Advice on what states would be best to move to..

Post Reply New Topic

***I need to preface this post with the fact that it is a double-post, I don't like doing that but I asked for a mod to move my original in the General section to here two days ago and nothing happened. I really, really would like to discuss this with some people and there was zero interest in that section******

Hi everyone, I just joined today so be gentle Wink

To get right to the point I am the father of an 11 year old girl diagnosed with Asperger's when she was 8. When she was diagnosed we lived down in Vicksburg, MS and let me tell you the schools there were horrendous. The staff did not know a single thing about any level of ASD nor full blown Autism. Sis was bullied, pinched by teachers, called names by the students... she even attempted to run away once. (interesting side-note, after learning about Asperger's I realized that I most likely had it as well, as a kid I was diagnosed with ADHD/HA and took Ritalin for a few years)

Fast forward a couple years and luckily the company I work for has a facility in Central Michigan and the admin there quit, So I was offered the position and for them to move us so my entire house jumped on it like a Bengal tiger.

So we have been in Michigan now almost two year and let me tell you.. Mount Pleasant, MI has some of the best public schools that any of us have ever known about. Sis get's 1:1 help, OT's, you name it they attempt to accommodate. And what's best IMO at least, they care. They care so much and it really shows.

Now here's where my situation get's complicated. The kids, the wife and myself don't want to live here forever.. they hate it because it's farmland. During the spring/summer there;'s nothing but corn/soybean fields everywhere. Couple that with (and surprisingly to me) there's almost nowhere reasonable to go camping at within an hours drive. I try to keep the kids interested in outdoor activities and it's hard because the biggest thing we all enjoy is camping. With all the farmland there are zero state/national parks within an hours drive of home. Plus the land is so flat and uninteresting the kids including Sis our Aspie just doesn't want to get out and do anything. I know these things seem like small potatoes and in the overall grand scheme of things probably shouldn't matter much, but with a possibly two Aspies in the same house the little things pile up and become great things.

So anyway on to my actual question. I've heard that New Jersey and Wisconsin are supposedly great states for ASD resources.. what about some western states like: Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah?

I've already heard two opinions, Montana, or the Bozeman area had nothing to offer. And another person said 'Oregon had nothing good'.. but I'm here for parental opinions, hopefully ones generated by personal experience.

Thanks so much!

Most big cities should have some pretty good programs for autistic children. The real questions would be about how easy to get into the best of those programs.

Each school district is unique, sometimes one will have much better resources than an adjacent one with similar funding. I would select a general area to live first, as a strategy, then select a specific place within that area based on resources available for people on the spectrum.

One problem with some of those NW states you mention is going to be low population density, which may affect the number of options available to you, and any highly specialized services you may need.

I live in Colorado. They do have some excellent schools for autistic children. Also, in Boulder, there is a social skills and support program for 17 to 28 year olds. This is great because most of that type of support ends between 18 and 21 years old. We live at a nudist ranch. Growing up here was great for my son.

We are also in the planning period of building an intentional autistic community within an already existing community in Thornton, Colorado. We are holding a mini retreat 25 miles west of Denver Feb 22-25 where we will be discussing options for creating healthy communities and work places for autistics. If you would like to come, explore a little bit, we are charging only $100 a person for the retreat [shared rooms] which includes lodging, meals, etc. You could bring your child with you, or not [so far no kids, but I have a passel of grandkids, some of which I can bring up for the retreat.] The retreat will be held at a nudist resort www.trynude.com and, no guarantees, but you probably won't run into any nudists, well, not naked ones.

does this sound interesting to you?

Also, the retreat is in the mountains.

Thanks to everyone who posted.. I never thought about rural PA but will def give it a looksy. I still hold out hope that some folks from Wyoming, or Idaho might chime in.

bump

I live in Utah and we actually are the #1 state as far as diagnosed ASD's in the country. I'm not sure if its in the water or what, but its the truth. There are many ASD schools here, some are hard to get into. I live in Park City, UT, which is a mountain town so its great for family activities, etc. I don't have an ASD school up here, my son is in mainstream school though. I'm not sure that I love this school as he's not doing good, but there are lots of day treatment programs and schools in Salt Lake and surrounding areas. I have heard that the mainstream schools down there are very good. Lots of programs for kids with ASD. Lots of support groups and big parent connection....especially for homeschooling.

So, if you have any questions let me know. I vote for Utah!

Stacy

Awww..a proverbial "boo..." the person who said that "Oregon has nothing good" It really depends on what area of Oregon you live in - I suspect the rural areas have far less support for kids on the spectrum than we do in Portland, where I live. My daughter, who is 11, is in an *excellent* public middle school which addresses her AS needs very well. There is discussion of mimicking the program we are in for all Portland area high schools, so I am hoping that the news will only be better for our kids in the future. Elementary school was a bit spotty, but the middle school program, set specifically as a Communication Behavior Program for kids on the spectrum, is amazing.

In addition, I have found a great number of therapists here that are really well tuned into kids on the spectrum. My daughter's cognitive behavior therapist specializes in working with girls and women on the autism spectrum (she was hand-picked by Tony Attwood to join his team in Australia, and I thank my lucky stars she chose to stay here!). We have SLPs, fantastic OTs, and hippo therapy, all within a 15-20 mile radius.

I think Portland, Oregon is a good contender for families with kids on the spectrum. And we have some pretty nice nature around us; perfect for camping, skiing, hiking. Go an hour outside of Portland in any direction and you will either hit forest, mountain, or beach! The only negatives are the job market (it's not terrific unless you work for Nike, Intel, HP, or another type of large company) and the number of people who aren't immunizing their children (we had a whooping cough outbreak not too long ago)!

I think I would start with an area that attracts you, then get specific with what the experiences in the most likely schools are. Services and results vary not only state to state and district to district, but also school to school or even year to year. I don't think you can say "X state has great services" and know that anywhere you go there it will prove true. I live in California and I know we've got some fantastic places and others that are awful - no consistency at all, and it is not predictable by overall school ratings at all.

Hey Ben, I would not be so anxious to move away from schools you know are good, because those are like gold. Even schools and services within a district can vary. And your kids will spend much more time in school than they will camping. Instead of moving, you might consider seeing how you can work around the boringness of where you are.

One thing that's very big here, another corn/soy state, is organic farming/gardening and ag education. We actually have programs in the school that teach kids about soil and soil structure...there's a lot of stewardship and conservation work, alternative energy exploration, stuff like that. For camping, it's true there isn't much, but when people here (and Michigan) go on vacation, driving 10-14 hours is nothing to most of them.

Another thing that's very big here -- I think in MI, too -- is bicycling. People go nuts for it, will think nothing of biking 50-70 mi in a day. Whole families go together. Would that be a possibility for getting outdoors?

There's also winter sports -- cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Are there are at least public recreation areas near where you are?

I will give a shout out for MN. I do agreed that no matter the state, there is a big difference among school districts and among the schools in them. MN was the first state to offer charter schools in a big way so the Twin Cities is home to some charter schools specifically designed for children on the spectrum. Our family does homeschool while accepting Special Ed services from our school district but we appreciate the diversity of choice within our state.

I've heard that Massachusetts public schools are supposed to be amazing with disability support. Our neighbor has sons with ADHD, and when the family moved from MA to CA she was shocked at how much more the MA schools did to help her kids without even a 504 plan.

Services are delivered primarily by school districts and these vary greatly in every state.

You have to research the school districts in the areas where you might live.