Im looking to move somewhere in the Northeast, need a good area with good schools for autism. Any suggestions?

Question

Im now living in SC and want to go further up North. My daughter is pretty high functioning, I have no idea where to start. Would like to keep her with ABA if possible.

Answer 1

I have 2 boys with autism due to Fragile X Syndrome (elegible for SSI) Try PA. Harrisburg, Lancaster (smaller but w services) & Hershey (Top of the line Hershey Medical Center. In PA they have Mental Health/Mental Retardation Services (help at home, so u can clean, relax, go to a movie). Also Philhaven Center for Autism in various counties (I lived in Lancaster). http://www.cityoflancasterpa.com/lancast...                http://www.lancaster.k12.pa.us/ http://www.philhaven.org/index.php?pID=2...  http://www.nhsonline.org/AutismSchools.h...    http://www.nichcy.org/stateshe/pa.htm http://www.pde.state.pa.us/special_edu/c...  http://lancaster.citysearch.com/profile/... Good luck and God Bless Note: In Lancaster my boys didn't have ABA but had services at Philhaven Center for Autism. (note: I had to leave for personal reasons  but I'm moving back!)

Answer 2

There is an awful lot of variation in services, and it all comes down to individual towns. I live in Massachusetts, and our town has a good in-district ABA program. More and more towns around here have such services, so you could consider MA if you want to come this far north. (Real estate in many of the towns with good services, alas, is pricey.) I also have the impression that New Jersey has many good programs for kids with autism. In general I would stick with the more populous areas of the Northeast, as opposed to, say, the more rural areas of northern New England, where I think it's harder to locate services.

Once you identify a general area that you think could work for you, the websites of school districts should give you some idea of whether they offer services (such as ABA) that you want.

I also would suggest contacting state or regional autism support centers. They won't be able to recommend specific districts, but they might be able to give you more information about what's available in the areas you're considering. Some might even know of ways to get parent feedback. For example, I belong to an email support group whose members often discuss the merits of their towns. Perhaps you could try to get parent contacts and information through something like that. Good luck.