High functioning PDD-NOS. What school should I choose?

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I am the fortunate father of a very smart kid with PDD-NOS. He has a few language and attention problems but he can follow games and school lessons. At 4 years old he can write and read a few words. He understands a lot of things.

I have a problem when trying to get him into schools: Regular public schools don't want him. In Spain they are not prepared to give him all the support that he needs. Even when I offer myself to bring and pay an extra teacher for him (a few hours each day, not on every class) they say they are not allowed to bring anybody inside their school...

Special education schools are just not good for my son, I have watched what they are like, and my son would be the smartest and less impaired of all of children in them, which I think would not be fair to him, given his ability to participate on a regular class and eventually learn social skills (hopefully) from NTs and make some friends.

So I'm not sure what to do. What do you think?

Put him in a regular school, and do everything you can to help him adjust. I went to a regular public school through almost my entire education before I was ever even diagnosed.

I don't know how the laws work in Spain, but over here schools are required to make some sort of accommodation if your son needs them.

What kind of support does your son need? If it is strictly the education, you might see if he can go half-day for the experience, and then try a tutor at home for the other half of the day. If it is a behavior issue, some schools unfortunately won't take kids that disrupt a classroom (see the discussion here on private schools.)

I'm not a fan of religious schools, but in some countries they are more progressive than the public schools and might be worth looking at.

I wish I could help you out, Idk what channels you should take, I imagine they are different than here in the US.

Special support on spanish public schools is underfunded. My son does not have any disruptive behaviour, but he needs at least 2 hours each day with somebody that explains him what is going on. Unfortunately, I can only get 3 hours a week with teachers that only know how to handle language disabilities, not autistic or social integration issues.

is it possible can he be part time in a special ed school and part time being mainstreamed?

Could you homeschool him? Or hire a tutor to homeschool him? I don't know how it is in Spain, but in the US, the homeschooling groups have many activities for social interaction as well.

Wish I could be of more help. I am having the same concerns for my son. My son seems to be able to learn ok, but he as some attention issues, and he likes to make loud noises in class. I am not sure that he will be able to be mainstreamed, but I don't want him to continue to be placed in special ed classes.

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone!! !!

They don't

I would definately recommend pushing for regular education. That's terrible that he would be rejected just like that. How can the school even know what specific supports may or may not be needed for such a young child who is clearly bright? Ideally, the student should have special support available, but given the choice between putting him in an unchallenging (and therefore insufficient) environment vs. a challenging one in which the outcome is yet to be determined, I would advise a challenging environment. At that age, ALL children have special needs and it's rediculous for the school to say they can't handle it. Maybe it won't end up being a good fit, but there's no real way to know unless it is tried. Your son could end up surprising everyone and teaching his teachers a little bit about diversity, tolerance, and respect while he's at it .

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the education laws in Spain, but maybe you could seek out a misdiagnosis if necessary to get him the education he needs and deserves. Or maybe private school or possibly even a gifted program, if available and applicable. I doesn't sound like a special education school would be a good fit at all. Boredom can be one of the worst things for a child to deal with at school.

Ugh, what a horrible a predicament. Don't give up and good luck!

Thanks for your replies.