Asperger's High School for Upstate NY

Hello to all!
I am a member of many forums - looking for the same result. Let me give you a quick re-cap. I have a step-son, 24, with Bi-Polar Disorder, a 15 year old son (Michael) with Aspergers, ADHD,and ODD, and a 5 year old son. My husband and I have been married for almost 7 years. Michael had a rough start with things starting up around 2 1/2 years old. He was finally diagnosed at age 7. Second to Sixth grade he was in the best BOCES program I have seen. 7th & 8th grade he was stuffed in an all-inclusive room in a school that wouldn't acknowledge these kids existed. (A BOCES program that did the best with what they had.) Now, in 9th Grade he is stuck in another BOCES program (8-1-2 ???) with everything from LD to God knows what. I think these are the kids the HOME schools don't want!! (Did I mention he is an A student and this is a Regent's program?)

Anyway, there must be a way to get a school for Asperger's High School Students. I just don't know how to go about it, so I am asking for ANYONE'S help and/or input. After a certain age, it's like the help and assistance was turned off.

A friend of mine just had her 10th Grade son diagnosed with Asperger's - and after 4 months of tutoring for 2 hours a day (4-6pm), she wants answers too! We know we need to push on.

Thank you all in advance!

Kim from Upstate NY

Hi BelieveInTheGift.

I'm so sorry to hear that you're finding there's no appropriate program for your son with Asperger's now that he's beyond the elementary grades. I fear that happens far too often.

I wanted to share that my son --now in 8th grade-- almost had the same experience. They were about to place him in an inclusive, sink-or-swim middle school setting (which would have been disastrous)when I found out about a brand new High Functioning Autism class the county had put in one school, and was bussing to from all over. It included social skills training, behavior management, and a teacher who knew Asperger's cold. She then advocated for a similar high school program, saying, "Where are my boys going to GO after this?", and one was begun just 2 years ago. I thought it might be helpful for you to know these programs do exist, and that models for them are out there. The middle school model was fairly contained, with only a few kids going out for a few "inclusion" classes. The high school program is more integrated, with "team taught" half special ed/half typical classes led by one special ed and one regular ed teacher, and with quiet spaces for the Asperger's kids to retreat to, if needed.

What have other parents experienced? What programs exist for your older children with high functioning autism or Asperger's, and how well have they served your needs? What is the "model" for the program, and did it work? Please share here!

Our son stays at home and goes to high school online. He is still on roll with our current public school district. I am a certified teacher by day and I and work with him when I get home. He needs help to keep him focused and to get through the courses. Is this ideal? Probably not, but he got zero academic instruction in the public school setting - he actually regressed and had covered so little material over several years that he could not even get grades.
Virtual school for our particular situation allows a number of positives that I would have never realized. We can work at his pace. We can go through courses as quickly or slowly as needed. We can work year around. Typically we do about 3 - 4 classes at a time. We work every day. Which helps with the all important routine. If it is a tough day, we can work for a few minutes, take a break, etc. We have been able to decrease meds and he is overall much happier. When in school we could not get his meds adjusted and he was constantly in a fight or flight mode.
I know it is not for everyone - it does take work on the parent's part. The overall stress of working with him is so much less than the stress of how things were going when in the public school setting. He is calmer and more "at ease". Virtual school also allows us ready made assessments, lessons, and a teacher who can be reached by phone or e-mail at any time. We still get other services through our school district including counseling for social skills goals.