Seeking Schools That Will Help My Child

I can't offer any good suggestions of schools. I chose to homeschool my kids because of the condition of public schools where we were, that and because my husband is in the Air Force and we move.

Arlyn,

Hi! I have an ESE student as well. I live in Merritt Island and have batteled the "school system" for years trying to find a good place for my son. No such public school exists around here, the ESE programs are horrible. We applied for the McKay scholarship and now our son goes to Creative Learning in Rockledge, it is the most wonderful place, the owner is so talented with special needs students. I would recomend applying for the scholarship and placing your child in a P. special school. Once the public schools have labeled your child a behavioral problem he/she will never escape that label and no matter how hard your child tries they cannot be bothered with teaching our special children the skills they need to navigate their way through the public school.

Many P. schools take the McKay (?sp) scholarship. If your son has an IEP score, that qualifies him for the scholarship and will cover a great portion of the tuition costs.

good for you with the diet & fish oil!

I'm sure you're already doing this, but a strict schedule/routine will help as well. I would even involve him with this and have the two of you make it a fun art project (he likes art!)- sit down together and make a list of all the things he does/needs to do. you actually can start the list with the things YOU do so that he sees that YOU do a LOT (cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, making & changing beds, sweeping,, driving him places, taking out the garbage, whatever it is you do).
Once you have a list of what he does then you two can draw each item on an index card or even cut out pictures from magazines, etc- make one for each activity like: make bed, brush teeth, clothes in the hamper, get dressed, brush hair, eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, set table, clear table, do homework, pick up toys, say prayers, etc.
then you can decide when these chores are to be done: morning, after school/camp, before bed.
then make a place to hang them so he can see them- the two of you can make a big poster w/ different sections on it of where to put things like: to do in the morning, finished, etc. then as he completes the things he needs to do you can give him a 'ticket' - again, he can decorate/make gold glittery tickets or whatever you decide. then you decide how many tickets gets what.
for my son, he gets one ticket for doing ALL the things he needs to do each time of day (3x a day), but you can make it howeve you want to and 'work up to' getting one for a group of chores. anyway, my son then gets to 'cash in' two tickets for playing his leapfrog game (he's 6) or for watching something 'harmless' on youtube that I supervise- he loves to watch domino tricks! you know, when people set up thousands of dominoes in a pattern and then knock hte first one down and the rest follow? also I let him watch old Electric Company skits like Spidey stories or Letter Man or old Muppet Show skits or
whatever else we find...

ok you asked about schools. if he is ESE then he can qualify for a McKay scholarship to help pay for P. school! http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/mckay/

in the meantime, look at magnet programs. they CANNOT exclude your son due to ESE. also, if he's getting outside counseling (something I HIGHLY RECOMMEND! if he were on meds he'd need counseling so he needs it even without being on meds!!! this will help him with making better choices about his behavior, etc) then you can provide this info w/ the school and tell them you will all work together as a TEAM to help your son.

For art, look for a magnet school. you will most likely have to provide transportation, but there are even P. buses and transportation services that will do this and it's cheaper than P. school tuition...
magnet schools are MEANT to be in not-so-nice areas; that's why they're called magnet schools- they act as a 'magnet' and 'draw' in people/students from outside the school's area/neighborhood. In fact, I doubt you'll find too many magnet programs in 'nice'/'good' neighborhoods...
It is important to look at the PROGRAM, which is *housed* in the school. If there is a well-recognized magnet program that sounds interesting (regardless of where it is geographically), then: call the school, ask to speak with the Magnet Coordinator, and then MEET with her/him and take a LOOK at the program at the school. Students in the Magnet Program don't necessarily 'interact' with the rest of the student body/school. ASK these questions as you LOOK at the program/visit with the Magnet Coordinator at the School. You may just find yourself amazed! There are all kinds of 'hidden gems' in life...

please keep us posted!
~L.

Arlyn have you tried Valerian Root. It is sold in Walmart it is a natural herb that helps settle them down with natural herbs. It is suguested for many things. Won't hurt him at all.

Good Morning! I not sure what side of town you live on, but have you looked into Christen Lighthouse school on the northside off of Pearl. I have heard they are a school directed to kids with "ESE". I seen where they give scholarships, so you might want to look into that if possible.

good luck???

LOok into Summit Charter School in Orange County. Designed for children with learning disabilities etc. My grandson went there for 1 year and it helped immensely.

Have you checked out Home Schooling in your area? You will get a lot of support from these parents. Encourage the artistic nature (I'm an artist) It will help him learn in other areas...
Blessings, S.

1- Maybe you could check into Magnet schools in your area.
2- What state do you live in? Some states, such as Georgia, mandate that parents of children with kids in special education can take their child's FTE money with them to a P. school.
3- Good luck. I have a child with ADHD and I'm a school psychologist. I know it is hard to get the right services for your child.