Looking for an LD School for Middle/High School

I am looking for a good LD school for my son with dyslexia. I was told to consider Charles Armstrong School in Belmont. Does anyone know anything about Charles Armstrong School? Can anyone recommend any other good LD Schools for Bay Area? Chris

Preschool for 3-year-old with speech delay

My son is currently seeing a speech therapist through Early Intervention for expressive speech delay (he's behind in his speech, but his comprehension is developmentally right on schedule). He will be 3 in August (graduating out of EI), and recently was evaluated by Preschool Assessment Services (Mt Diablo School District), and the folks there are recommending he attend a special ed preschool for children with language delay at Gregory Gardens Elementary. Pros - it's down the street from us, it's free, and it's supposed to be just like a regular preschool class except for it is taught by speech therapists and consists of children with speech issues. Our conundrum - we already had signed our son up with a co-op preschool that we are really jazzed about, which would start in the fall. We're going to observe the special ed preschool next week to see what we think, but I'm finding myself confused at to what would be best. Do any parents out there have experience with Gregory Gardens Preschool, or with preschool classes specifically for language delay? Were you satisfied with the experience your child had? I'm bummed about the possibility of not doing the co-op school, as parent participation is something I would love to do (I have the opportunity to be a SAHM right now, and would love to get involved in my son's school experience). Did anyone with speech delayed children put their kids in a non-specialized preschool program, and how did that go? (Particularly if it was a co-op). Any words of experience from folks would be greatly appreciated by a mom who is just trying to figure out what will be best for her son.
Confused about preschools

I would get as much intense speech help for your son while he is young. This is such a important time in his life to work on his speech skills and not to be taken lightly.I would go for a speech based school! GG would love to have you involved!
Another mom of speech delayed child

Special Ed Program for 11-y-o with ''Emotional Disturbance''

I am currently negotiating with the school district regarding a placement for my 11 year old son who has an IEP based on ''Severe Emotional Disturbance''. Over the past 3 years he has tried and failed to make it at a charter school, a public elementary, and an excellent private middle school. He was just recently asked to leave the private school, despite all of their and our best efforts to make it work, and I'm now looking towards next year, 7th grade. At this time I am realizing that he probably needs to be in a special day class. However, I am not at all satisfied with the placement the district has made, and I'd like to explore alternatives. Which brings me to my question: Does anyone have experience with/knowledge of either public or private therapeutic school programs? He does not have a learning or developmental disability, so that disqualifies him from several school programs I know of. The program really needs to be specifically for emotional/mental illness, and he also needs an intellectually stimulating environment as he's very bright. We are in WCCUSD, but I would move anywhere (anywhere!) for the right school, and I am prepared to fight hard to get the district to pay for a private placement, if that is what's needed. Any suggestions/feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Learning Disabled 1st grade classroom?

We're looking for a learning disabled classroom for our daughter who is going into first grade. With both auditory and visual processing challenges in addition to ADHD she needs a multi- sensory curriculum and structure. Our district is offering us general ed. with support or a special day class for severely handicapped and we need something somewhere in between. So we are looking around to find some other options to present to the district--private, public or non-public. Any advice appreciated...You can email me directly.
Recommended:

High school for Berkeley 14-y-o with emotional impairment

My 14 yr old nephew is coming to live with me from Michigan. He has an IEP there and has a designation of emotionally impaired. He has had a very rough life (mom doing drugs, chaos etc), has anxiety, is angry probably has ADHD and possibly bipolar. He is on meds but says they dont work. I need to find an appropriate high school for him. We live in Berkeley and I believe if he goes to BHS he will end up lost, doing drugs, and running around. He needs a lot of structure and not too much freedom at the moment. I am open to private school if need be, and am open to feedback about BHS. Thanks!

Best of luck to you. This process will take time but your efforts to help this kid will be very rewarding. Hang in there. Anon

School for slow learning 7th grader

Hi, We have a daughter who definitely has some info processing issues (but of course if brilliant in many other ways). She was tested in 5th grade but her situation got caught up in a battle between her teacher and prinicipal and they said that she did not qualify for any special ed. She had a horrible year and was at the cracking point by the end of the year. We homeschooled her last year and while she picked up some things really well and became much more socially adept, etc., she is still finding it hard to remember what order the months come in. She is ADAMANT that she wants to go to school this year and wear new clothes and backpack, etc. We are really worried about her. I am not interested in any info on homeschoooling vs traditional school but I would like any referrals of schools (We are in the South East Bay), programs, consultants, etc to help make this Jr High experience good for her. She already is very defensive about school and has low esteem around it (since 2nd grade), so.... Thanks for any advice Anon

Preschool for Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

I checked on the website and there's no recent information on good childcare/preschool programs for a child with special needs. My son has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and we are hoping to find a preschool that can accomodate both he and his twin (normal functioning) sister. He's pretty mild, but his current preschool gives me the impression that he is still much more work than they are used to. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have heard of a good school out in Danville, but since we live and work in El Cerrito it's just not feasable to do such a commute daily. Many thanks, -Susan

Other advice:

There is a preschool attached to Castro Elementary School on Donal St. in El Cerrito that may be just what you are looking for. The preschool does ''reverse mainstreaming,'' meaning most of the children have special needs but the group includes non-special needs kids as well. The teachers I met there last year were incredibly warm and loving had wonderful relationships with all of the children. You can probably reach them through the West Contra Costa County Unified School District. Good Luck!

School for autistic/aspergers 3 year old

Our (almost) three year old was just diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. She is very verbal and the diagnosis may be changed to Asperger's as she grows older. Our IEP is coming up soon and we are looking into various preschool options. We are uncertain as to whether she would be best suited in a 5 day per week special day class or in some combination of ''typical'' community preschool combined with special services for spectrum disorder. Our child is very high functioning and we're not sure she'd be best served in a school district day classroom that also serves children with more severe disabilities. In addition, we are investigating various schools and services for preschoolers on the spectrum. Recommendations from parents who have been through this would be much appreciated. Concerned Parent

You didn't say which school district you were in, but if its Oakland, you should look into one of the classrooms at Tilden School. This is a small special education public school for preschool/kindergarten, and has classes for a variety of non- severely handicapped disorders such as Asperger's, autism, language, deaf/hard of hearing and more. (My son attends there in one of the communicative handicapped kindergarten classes.)

If you happen to be in the Piedmont School District, the Asperger's expert teacher who used to teach at Tilden is now teaching at a school there. Her name is Patti Stevenson.

If you are in neither of these districts and your district is not offering an appropriate placement, you could perhaps get an inter-district transfer. Under the law you are entitiled to a ''free and APPROPRIATE education'' for your child. If the classroom being offered to you has a mixture of children with disabilities ranging from mild to severe, that is not an appropriate placement for your child. If you need any further information, I would be happy to direct you to some parents who could better answer your questions. Charlotte

School for Teen with Learning Disability

As a mother of a teen boy with severe learning disability that affects the language area, I am seeking recommendations for high schools. He has an IEP and is currently placed in a private school for kids with LD. Can anyone recommend a high school that provides an appropriate environment for him-he is great at math/science, willing to work and is not a behavior prob Trying to keep ahead of the game

School for Defiant Child

We are looking for Kindergarten, public or private, in the East Bay (preferably Berkeley or North Oakland). One of the biggest issues we face in trying to find a fit is that our child constantly challenges authority at home and at preschool. He is very intelligent and highly spirited (intense/emotional)and has a difficult time accepting that adults (ie, teachers and parents) are ''in charge'' and that he sometimes needs to just do what he is told, even if he doesn't agree.

We really like the developmental private schools, but are a bit worried that he would be considered an ''outlier'' and a behavior problem, even at the more progressive privates. On the other hand we worry that the public schools don't have the resources to be flexible w/kids who challenge rules and that he would be labeled a trouble maker there as well.

There are a lot of extremely positive things about this kid -- for example, he has incredible focus for self-directed learning activities. But if he will be constantly clashing w/teachers, school will not go well.

I should add that his preschool is play-based and not a big ''rules place,'' nor is his home. At preschool and home his ideas are listened to, so it isn't true that he can't find a way to be heard. Although of course in both environments there are boundaries that are enforced. Any ideas? Anybody with a child who shares this trait who has school experiences to share? Thanks

We tried the private school route for our child, but without success, so he is now in public school and doing remarkably well.

Another parent

I'd start looking seriously at your local public school district and talk to every principal and lay your situation out with them. I found many of the principals in the BUSD to be very helpful, very upfront and in the school we ended in, placed him with the best teacher for his needs and supported him with special services. Anon.

The vast majority of independent schools in this area - Prospect-Sierra, Head-Royce, Windrush, Walden, Berkwood Hedge, Berkeley Motesorri, Park Day, St. Pauls, to name a few - are all heavily populated with bright, high energy independent spirits - and the teachers are not preoccupied with making your child conform to some rigid set of rules. With the exception of Bentley - which has a more traditional style - all of these schools combine developmental approaches in their academic curriculum. At the same time, there are socialization skills that your son will gain - that come from learning to be considerate of others and group learning - that will surely present new boundaries and challenges for your child. This is a GOOD thing! - even if it is hard for him at first. Any teacher worth their salt has had plenty of experience dealing with ''defiance' without being punative.

My own experience with my now 15 year old son - who is the most opinionated person on the planet - was that his teachers and his school valued his unique approach and he gradually learned to fit in and be a part of the clasroom community without squelching his natural creativity or scepticism about authority. My 9 year old boy - who is also stong willed and hates to be told what to do - is managing just fine. While my guys are Head Royce, but i do not think they others are that different. I have sat in on most of these school's classes, and have many friends at other schools who are similarly high energy and independent - Unfortunately the only bad experiences Ihave heard about were at Cragmont and Jefferson, where time-outs and detentions were used to cool the kids down. Go to some school open houses, and arrange to actually sit in on the classes to see the dynamic.

If you are not willing to let your son be guided by a style that less ''permissive' than you - you will probably be better off homeschooling - because no teacher is going to let a child ''run wild'' or be blatently disrespectful. There is a balance here, and you should realize that setting caring boundaries for your child is a gift so that they learn self-control. Good luck

Berkeley Mom of Two Active Boys

School for "Spectrum" Kids

We are looking for other parents of children with high functioning autism, Asperger's syndrome or similar non-verbal learning disorders. We are having great trouble finding an appropriate school for our boy. He is 15 and very very bright, but has sensory integration problems and a list of other things that make it impossible for him to survive (let alone thrive) in the public schools. This is a common problem among high functioning kids on the spectrum. Many can't function in the large, noisy, ''full inclusion'' setting for behavioural, language processing, and sensory reasons, but the smaller, ''special day classes'' are geared to students on a cognitively low level and so are equally pointless. There is supposed to be an epidemic of autism out there, and we KNOW there must be other families stuck in similar situations. Where are the good schools for these remarkable young people? They can grow up to make enormous contributions to society, and to make their way in the world. But they need the right educational setting, social skills training, and lots of attention. Can't we get together and form a school, or help the school districts form an appropriate school? At least we could share ideas. Please write to me. Tobie

I just happened to run into your site tonight. I live in Saratoga, Ca. I know this is not your area, but if you are still getting requests for schools that will support and help high school kids with ADHD and other LD's to succeed, I found only one on the PENINSULA, that is not either accelerated, or so remedial that you would not consider it. It is MIDPENINSULA HS< Willow Road, Menlo Park/Palo Alto. They have a ratio of 15 to one. My son has severe ADHD. He went from a D- average in Middle School, and no hope of any support from the public schools (Saratoga/Cupertino) to a B+ average in Sophomore year and now,on the road to a decent HS Career Good Luck Roselle , USC Parent