Need ideas: Name for new ASD oriented school

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Hello all,

This is my first post, so please forgive me if I seem like I'm mooching off ya'll, but I really want a ground-up opinion. I've been recommending this site to families for years.

To the point:
I work for a company in San Diego that is going to be starting a school for students with autism & Aspergers within the next year. As a rough description; it's a collaboration between a "behavior intervention" company, a non-profit, and PT's and SLP's. The school is going to be focused on working with all the strengths of ASD, to get kids wherever they need to be academically. It will focus on science, technology, and group collaboration to reinforce all the other "liberal arts" related stuff. We celebrate ASD and have a strong "anti-cure" message too.

BUT, we need a name!

We don't want another corny "Autism Academy" or "Special Minds" kind of thing and we're really open to having a sense of humor with it. But we also want something that students won't feel stigmatized by naming. I go to the "Short Bus School" ---you know what I mean. Names obviously aren't everything, and stigma isn't easily cured, but I want to know:

What ideas do you have? What would be a school name that you would be proud to announce, or just sounds cool. Everything is on the table.
Nuclear Blue Cheese Academy? Whatever. You name it. I'm just an NT home intervention guy and I do a lot of the tech stuff for the company, but if we pick something that you list, I'll let you know and maybe find a cool way to recognize you. Just please don't SUE us if we use it

If you have any other questions about the school, please ask. I'm also interested in other ideas from the users here too, which I will pass along. Curriculum ideas, etc.

Thanks in advance ppl.,
Jared in San Diego

Trying hard to think of something that doesn't suck..........

Using the letters ASD (why not):
Arts, Science, and Development center
Aspie San Diego

Random:
Abracadabra Academy (people would think Hogwarts, think cool)
Rainy Day (shameless Rain Man reference, without copyright infringement)


Argh. Well I hope some of you can do better, just not working out for me.

Academy of Social Diversity

or

Deep Thought Academy of San Diego

or

We may not have a football team but who ya gonna get to program your VCR School of Academics

Probably think of something else while I am sleeping but won't remember it.

Good Luck

I would avoid anything related to ASD in the name. I dont mind being autistic, but as you know, there is a negative stigma associated with it. Saying that you attend 'Neurodiversity institute' will likely get your responses of 'hey, isnt that the school for ret*d kids?'

Going for a non ASD related name like 'San Diego academy', or 'The San Diego school of science' doesn't automatically associate the students with autism. If the students want to share that they are autistic, thats up to them. But the school shouldnt go out of their way to advertise that they are.

Those are GREAT!! !!

I knew I went to the right place. I'm running these by the decision makers. Anybody else wanna give it a shot?

The schools I know are invariably named after famous people. So maybe use Leo Kanner School

Damn, I'm no good at names...
Uh...

This Building Not Another Starbucks?
People Smarter Than You Go Here - Yes You, Over There, With The Hat...?
To Be Named After A Future Genius?
Ishmael Academy? Yes, sorry, I have an ego...
Police Academy 4?

But, seriously, though, how about the Autistic Academy for the Applied Study of Sciences and Technology?
Something with oomph, y'know? Never knock good marketing...

'cept then you have A.S.S. in the acronym!

What kind of landscaping will surround the school? A school surrounded by pine trees might be appropriately named, "Pinefield
Academy."

How about

Southern California School of Applied Psychology?

or if it's on the coast

Pacific Horizons School

how about?

Golden Hills Academy? (which sounds very SD and CA)

and something not related to geography

How about

Sunrise Fields Academy

I stll like "Nuclear Blue Cheese Academy". However, it would definately make people ask for an explanation.

I'm favoring something location-related that sounds cool. Tell us more about the location, maybe we can do better.

The Rainbow school/academy [am have heard of the rainbow being used to show the whole of the autism spectrum,with different colours being different autisms]

While I like the idea of using a pride symbol, unfortunately the rainbow has already been adopted by the gay pride movement. Which would make things awkward for middleschoolers and up.

But maybe the Infinity Academy?

Last edited by patternist on 01 Aug 2008, 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

There was a smart kid school on the south side of Chicago I wouldve went to if it hadn't close I forgot the real name but people called it Pie as in 3.14

Kanye West went there actually.

How about CORE

Children of Restructured Education

(or)

Children Offered Restructured Education