(I am not being biased, she actually is pretty darn cute.) I would like to say, however, that although I have mentioned more than once abuses that occur in special ed classroom, I am in no way saying they are all evil and public school is horrible for special needs children. I am just saying that between my husband and I, we just are not too comfortable with the setup they have in our current school district and feel, for Evie, there has to be something better out there for her.
In a perfect world, she would be able to attend the special needs program at my other childrens charter school which we absolutely love and we wouldn't have to leave my parents whom my children have truly enjoyed being around now that we're closer. However, on two occasions from two different staff members, I was told that not only are the children in their program verbal, they are also high functioning. You mention your daughter is non verbal autistic, my only guess is it's assumed she has many issues- go figure. What I have observed about Evie is if she were verbal or at the very least have some constant method of communication, she would be much higher functioning with some sensory issues.
She has shown over and over that she does understand everything, her responsiveness to her name has greatly improved as well as her eye contact and ability to stop at the end of the driveway or wait by the car if we're going somewhere. (Traits I may mention that really only began to develop after I began to treat her more like a "normal" kid.) She has also begun to feed herself with a spoon- something I never thought she would ever do and bring important things to you, such as the remote control.
I really believe as parents to special needs children, despite what experts may tell you, you are the only ones that know your child enough to really know their prognosis. Evie, like other children, has the potential to do great things but unlike other children, she requires the right key to truly unleash it which would be finding a method of communication that works for her.
I came across an article yesterday regarding the Mariposa School in North Carolina while reading articles about teaching autistic children how to sign. Children who were previously thought to be nonverbal through intensive therapy and a supportive environment began to communicate over a short period of time. This great program whose methods include signing everything, the floortime method, and 1:1 intensive ratios costs at least $5,000 per month. Being in North Carolina, I knew this was out of the question (not to mention the 5K tuition) but I wondering if there was anything remotely like it here.
Thanks to my dear friend google, I found this handy look up site for a state by state listing of autism schools. Big surprise, none in Idaho, but there are three, THREE in Northern Utah- little over three hours away. Fortunately my husbands company has a plant twenty minutes away from one of them, not to mention there are loads more on call job opportunities for myself. The school itself is fairly new and the program looks promising thanks to their sliding scale tuition. Does this mean we're off to Utah, homeland of my ancestors?
No but it gives alot to mull over, the first being my parents. One of the major reasons why we moved here was to be closer, enabling them to have a good relationship with my children that consisted more than a twice a year visit at best. I briefly mentioned the slight possibility of moving to my mother this morning, although she wasn't upset, she wasn't happy to say the least. However, if we were to have the good fortune of securing a loan we could easily purchase a six bedroom home for not much which would not only give everyone their own room, but leave a spare one for company. Even still, I would miss them terribly and my son would miss being able to tinker frequently in his grandpas workshop.
The second reason why we relocated was for school. My husband has been going to our local two year college to get prerqs out of the way but at one point would need to transfer to a university which does not exist here so in essence, we would have had to relocate. There are quite a few Universities in the N Utah region so that wouldn't be an issue.
Third, my other children. One could argue it wouldn't be fair to up and move for the second time in what would be a little over three years at that point just for the sake of a better situation for my youngest. I ran it by my oldest who, for the record, is exited at the prospect of being near a big city with actual mass transit again. My other two children love their school but they're honestly always up for an adventure. My other children have truly always been good when it came to Evie.
My final hesitation would be the simple fact that it is Utah. Although being so close to the mountains is beautiful, I've always been very self conscious of the visible tattoos on my arms which tends to have the more sheltered Mormons assume the worst of me, and when it's known that I'm a very eccentric liberal, Lord help me. However, I don't think it would be much different than living here in that respect. I feel that if it were a smaller town like the one I'm in and just as isolating, then it wouldn't work. To be honest, as much as I like the idea of a farm with horses and goats, I am a city girl at heart and having a metropolis (even if it is Salt Lake City) within an hours drive would bevery freeing
