intelligence and her challenges. I read about gifted kids having more sensitivity and intensity and all that, and it all strikes a chord. But at the same time I do feel that the special needs need their own attention, and I'm not sure any gifted program offers that. Not to mention that I don't know of any Jewish gifted programs, period, and I want a Jewish school. Anyway, smart. Not off the charts, not even sure if she would qualify for gifted ed, but definitely ahead of the curve in many ways. Not just knowledge, also reasoning and thinking... just overall very smart.

On the special needs side, she is very sensory - has a hard time processing in busy/noisy environment, needs a lot of downtime, but also needs the right kinds of stimulation - tends to self-stimulate if she doesn't get it. Tends to meltdown/crash when things are difficult - including not getting what she wants. Socially not quite with-it, sort of almost making it but needing help.

So we need a school or setup that provides for differentiation in both directions - support with sensory/emotional/social difficulties, and room to develop her thoughtful, inquisitive mind. Also, major OT for the sensory problem. With the right school setup, I think the extra services we have in NY might not even be needed for the most part. A small class with a lot of differentiation and flexibility regarding needs for sensory breaks/movement, things like that, could be done even without formal intervention.

If you do or ever did live in the US outside NY, can you please share what is available/done for a child like this?

amother

Mistyrose

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 12:06 pm

DD's school has a program where special needs students get pulled to either work on academics, or for sensory breaks.
DD has spd, and she currently gets pulled for movement breaks.
Her ot is private (covered by insurance).

I think many schools probay have a set up like this.

We are a smaller community, so class size is pretty small. It varies with each year, but it can be anywhere from 8 to 20 somethings kids per class.

amother

Amber

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 12:23 pm

In addition to small class sizes due to circumstances, I need a school that is by design a good fit for someone who needs more differentiation and an appropriate approach to behavior management. Can you tell me more about your school and location? Because I'm sure services and accommodations vary by state/city/district in addition to the actual school differences. Any and all info would be helpful to know because right now I have zero direction, I'm just looking to move out of NY and not sure where. Elsewhere in NY state could also work, main thing is I feel done with the city and am pretty sure there is no appropriate school for us here.

amother

Mistyrose

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 12:41 pm

Torah academy in Minneapolis. The special needs program is called sha'arim. Both have websites you can look up.

We love the school dearly, but if you are looking to specifically move for a school designed for children with behavioral differences, or special needs, this may not be the school. They are excellent and accomidating and my kids are getting a wonderful education, and they all love school. That being said, it is a school geared towards typical students, so you would have to see if it's the right fit. My SPD daughter is doing well there and receiving what she needs through the sha'arim program.

It is also the only frum school in the area, so BH we love it, because there wouldn't be another choice!

amother

Amber

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 1:05 pm

We are looking to move because the family as a whole is ready for a change - we want to be closer to nature (even a modest yard would be a large step up from NYC!), in a smaller community, and have more affordable housing. Things like that. But appropriate schooling for this DD is a major factor in choosing what communities to consider. If a place meets our other needs but there is no appropriate school and no services from the board of ed, school, health insurance, or anything, then it's out of the question. So I'm starting with this consideration first to narrow down our options.

mha3484

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 1:22 pm

Are you looking for a Bais Yaakov or more of a centrist type school? In Chicago we have ptach, resource rooms for kodesh and chol and a new program called project reach is being implemented in the boys yeshiva. My four year old is in the nursery class and they have an hour a week dedicated to social skills. When I mentioned he was starting OT after sukkos they were very encouraging.

The newsletter that came home last erev shabbos talked about a bunch of professional development events the teachers attended that exlored a lot of these issues. There is a woman that advises people on these issues. You could call her to see if anything we have here would be shayach. http://www.att.org/pages/att_j.....0.php

amother

Amber

Fri, Sep 18 2015, 1:30 pm

Either type of school would be ok. We're more open-minded than the NY Bais Yaakovs but we're farther right than even the RWMO's here. I imagine out of NY the BYs are less extreme but it's entirely possible a non-BY would be a better fit too.

However Ptach and resource room are totally not what we need. As I said in my OP, DC is academically precocious, not behind. She needs a supportive class environment, not pull-out tutoring (though I could see pull-out counseling/social skills groups/OT working well)

Thanks for the link, I will see if the person there has more info for us.