Comments on: Listening Inside Your Heart http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart Practicing random acts of cognition. Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:32:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Diane http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/comment-page-1#comment-6385 Diane Mon, 15 Oct 2007 03:25:29 +0000 http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/#comment-6385 What a sweet little boy you have! He comes up with some really good things to think about. I remember the note (translated by his mom) he sent to me about a year ago. I still have it posted on my fridge. It says "I hope you be a lovely thing and little enough to be a kid - or not.... The End" When I read it I am reminded to try to be more lovely to everyone and to play when I can. Good advice I think. I am such a proud Gram. Love to you all. What a sweet little boy you have! He comes up with some really good things to think about. I remember the note (translated by his mom) he sent to me about a year ago. I still have it posted on my fridge. It says “I hope you be a lovely thing and little enough to be a kid – or not…. The End” When I read it I am reminded to try to be more lovely to everyone and to play when I can. Good advice I think. I am such a proud Gram. Love to you all.

]]> By: dconroy http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/comment-page-1#comment-6384 dconroy Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:45:37 +0000 http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/#comment-6384 Thank you both for the wealth of information. It is good to find people familiar with both the SJ area and Austin. You have saved me much googling. I lived most of my life near LG and Campbell-that is a great area! My daughter was born at Los Gatos Community Hospital. I attended schools inthe Moreland school district which is nearby. At this point I am also concerned about adult services since my daughter is 12-and I thought there wasn't the hideous waiting list like in Tx.-but wasn't sure. It is great to hear you haven't had that wait. Also, I believe the state of Cali. supplements SS income once they are adults but I need to look into that further. I knew about RISE but that came after my daughter-so-to-speak. I have looked into SAILL and gotten parental feedback and it is probably where my daughter would end up if we stayed here. I didn't know about Oakmont-so thanks. I heard NYOS, another charter school here- includes SPED kids but not sure how they include/pull-out, etc. In my "spying" as a sub I have determined Eanes is best for SPED kids.-what a shock-lol. Then I rank RRISD, LISD, Austin-but it all varies. I get most of my info from other SPED parents, of course. Most are parents of kids with Downs or Autism. My daughter isnt either but getting info from the Downs group in Santa Clara is a good idea. (unknown cause-I'm guessing oxygen deprivation at birth but noone knows). I will also try the php web site. You are right-districts generally are better the higher the economic group that lives in the area. Luckily, I can possibly become employed (or rent)! in the best district to get my daughter in but that's chancey. I also have a typical 7 year old boy. The school in PA you mentioned sounds good. Now for food! I love TOGOs-in many places including Campbell, By the Bucket-pizza, etc. on Stevens Creek, lets see-fresh crab and oysters on Santa Cruz wharf-oh I could go on and on! My son loves the skatepark on Campbell Ave-so have fun! I will let you know where we end up-we are considering a few other places in Cali-though I prefer SJ/Hollister. I look forward to your posts. Thanks Again, Debbie Conroy Thank you both for the wealth of information. It is good to find people familiar with both the SJ area and Austin. You have saved me much googling. I lived most of my life near LG and Campbell-that is a great area! My daughter was born at Los Gatos Community Hospital. I attended schools inthe Moreland school district which is nearby.
At this point I am also concerned about adult services since my daughter is 12-and I thought there wasn’t the hideous waiting list like in Tx.-but wasn’t sure. It is great to hear you haven’t had that wait. Also, I believe the state of Cali. supplements SS income once they are adults but I need to look into that further.
I knew about RISE but that came after my daughter-so-to-speak. I have looked into SAILL and gotten parental feedback and it is probably where my daughter would end up if we stayed here. I didn’t know about Oakmont-so thanks. I heard NYOS, another charter school here- includes SPED kids but not sure how they include/pull-out, etc. In my “spying” as a sub I have determined Eanes is best for SPED kids.-what a shock-lol. Then I rank RRISD, LISD, Austin-but it all varies.
I get most of my info from other SPED parents, of course. Most are parents of kids with Downs or Autism. My daughter isnt either but getting info from the Downs group in Santa Clara is a good idea. (unknown cause-I’m guessing oxygen deprivation at birth but noone knows). I will also try the php web site. You are right-districts generally are better the higher the economic group that lives in the area. Luckily, I can possibly become employed (or rent)! in the best district to get my daughter in but that’s chancey. I also have a typical 7 year old boy. The school in PA you mentioned sounds good.
Now for food! I love TOGOs-in many places including Campbell, By the Bucket-pizza, etc. on Stevens Creek, lets see-fresh crab and oysters on Santa Cruz wharf-oh I could go on and on! My son loves the skatepark on Campbell Ave-so have fun!
I will let you know where we end up-we are considering a few other places in Cali-though I prefer SJ/Hollister. I look forward to your posts.
Thanks Again,
Debbie Conroy

]]> By: Amy http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/comment-page-1#comment-6383 Amy Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:29:23 +0000 http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/#comment-6383 I concur with Sean's comments that, overall, services in CA are much better than in Texas, i.e. the Texas 8-12 YEAR waiting list for residential, respite, etc. services for individuals with developmental disabilities, as compared to the immediate start of similar services here in California through the school district and regional center. There is still a lot of bureaucracy here in CA, but it's worth it considering the services came through immediately (within 3 days) upon our arrival (with a lot of homework done prior to the move). Some of the things I'm not happy with are the relatively short day for Ava (only a morning class, though it is 5 days/week) and the waiting lists for private therapy services like speech. But overall, it's been an amazingly smooth transition that I imagined would be very difficult. We found an amazing family in the staff at Rise Austin that truly believed in Ava's potential and also held high expectations for her to reach as high as she could. We still miss everyone at Rise, but now realize that after Ava was 6, she would no longer be eligible to attend and therefore we would have been thrust into the public school system anyway. Guess we're just having an earlier start at that. I'm hopeful the support and ease of IEPs and such will continue as Ava becomes school-aged. We are looking for full inclusion for her, but are also open to her telling us where she wants/needs to be and then making it happen. Like Sean said, I would encourage you to first decide on the general area where you want to live and then dig in deep, really deep, at how the special ed services are in that community/school district. The range out here seems to be very big--some districts are great, others really suck (hence the enormous amount we paid for our home). As you know, parents are usually the best guide for such things, so get on-line and see what you can find. I made great progress through Parents Helping Parents (www.php.com) in Santa Clara--they hooked me up with the Silicon Valley Down Syndrome Network and their list-serve, which has been a lifesaver for many things. Find out if there is a group out there concerned with your daughter's disability and tap into their experience. And once you decide on where you want to live, call the district offices and talk to anyone and everyone you think might be involved in educating your daughter. Here in Los Gatos, everyone was very helpful and supportive, especially considering they barely knew Ava. I also dug into a few private options in the Bay Area and the best one I found was Hope Technology School in Palo Alto (http://www.hopetechschool.org/content/home/index.htm). It's not that outrageously priced (about $800/kid/month) and it's a fully inclusive school from preschool through 8th grade. We are still on the waiting list there, so one day Reid and Ava might both attend. If you stay in Austin, have you heard of the new charter school, SAILL? It's also an inclusive school, I believe running K-8 now, with plans to add the high school grades over the next 4 years. And since it's a charter school, it's free. All classrooms have a special ed teacher, a regular classroom teacher and low student:teacher ratios. If we had stayed in Austin, I would have definitely looked into SAILL as an option for both of my kids. Another interesting option in Austin is the Oakmont School. At Oakmont, there are no "grades" but students study and learn where they are ready to be, i.e. 3rd grade-ish math and 6th grade-ish reading/writing. A friend's kids go there and love the structure of the school. It's private so you have to pay--I don't know what the tuition is like. Guess that's a lot. :) Please keep in touch if there is anything else we can help you with. Best of luck to you! Amy I concur with Sean’s comments that, overall, services in CA are much better than in Texas, i.e. the Texas 8-12 YEAR waiting list for residential, respite, etc. services for individuals with developmental disabilities, as compared to the immediate start of similar services here in California through the school district and regional center. There is still a lot of bureaucracy here in CA, but it’s worth it considering the services came through immediately (within 3 days) upon our arrival (with a lot of homework done prior to the move).

Some of the things I’m not happy with are the relatively short day for Ava (only a morning class, though it is 5 days/week) and the waiting lists for private therapy services like speech. But overall, it’s been an amazingly smooth transition that I imagined would be very difficult. We found an amazing family in the staff at Rise Austin that truly believed in Ava’s potential and also held high expectations for her to reach as high as she could. We still miss everyone at Rise, but now realize that after Ava was 6, she would no longer be eligible to attend and therefore we would have been thrust into the public school system anyway. Guess we’re just having an earlier start at that. I’m hopeful the support and ease of IEPs and such will continue as Ava becomes school-aged. We are looking for full inclusion for her, but are also open to her telling us where she wants/needs to be and then making it happen.

Like Sean said, I would encourage you to first decide on the general area where you want to live and then dig in deep, really deep, at how the special ed services are in that community/school district. The range out here seems to be very big–some districts are great, others really suck (hence the enormous amount we paid for our home). As you know, parents are usually the best guide for such things, so get on-line and see what you can find. I made great progress through Parents Helping Parents (www.php.com) in Santa Clara–they hooked me up with the Silicon Valley Down Syndrome Network and their list-serve, which has been a lifesaver for many things. Find out if there is a group out there concerned with your daughter’s disability and tap into their experience. And once you decide on where you want to live, call the district offices and talk to anyone and everyone you think might be involved in educating your daughter. Here in Los Gatos, everyone was very helpful and supportive, especially considering they barely knew Ava.

I also dug into a few private options in the Bay Area and the best one I found was Hope Technology School in Palo Alto (http://www.hopetechschool.org/content/home/index.htm). It’s not that outrageously priced (about $800/kid/month) and it’s a fully inclusive school from preschool through 8th grade. We are still on the waiting list there, so one day Reid and Ava might both attend.

If you stay in Austin, have you heard of the new charter school, SAILL? It’s also an inclusive school, I believe running K-8 now, with plans to add the high school grades over the next 4 years. And since it’s a charter school, it’s free. All classrooms have a special ed teacher, a regular classroom teacher and low student:teacher ratios. If we had stayed in Austin, I would have definitely looked into SAILL as an option for both of my kids.

Another interesting option in Austin is the Oakmont School. At Oakmont, there are no “grades” but students study and learn where they are ready to be, i.e. 3rd grade-ish math and 6th grade-ish reading/writing. A friend’s kids go there and love the structure of the school. It’s private so you have to pay–I don’t know what the tuition is like.

Guess that’s a lot. :) Please keep in touch if there is anything else we can help you with. Best of luck to you!

Amy

]]> By: Sean http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/comment-page-1#comment-6381 Sean Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:10:49 +0000 http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/#comment-6381 <p>Hi. Thanks for the response. We have found the public education and services in California to be better than in Texas. I'm sure that's very (very) driven by the local community and system -- in either state -- but, in general, Texas seems to place a low priority on public systems and it shows. We did find one private organization in Austin, The Rise School (http://www.riseschool.org/austin/school.html), that was amazing for children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years. Although your daughter is older, you might consider contacting Joan David, the school director, to see if she has additional advice should you choose to stay in the Austin area.</p> <p>But since it sounds like you're definitely moving, I would encourage you -- if possible -- to contact whatever school district you're considering moving into, and interview the appropriate people on available services before you close your decision. You should be able to reach the right people by calling the district or a local school, and asking about special needs education.</p> <p>I'm sure Amy will comment as well, since she was incredible at finding our new community, connecting to the right people, and putting together a great opportunity for both our kids.</p> <p>Good luck! and please feel free to stay in touch.</p> <p>Sean</p> Hi. Thanks for the response. We have found the public education and services in California to be better than in Texas. I’m sure that’s very (very) driven by the local community and system — in either state — but, in general, Texas seems to place a low priority on public systems and it shows. We did find one private organization in Austin, The Rise School (http://www.riseschool.org/austin/school.html), that was amazing for children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years. Although your daughter is older, you might consider contacting Joan David, the school director, to see if she has additional advice should you choose to stay in the Austin area.

But since it sounds like you’re definitely moving, I would encourage you — if possible — to contact whatever school district you’re considering moving into, and interview the appropriate people on available services before you close your decision. You should be able to reach the right people by calling the district or a local school, and asking about special needs education.

I’m sure Amy will comment as well, since she was incredible at finding our new community, connecting to the right people, and putting together a great opportunity for both our kids.

Good luck! and please feel free to stay in touch.

Sean

]]> By: dconroy http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/comment-page-1#comment-6380 dconroy Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:03:22 +0000 http://www.parham.org/2007/10/07/listening-inside-your-heart/#comment-6380 Hi-I was googling for some info and came upon your site so I can't resist asking you a couple questions. We live in Cedar Park-moved from San Jose in 1998. We are likely moving back to Cali-maybe SJ but possibly cheaper areas like Bakersfield. The only thing stopping us from going directly back to SJ is the housing prices, of course. We have a 12 year old dev. delayed daughter and I am not too happy with the SPED services here. (We moved before we knew about our daughters delays.) It seems Cali is better overall- even in the public school system. I know Ava is only 3, but can you give me any of your opinions on any SPED services in SJ/Cali vs. Austin/Texas? I am also a certified teacher-can't get a permanent job here-which is OK since we are looking to move anyway. I've been subbing in AISD, LISD, and RRISD. Congrats on your new house. Thanks! Hi-I was googling for some info and came upon your site so I can’t resist asking you a couple questions. We live in Cedar Park-moved from San Jose in 1998. We are likely moving back to Cali-maybe SJ but possibly cheaper areas like Bakersfield. The only thing stopping us from going directly back to SJ is the housing prices, of course. We have a 12 year old dev. delayed daughter and I am not too happy with the SPED services here. (We moved before we knew about our daughters delays.) It seems Cali is better overall- even in the public school system. I know Ava is only 3, but can you give me any of your opinions on any SPED services in SJ/Cali vs. Austin/Texas?
I am also a certified teacher-can’t get a permanent job here-which is OK since we are looking to move anyway. I’ve been subbing in AISD, LISD, and RRISD.
Congrats on your new house.
Thanks!

]]>