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Autism In CISD


Parrothead

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Hey, gang, I have a rather personal situation and I need your help.

We were told on Wednesday, after a very long evaluation, that Phoebe is on the autism spectrum (non-verbal, but high-functioning, possibly even PDD-NOS). For those who do not know, we currently live in the Memorial area, in Spring Branch ISD, which has excellent programs for autistic or special needs students. Currently we are working with a speech therapist and an occupational therapist through ECI until she turns three. She will then be eligible for Pre-K.

We are scheduled to move to The Woodlands July 5. I am a little paranoid since her diagnosis that we are doing the WRONG thing by moving...but that's only because I am rather ignorant about what CISD has to offer. According to CISD's site, we are zoned to David Elementary, which does not offer a Pre-K program for 3 & up, but we have been told Glen Loch has one and she would probably end up going to that.

Can anyone give us a heads-up as to the quality of services of CISD for special needs students, specifically autistics? We've heard horror stories about Klein, great things about Katy, and as mentioned, great things about Spring Branch. Your opinions as parents mean a lot...thanks in advance!

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I am so sorry to hear about your situation.

I do know that SBISD is incredible in such situations and really puts your tax dollars to good use.. Even HISD is known to be very effective in helping. Isn't TH Rodgers set up for such things?

I know a few families in the Woods that have children with special needs: ADD, Turrets and one who has Angelmans syndrome (which is moderate retardation). All their children attend the public schools they are zoned to and given a "classification." Most of them would rather have their children at a campus that addresses special needs only, but this is their option. Maybe Bach would know a little more.

You have such great resources in Houston, in such a compact area, for this situation. Houston has some great research and support systems for specifically autism.The Joy School downtown has helped one of my best friends with her child that has a VERY mild case. There is the new Aim High Academy that is getting great results. And there is another incredible school that some acquaintances of ours attend. Forgive me with the name but I think its Briarwood. It handles strictly autism and has fantastic results.

I am sure Conroe has resources too, but I am not familiar with the area enough. But I would guarantee it would involve a lot of driving .. You may want to contact the school you are zoned to in the neighborhood. However, CISD shuts down the phone system to individual schools during non-work hours and breaks....sometimes they forget to turn them back on well into the school day also. SO, perhaps contacting the district would be best.

Good luck with this. Its got to be a very difficult and stressful thing the deal with. I wish you the best.

Katie

PS- We close on the Memorial house on July 5th also. Seems we are Trading Spaces.

Edited by KatieDidIt
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I do know that SBISD is incredible in such situations and really puts your tax dollars to good use.. Even HISD is known to be very effective in helping. Isn't TH Rodgers set up for such things?

Rogers, as far as I know, does not admit people solely because they have autism. Rogers has three categories:

* Vanguard/GT (K-8)

* Deaf (K-8)

* Multiply impaired, bearing both physical and mental difficulties - students may be able to hear or may be deaf (K-12)

I am in Japan right now; I will fly back to Houston tommorrow and I will do some research on the autism programs offered by HISD :)

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Thanks everyone. Bach, that would be great. I appreciate your help.

Really, she's so terrific, she's like a regular ol' kid, but with "quirks", and I just love that about her. Quirks are good in my book! I'm a bit quirky myself ;)

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Briarwood offers great services but it is a private. It is out near Westside H.S. and Paul Revere Middle School.

One of my best friends from growing up has an autistic child. Their entire family has rallied around the child and they have done some amazing work at the Med Center. I will ask for information for you, Parrot. Unfortunately though, their child has a severe case but they might be able to provide some information that can be useful...

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My niece went to Briarwood for ADHD. Boy is that place EXPENSIVE!!! Like 16K a year!

Which problem does she have on the autism spectrum? ADHD, Asperger's, Speech Apraxia (which my son had) are all on the spectrum.

TX Children's Hospitals has great evaluators. We went there to see a Speech Pathologist and used that report to give to the evaluator for TISD. I had no problems in TISD at all. My son was in PPCD for 2 years before transferring to a regular K class with speech pullout. He didn't receive any services this year.

If you can get a copy of it I would suggest getting a copy of "The Late Talker". It deals with speech apraxia but also goes into the other spectrum disorders. It has a huge section on how to deal with school districts and all the legal aspects, etc, which are extremely helpful.

My son got bussed to the elementary school where PPCD was in TISD on a handicapped bus. They picked him up and dropped him off every day except when we took him to a speech therapist at TX Children's in Cypress.

On CISD - I have heard people have problems with them but I'm sure the more educated you are the less likely they will try to mess you around. Kinda like buying a car!

Good luck. You can message me if you need any help!!

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KinkaidAlum brings up a very good point: The Support System. It would be very hard to move away from parents,inlaws and friends that could assist. After a while, the treck up the pike to the Woodlands gets taxing. Our entire family is in Houston and they are beside with glee that we are coming back. The grandparents really felt they missed out on three years of their grandkids life ( even though we saw them a few times a month).

I had problems with CISD and my GT child. They have a hard time dealing with a child that is "out of the box" or doesn't fit a mold. One son is brilliant, an extrovert, incredible athlete and has abudant energy. Apparently this is a combination CISD has no clue how to deal with. He would finish first, it would be 100% correct and he would have to sit and wait for everyone else to finish.........rather than giving him a new task or a job. Therefore he would clown around and get in conduct trouble. He was never ever bad, but he drove the teachers crazy with his energy and they daily notes got exhausting. The energy level is a family trait and it really is a benefit in life, so it frustrated me that he would be punished and loose PE or recess because of it. That was like kicking themselves in the head.

We have re-enrolled him into St. Francis (where he started out). They are set up for this type of learner. No school is perfect, but at least he will be occupied.

As to the price of any institution: You only have one shot to get it right. If one place can help a child more than another, go for it. Sometimes families will help support such an enterprise.

Edited by KatieDidIt
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The energy level is a family trait and it really is a benefit in life.............
if only i had some of that DNA. can it be conditioned or learned. ;)

parrothead, one of my nephew's teachers at college park high school is "on the case" for us. she emailed me today and said that she would be in the CISD administration offices tomorrow (monday) and would forward necessary information. i'm keeping my fingers crossed for good news. will let you know as soon as i hear back from her.

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if only i had some of that DNA. can it be conditioned or learned. ;)

HA!

College is pretty funny. Roomates don't appreciate someone who gets up at 5am and is bored by 7am. Hubby calls us a bunch of "ping-pong balls." But he knew what he was getting into when he met my 95 year old grandmother, who was up on a ladder washing her neighbor's windows because "they were a disgrace to look at ." ;)

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Hey everyone, I just want to thank you for helping me. Kinkaid, I'd appreciate any info about HISD, that would be great. Bach, thank you!! Our family and friends are in or close to The Woodlands. I agree Katie, that a support system is so important, that is the main reason we chose TW, since it is so close to Matt's parents and our friends.

I did find out that there is a very good autism support group that meets once a month at the Methodist church there in TW, so I am happy about that. The Shape of Behavior is also up there (an ABA therapy facility) and I have been told that Aspire Pediatrics is awesome for OT and ST.

Please feel free to chime in, anyone, with any info! All is appreciated. Funny, I am not as stressed as I was. I think it's because I am praying a LOT! :)

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Houston ISD has a department for special needs, which is described here: http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/...00052147fa6RCRD

"The Office of Special Education Services (713-556-7025) serves qualified students with one or more disabilities (such as mental retardation; auditory, visual, speech, or language impairments; and autism) by providing specialized services such as:"

And the office's page is here: http://www2.houstonisd.org/Departments/sit...3763099,00.html

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Mom22, I forgot to respond to your question. They believe she is quite high-functioning, or perhaps even PDD-NOS. The psychologist evaluated her, but we aren't going for a formal diagnosis from a dev. pedi until we absolutely have to. She just turned two last week, so we have a full year to take advantage of ECI's therapies (she has speech currently, but will be starting OT on the 12th) until she gets into a Pre-K program. With Spring Branch ISD, she would be at Wildcat Way School until she is ready for Kindergarten. In the Woodlands, the Pre-K is through Glen Loch Elementary. I found out who the PPCD teachers are and am following up to get a feel for who they are. Someone told me I could also talk to them about doing an observation, so that should be helpful.

I have also been told a lot about the Westview School as well as The Parish School. They are both over on my side of town. Supposed to be AWESOME. I think Briarwood is for older kids? I am not sure.

VicMan, thanks for posting that--I am off to look at their webpage right now!!

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Hey Parrott-

Briarwood is a K-12 school. I had a sister and a brother who went there. They have pretty severe learning disabilities (this would have been in the late 1970s and early 1980s). The school is pretty amazing with what they can offer but it isn't all roses. Socialization can be tough, especially when trying to keep friendships outside the school (basically, kids are mean). That said, when first tested, my parents were told that neither my sister nor my brother would ever be able to finish high school. They did with Briarwood's help. My brother is a chef in Austin now and my sister a stay-at-home mom. Their lifelong friends from Briarwood have all gone on to do great things. One owns a small clothing business for kids, one works for the MFA, one works as a jewelry maker, etc...

I am still waiting to hear back from my high school friend about opportunities in Houston but will let you know as soon as I hear back.

www.briarwoodschool.org

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Parrot.....congrats on finding the support groups!

It is exhausting sometimes but you can do it! We STILL have communication/maturity problems with my son even though they consider him "normal" now. Sometimes I think "what is he thinking?!?!"

My neice transferred to St Jerome catholic school (middle) after Briarwood and got an award at graduation for 3/4 As. It is a good school. I've never heard of the other ones.

If you want to look at devices look at DynaVox. It is a speech device that helps kids communicate. Our insurance bought us one and a year later my son was doing much better. We actually gave it to the Tx Children's center in Cypress for a boy whose insurance wasn't cooperating. It's a 7K device. It really helped him think phrases out. He was 3 when he made it say "I love you".

http://www.dynavoxtech.com/

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  • 4 months later...

Hi Parrothead. I have a PDD-NOS son. he's going to regular preschool right now in the two's class with a shadow. I'm in teh same boat as you. I also need info on CISD and their programs. I'm so stressed and confused as to where to seek help. He's losing the ECI help at 3 and I'm just not sure if putting him in the CISD system will be better for him. We've made so much progress, and I would hate to put him in their system only to move backwards instead of forward because their program might be inferior.

I've hear horrible stories about other districts, but I can't find anyone to share their experience with CISD with someone who has mild Autism and such. So if you know where I can find these people to share their experiences with me, please tell me!

Thanks!

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Hi Parrothead. I have a PDD-NOS son. he's going to regular preschool right now in the two's class with a shadow. I'm in teh same boat as you. I also need info on CISD and their programs. I'm so stressed and confused as to where to seek help. He's losing the ECI help at 3 and I'm just not sure if putting him in the CISD system will be better for him. We've made so much progress, and I would hate to put him in their system only to move backwards instead of forward because their program might be inferior.

I've hear horrible stories about other districts, but I can't find anyone to share their experience with CISD with someone who has mild Autism and such. So if you know where I can find these people to share their experiences with me, please tell me!

Thanks!

welcome to the forum glitter. i hope you find the information you need.

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  • 3 months later...

If you are considering Klein, I would recomend sending your child to Thiess Elementry, Doerre Intermediate, and Klein High those schools not only have good

Special Needs Progams but also have good acadimics.

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  • The title was changed to Autism In CISD

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