10 months, still no school, update
Find a Conversation
| Fri, 06-22-2007 - 5:41pm |
I am back from break in MN, sorry Deb, that we didn't get to see you and Isaac, but this turned into totally a family thing. The new baby and her parents flew in from Denver and she is just GORGEOUS... All my sibs were around and their kids, my mom also and we just BBQed, hung out, a day innertubing down the Apple River in WI, very very restful. I know I am fortunate to have a fun, relaxed family where Malcolm is completely comfortable and has great relationships with his cousins, particularly the 2 next to him in age. Dh and I got a much-needed break from each other as he stayed home, and I got to loaf, loaf, loaf, eat, drink beers, etc.
So back to NYC and now pretty much every school of the 15 or 16 we applied to has now said "no" (or we've said "no" to them). And there is so much life-restructuring if we are now going to make another year commitment to homeschooling, as both dh and I are practically at death's door after last year. The biggest change is that I would have to move much of my work around and even quit some of it, but then we have to cut finances back quite a bit somehow.... Then I MUST meet other homeschooling families and build partnerships there, we cannot have Malcolm feeling so isolated, there are MILLIONS of people homeschooling in NYC so I just have to get to work on that front, too.
Sigh.
But the social skills summer camp is fantastic and he is now there every day 8:30 - 4:00 and he is loving it. So at least until the end of July I can make lots of moola and see how far dh and I can get restructuring, deciding what our next moves will be.
Who found a new school in less than a week? Amazing. I read that post and laughed. Don't get me wrong, I still love NYC, but Sheesh!!!
Sara
ilovemalcolm

Oh Sara,
You are soooo friggin' amazing!!!!
Can I ask why school's are not accepting Malcolm (I know why you would nned to reject a school)?
I ask as it seems like this year has really helped center Malcolm and he seems so much calmer and happier; I'm sure he'd interview well.
I have heard of a reaaly intersting boarding school in New England, (can't remeber where exactly...maybe Woodstock or Bath), called The Hyde School. I actually met with the presidential founders The Gaulds whern I taught in MD. They seem to be a great set up. It is for high school (and no doubt it costs an arm and a leg), but thought I'd throw it out there for future reference.
Dee
Edited 6/22/2007 10:05 pm ET by roanmom
Thanks for the update Sara. I have been wondering what was going on with all that.
If he can't do school during the year is it possible to spend part of the day at something like a boys and girls club if you can find a good one? Something similar to the summer camps where he can go for socialization and give you and dad a little break? I know some of our B&G clubs around here have inclusion programs with aides available and some are pretty good. It would be kind of a half step toward going back to school. Just a thought.
Another option is charter schools that homeschool. I know of many in this area where it is full homeschool or even a hybrid of homeschool and school (2-3 days in school and the others at home doing independent study). They have field trips, group activities, etc as well. They also have some classes on campus and they are typically very small class sizes. You have a teacher consultant to work with to develop curriculum and to follow up on his progress. They often have special ed support as well (I just interviewed for a resource teacher position at this kind of school). Many parents here of ASD kids do this option. I know some friends of mine that do it and they love it.
It is possible that these are the schools you already looked into but I don't remember a mention of charter schools so I thought I would try. I did find this list of charters in NYC. There is even one for kids with autism, perhaps that is the one he went to before. But here it is just in case it helps. I didn't see any homeschool ones on first glance but there are tons to look through. http://www.nycchartercenter.org/index.asp
Renee
Sara,
Glad to hear you got some much-needed R&R with your family.
I am so sorry to hear about the school situation!
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Also don't forget to check out the AHA-AS-PPD@yahoogroups.com and the WWW.ahaNY.org website. Pat Shissel seems to be able to find out lots of info to pass along esp in Legislation around the city. Plus alot of Parent education info for you that should be close to you. It may be a great way for you to find others in similar circumsatnces by attending the classes. It will help you with your networking and finding others who home school to share.
Rina
Dear all,
Thanks for the ongoing support and as always, the great brainstorming!!! Rina, Pat and I have been emailing back and forth, so yes, thanks for that connection. I did look into 3 programs she had heard of, but they are not right for Malcolm also. I will continue to look at the AHA meeting schedule and see if I can make any of those as well...
Dee, why no school, you ask? Well, many of the schools we were seriously interested in claimed no room at end of year (full classes, noone moved) OR inappropriate mix, Malcolm would not mix well with who they already have in classroom. And they have up to 200 applicants for each opening, so they have no lack of candidates. I do also think the school we pulled him from has a good reputation (although with word of mouth that is slowly changing) and any whiff of trouble turns off some schools. Most of them gave him a full work-up, though, interview, visit, and yes, he does interview very well. Several schools expressed their dismay at not being able to have him there.
Renee, I believe we are not allowed homeschooling-charter schools here in NY State. I did look into this at beginning of year, because I knew PA has them and we own a vacation house in PA so I thought of homeschooling through charterschool in PA, but then we have to switch DOE therapists, the back-and-forth seemed too much, etc. And this would be completely homeschool, not a location, getting curriculum online. BUT I thought of it. The NYC autism charter school is for severely affected kids, so that's not a go either, although I think once we get into the school year, I may call over there to find out more about their training program and what they really ARE doing in the schools, as getting information is such a nightmare here.
We get in alot of social skills and outside groups .. the big scheduling problem here is during the day, as even his many therapists are not available til after 2:00 pm, which means from 2:00 til 8:00 pm Malcolm is working like a dog, but from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm he has very little to do that is fun except schoolwork and that just doesn't take that long. There are many hours mom and dad are dropping him off -- during therapies and afterschool-type activities but they don't last much more than hour, hour and a half, but we do have to truck him around and then get him after. If we had more money, we could hire someone to do the Malcolm-trucking, but that means working more.
Round and round, it's enough to bring you brain-freeze!! Imagine my fury when I find they really are NOW creating the perfect program for Malcolm in the public schools, called microinclusion, 4 ASD kids, 8 NT, but they only have 8 of these classes around the City tri-borough area and do not include Malcolm's age, just way younger!!! GGGGRRRRRRR. WAY too little too late.
Sara