School Disricts Good with Special Needs Children

Hi, M.,

I'm in Mt. Lebanon, which doesn't have the best reputation for accommodating parents with special needs kids. The more I talk to other parents, the more I contemplate moving to Bethel Park, which, our BSC tells me, implemented its Autism support programs earlier than most districts and it seems to just be "normal" for them to work with parents in the best interests of the kids. I, too, know a couple families who moved there for this reason. I'd be very interested in hearing about your experience in Char Valley and about what you ultimately decided to do. My son should enter Kindergarten in 2010, so I have a little time to play with.... Just wanted to add that I saw an article a couple months back about a new program in Canon-MacMillan with typical kids and kids on the Spectrum working really well together. You could check the Post-Gazette archives.

Have you tried Bethel Park? My oldest child will only be enrolling for K in the fall of 2010 so I don't have a lot of first-hand info but I did attend a kindergarten orientation a few months ago thinking we might send him this year. The principals and staff conducting the orientation seemed very open to working with parents of kids with special needs. I had spoken to the nurse of the school my son will attend as he has medical issues. She was understanding and seemed eager to help in any way she could.

In regards to house-hunting, we did a lot of the leg work ourselves by using realtor.com and other websites as well as going to open houses. Most of the homes we liked were in Bethel Park (though we looked heavily in the Chartiers Valley school district) in terms of home size, cost and yard size. Bethel has a great library and community center, each offering a variety of programs for kids and families. I believe they have a summer camp (maybe in conjunction with the YMCA) for kids with special needs. BP offers quiet neighborhoods, several neighborhood parks and a lot of community events. We have been here for 3 years and love it! Good luck with your decision.

My daughter went to Pre-K with a little boy who has PPD, they lived in the Baldwin/Whitehall school district at the time. At the end of the school year they had to put their house up for sale and move because they didn't feel as though the BW school district had enough special needs help in the schools. They ended up moving to Bethel Park. I have kept in touch with them and they are so happy with BP school district and all they do for their son. So keep Bethel Park in mind...
Good luck and kudos to you for being so proactive in your sons schooling.

I know that South park is just implementing "co-teaching" to their special needs program...