We chose to leave. We moved out to the suburbs and literally have not had a single problem with his school in over a year. SPS is like a bad dream to him, he doesn’t remember much of it anymore.

Bravo for your start in helping others in the art of teaching kids on the spectrum. Remember this is a “marathon”. Things change at kindergarten, third, and seventh grades, and high school years. I have 2 that are in their college years. It has been a difficult journey andfrustrating. Please keep sight of the goal line - adulthood and self-determination and independence.

When you are evaluating the options for your child you really need to know a lot of specifics. Your child will not be attending a school district but a specific class in a specific school with a specific teacher and a specific set of kids. Moreover, if your child is expected to be in a mainstream classroom then the services the school offers in the special education class are only marginally relevant to you.

While visiting schools and talking to school officials is essential, it is not sufficient. Some of the public schools tell you whatever they feel they have to tell you to cover their behinds and the private ones tell you whatever they have to tell you to get you to apply.

I think that input from parents who have kids at these schools is more valuable than any other information source.

But I have the feeling that many parents hesitate to post negative comments on public sites because they still have to deal with the school and they don’t know who may be reading their posts.

I think that a site that would allow people to post information which they know would not identify them but would still help others get specific information on specific schools and classrooms and maybe even teachers would be invaluable to parents. I don’t know how to accomplish this, yet

I have a 5 year old with a provisional Asperger’s diagnosis.
I opted out of our kindergarten public school program as I felt that the support they offered would be insufficient, given our preschool experience. My is in a private school that is working with us to make it a success and so far this year it has been going reasonably well. Unfortunately, they don’t go beyond kindergarten and am trying to figure out what to do going forward.

I feel that what would be most helpful to me and maybe to other parents of kids on the spectrum is to have better access to information on what actually goes on in specific public and private schools around Seattle.

The information I have been able to get is very spotty.
I have posted repeatedly on autismking and other sites asking for input on speciifc schools in the LWSD, Bellevue, Issaquah, and MI school districts.
I talk to other parents whenever I get the chance.
I comb the web regularly for info on specific schools.
I ask various professionals for references.
I have visited various schools.
Still, I haven’t found anything that makes sense for my son and time is running out at least as far as many private schools are concerned.
While autismking is a great resource and I have received helpful responses I feel that something more structured that targets school issues specifically would be a great resource.
Let me know if your foundation might want to serve as a clearinghouse for information on specific schools and if you have any ideas on how to do it and if I can be of any help.