Which is better for Aspie kids: Public School or Private School?

Another poster suggested that private school was not best, which is what my husband and I were thinking of doing for our son. I would love to hear some other opinion's on this issue- Which do you think is better and why?

Thanks!

Depends on the individual school, and the child.  Probably better  thoroughly to research and visit any schools you have in mind.  If you are able to, it might be helpful to speak to parents and pupils.

Honestly, neither. Especially if you live in a neighbourhood where the schools receive very little funding.

He's better off teaching himself, grabbing a GED, and going to college.

Never thought of that robexib- but he's only seven.
I can't just let him sit around all day or I'll go to jail. Ha ha ha!

It could go either way... i was put into a private school knows for accepting anyone... and i was treated very very badly there by students and teacher alike. i was always in trouble, was the butt end of every joke, was the contaminated thing everyone ran from, was the person people went out of their way to make me more miserable. by the time it came for my Junior year of high school, i had been to a different country and found that there was more to life than crap like that so i transferred to a public school. so, it really depends on how your child reacts to the school... I would strongly recommend trying one for a little while and seeing how it goes... but making sure its just a trial basis and if it works, great, if not, switch IMMEDIATELY. if you don't, it can have some very very serious effects on your child...

In case some of you are wondering, Nell had a stroke before she was born, has mild/moderate cerebral palsy, mild/moderate intellectual disabilities, ADHD/Inattentive, epilepsy and High Functioing Autism.  Her functioning level is about 9 to 12 years old depending on the area.  I realize that her abilities are not truly comparables since your son seems to be academically able.  Nell will not do university so academics have taken a back seat to job skills and training for her.  But, here goes my opinion.

It depends on the school. Our daughter was in public school from age 3 to 6th grade (repeated).   She was homeschooled for 3 years.  After Hurricane Katrina we put her back in public school in October when they reopened.  By Thanksgiving I was remembering why public school didn't work.  I'm sorry, but lunch alone in a classroom with a male teacher is not peer inclusion, etc.  The more severly affected special ed students were almost totally isloated.  However in public school she has more rights than in private school.

New Orleans has a highly regarded special school run by the Catholic Archdiocese.  They usually have a lengthy waiting list, but had openings because of Katrina and we enrolled her there that January. You're handed a one-size-fits-all education plan, basically have only the rights they decide they want you to have.  We found out that even special children are cruel and can bully.  

The special school has a small enrollment (less than 300 students with an unbelievable tuition of less than $4000).  It has allowed our daughter to be a cheerleader, go to school dances (dating is not allowed), be on the Student Council, etc.  It's been a better social outlet than public school.

She is cutting her education sort by a year (receiving her Certificate of Completion).  To be honest, we're all tired of school she's been going for 17 years.

Thank you Dragonella for your personal experience input. The bullying breaks my heart for you. Luckily for my son he is not being bullied. The children at his school either avoid him or try to play with him. Of course he is only 7, I am really worried about that as he gets older. And I think your advice is what we will take; to try the special school on a trial basis.

Mom4nell- Wow, you all have had quite the roller coaster. That is exactly what I am afraid of for my boy. Thank you for sharing that with me. It reassures me that we should at least try the special school for aspergers/autism (with a 8:1 student/teacher ratio by the way!)

If you find a school specifically dedicated to autism, then you've hit the jackpot, methinks. Send him there.

That would only be maybe, if you put an autistic child in with only other autistic children, how will they ever learn to cope with others. But i could be wrong... Trial basis is the best way you can go with that kind of situation... You also have to keep in mind that younger children are less likely to care about differences, while in high school, or middle school, people are more likely to notice differences and shun them. So, the trial basis is the best way to go. Im not saying that a school for autistic children is bad, and not the way to go, im just simply saying that everyone is different, and what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another. Trial basis is the best way to go.

I think public school is the bater so there over many student come who is reach and middle class so Aspie kids learn something from them and also public school is good than private one. Private is only for earn money they have no any care to child at all.

Get it well and think deeply.

This post was last modified: 03-16-2010 05:46 AM by kollkolen.

I Prefer the idea of a school of the airway’s literally~ :›) I think maybe that’s the best idea. But if your asking me about those exact too options really… their is not much differences it really depends mostly on the teachers.

This post was last modified: 03-25-2010 12:23 PM by johnH.

There are good and bad public schools and good and bad private schools.  I don't think it's reasonable to make a blanket statement that one set is inherently better than the other.  If you name the exact region you live in then someone could possibly advise you which of the schools in that area is best - and therefore whether it is a private or public school that is best.

A school that is designed for "Autistic" children (IE LFA) probably won't be ideal for an Aspie child.  Also some of the ASD schools are very disciplinarian, I think that's just a bad idea (I remember hating having to march in lines and salute flags in grade prep - I was at a regular public school).  I believe that Aspie kids need more freedom than NTs not less.

Aspie kids tend to be bullied at school and parents tend to not notice.  Look for signals that your child is unhappy, such as faking illness to get out of school.  You don't want your child to be bullied in the way I was - or to end up using the level of force that I needed to defend myself.

Home schooling is a good thing.  It shouldn't be that difficult for the typical Aspie kid, once their reading skills are good enough you can just give them books to explain most of the things that they need to know.  ADHD will make it difficult though - but then it would also make school difficult.

One other thing, forget all claims about socialisation benefits regarding school.  That's like claiming that a prison sentence is good for learning social skills.

They say that Aspie kids tend to get along best with people who are older or younger than themselves.  Best to have Aspie kids mostly interact with adults.

We've tried both systems with our daughter (ADD). I think, in consequence, that you cannot generalize. It really depends on the (personality of the) teacher.

Generally speaking unless its a school for special needs kids it doesn't really matter.  And assuming you don't live in Bay Area Cali or urban Texas... there is probably not much of that around you.  Both sortof have their advantages.  Public schools have to take your son and (generally speaking) have to give him an IEP.  Private schools can expel kids that are bullying your son... but that could work both ways and often doesn't work your way.  I would say public schools for now (bullying doesn't generally get bad until 10 or so, and the IEP means they have to provide him some services... just not always enough), moving him out if things get bad.  Another option you might want to consider as he gets older is if it is ever possible to try to homeschool him, its not as hard as you think to homeschool a 13 or so year old (they can do most of the work themselves, even if you aren't home all the time.)