Aspergers Advice - Houston
Oct 31st 2014, 3:59 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Aspergers Advice - Houston
Hi,
My husband has just been offered a move to Houston with his company and we are interested....however, our 10 year has Aspergers and, obviously, we need to take his needs into account.
I was just wondering if anyone has experience of moving to the US (Houston in particular) with a child who has special educational needs. He is doing OK in a mainstream school in the UK and would be entering Grade 6 in the US system.
Many thanks in advance
My husband has just been offered a move to Houston with his company and we are interested....however, our 10 year has Aspergers and, obviously, we need to take his needs into account.
I was just wondering if anyone has experience of moving to the US (Houston in particular) with a child who has special educational needs. He is doing OK in a mainstream school in the UK and would be entering Grade 6 in the US system.
Many thanks in advance
Nov 1st 2014, 2:05 pm
#2
Rootbeeraholic
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Houston, Tx
Posts: 2,280
Re: Aspergers Advice - Houston
I don't have a child on the spectrum but this is what my wife did before she became a stay at home Mum (in Houston).
Is he receiving therapy outside of the normal school day?
There are various options here but a lot of people here put their children into specialist ABA therapy centers of which there are quite a few in Houston.
Hope that helps a little. Feel free to ask anything further.
Is he receiving therapy outside of the normal school day?
There are various options here but a lot of people here put their children into specialist ABA therapy centers of which there are quite a few in Houston.
Hope that helps a little. Feel free to ask anything further.
Nov 1st 2014, 5:16 pm
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 4,759
Re: Aspergers Advice - Houston
Does he have an IEP? Here in California at least they're called the same thing. Bring it with you if he does, plus get your GP to write a letter (probably cost £25-£30).
In an ideal world you'd arrive in Houston, go see the family doctor, get referred to a pediatric psychiatrist, and get a formal diagnosis here, all before he starts school. In practice that could take several months - but I think the doctor's note would help speed things up a little.
We transferred schools this year during the summer holidays. We did everything we were supposed to in informing the school district about our son's autism, gave them a copy of the IEP, but when term started... the school knew absolutely nothing. Complete communication failure between the school district and the school. Anyway, once they knew about it then they acted on it, though there have been a couple of hiccups like refusing to let him attend something without an aide: a quick email pointing out the laws and an aide was magically summoned.
We used to have ABA through our medical insurance but when we moved we lost it but felt it was kind of losing steam anyway. However, we're looking at what they call "regional centers" around here that do it at low or no cost, I think. I think you have to have the formal diagnosis from a US-certified doctor though.
Good luck.
In an ideal world you'd arrive in Houston, go see the family doctor, get referred to a pediatric psychiatrist, and get a formal diagnosis here, all before he starts school. In practice that could take several months - but I think the doctor's note would help speed things up a little.
We transferred schools this year during the summer holidays. We did everything we were supposed to in informing the school district about our son's autism, gave them a copy of the IEP, but when term started... the school knew absolutely nothing. Complete communication failure between the school district and the school. Anyway, once they knew about it then they acted on it, though there have been a couple of hiccups like refusing to let him attend something without an aide: a quick email pointing out the laws and an aide was magically summoned.
We used to have ABA through our medical insurance but when we moved we lost it but felt it was kind of losing steam anyway. However, we're looking at what they call "regional centers" around here that do it at low or no cost, I think. I think you have to have the formal diagnosis from a US-certified doctor though.
Good luck.
Nov 2nd 2014, 3:30 am
#4
L2, GC, Surrey, OH, TX!
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey to Dallas (via Ohio)!
Posts: 6,363
Re: Aspergers Advice - Houston
i echo Geoff comment that it can take time.
My middle kid has a slight speech delay. His 2nd grade teacher mentioned it so we are getting him evaluated again here in dallas to see if the school will give therapy. He has attended lots of specialists in the past for it in ohio - so we have written letters from them describing the situation (its not very severe) and eliminating underlying things as the cause (ie no palate deformity etc). Just to get him checked out for a relatively simple speech issue - which they can evaluate very quickly (and absolutely) by listening to him - will take around 60-90 days after all the reports and interviews and procedures are followed.
My middle kid has a slight speech delay. His 2nd grade teacher mentioned it so we are getting him evaluated again here in dallas to see if the school will give therapy. He has attended lots of specialists in the past for it in ohio - so we have written letters from them describing the situation (its not very severe) and eliminating underlying things as the cause (ie no palate deformity etc). Just to get him checked out for a relatively simple speech issue - which they can evaluate very quickly (and absolutely) by listening to him - will take around 60-90 days after all the reports and interviews and procedures are followed.
