High school for Autistic/Aspergers kids to open.

[monster]

This was in the local news today. There wll be a new private high school opening here with the aim of specializing in the education of high functioning Aspergers and Autism sufferers. It will be inclusive in that you don't have to have those problems to attend. But it will be a "non-denominational faith-based school" with the name Veritas Christi. ...Which doesn't sound terribly non-deniminational to me.... And I also can't see why it needs to be faith-based at all..... Of course it's a private school which can be whatever it wants to be, but if you truly believe this as an educational necessity, why introduce this faith thing? I know some people have a belief that their god is and must be with them in everything they do, and that's fine, but why impose that on others -especially those who have a hard time picking up social cues from real people never mind omnipresent invisible faith-based entities? Probably a knee-jerk atheist reaction, but this seems like such a good idea and yet such a mixed-up way of implementing it. I wonder if financial backing has anything to do with it?



http://www.annarbor.com/business-rev...ism-aspergers/

[glatt]

Don't blame the religious schools for focusing on Autism and Aspergers. Blame the non-religious schools for ignoring them.

[wolf]

Nondenominational in this context means not following just one brand of Christianity ... it's not a Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, or Presbyterian school. It's a private school ... what does it matter if they're Christians, Jews, Atheists, or Satanists?

Any school that specifically address issues of Asperger's/Autism Spectrum is a good thing. We have a private residential school in the area. For the most part they do a great job with their students, I only hear from them a couple of times a year.

[xoxoxoBruce]

“We’ve be a very small educational community, at least to start with,” Nye said.

I hope he didn't really say that.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by monster

I know some people have a belief that their god is and must be with them in everything they do, and that's fine, but why impose that on others -especially those who have a hard time picking up social cues from real people never mind omnipresent invisible faith-based entities?

You'd think, but I've actually found in my personal experience that faith is more common in autistic adults than in the general population. Maybe it goes along the same lines of why many autistic individuals prefer the company of animals and feel that they can communicate with them better than neurotypical people: God's pretty nonverbal too.

Either way though, I'd say it's a safe bet that if the parents are sending their kids to this school, they are probably already exposing them to a certain amount of religious experiences in the home to begin with. None of these kids are going to be blindsided by anything the school might have to offer.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I didn't see any reference to what they would offer, I think Monster is making an assumption on curriculum, based on the name and the backers.

[Clodfobble]

Oh I just meant the cultural environment they'd offer; even the deeply fundamental schools only do maybe one or two religious studies classes each semester, the curriculum is still standard high school stuff. Like any private school, it's less about the education and more about the social/cultural facets.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I agree, but I didn't see anything stated about having any religious teaching at all. I think that's an assumption.

[Pie]

Originally Posted by glatt

Don't blame the religious schools for focusing on Autism and Aspergers. Blame the non-religious schools for ignoring them.

This.

[Juniper]

A friend of mine in CT sends her autistic daughter to a special school for them, too. I forget what it's called, but she loves it.

[monster]

Right, it was a gut-reaction based on assumptions and lack of direct experience, that's why I wanted to open a discusion on it. It seems odd to me, but as I can't say why I thought I'd rely on you lot to tell me about it .

[monster]

Originally Posted by glatt

Don't blame the religious schools for focusing on Autism and Aspergers. Blame the non-religious schools for ignoring them.

Originally Posted by Pie

This.

Right, that's sort of where I was going with the funding question -is it because there is more funding available to/from religious organizations?

If I had an Autistic/Aspergers kid, i certainly wouldn't let that in itself put me off sending my kid there but I guess I find it odd how that the A/A speciality is what they're pushing in the press, but there's very little mention of it on the website.

All in all, my first reaction was "fantastic", but then as I read on it just seemed a little disassembled, but I couldn't put my finger on what felt wrong.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by monster

is it because there is more funding available to/from religious organizations?

Absolutely. Not to mention that this private school is collecting tuition from the parents. Any school that tailors to kids on the spectrum is going to require smaller class sizes, teachers with some minimum of extra training if not outright certification, and additional curriculum items focusing on social skills, among other things. There's actually a similar program in the school district around here for kids on the spectrum, called SCORES. Some kids spend all day in the SCORES classroom, while others go to mainstream classes half the day and then get extra help with the classwork in the SCORES classroom, while others go to all mainstream classes, but then spend a few hours in the SCORES classroom after school for extra social skills work. Overall, it's cheaper than sending an aide to shadow every kid that needs one, but a lot of school districts still opt for the even cheaper 'head in the sand' approach of insisting these kids don't need an aide or any extra help, that if the academics are up to par then the kid is ready to be tossed into the fray. Which of course is ridiculous.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by monster

Right, it was a gut-reaction based on assumptions and lack of direct experience, that's why I wanted to open a discusion on it. It seems odd to me, but as I can't say why I thought I'd rely on you lot to tell me about it .

Becuse you know if you're wrong, we can't wait to tell you.

If I had an Autistic/Aspergers kid, i certainly wouldn't let that in itself put me off sending my kid there but I guess I find it odd how that the A/A speciality is what they're pushing in the press, but there's very little mention of it on the website.

I got the impression they are trying to play down that aspect. Even adding High School as part of the name is geared toward giving the kids the "High School", not "special school" feeling.

[monster]

yeah, I read that bit about why it's called "high school".

You know what it is, it's that the press and the website read like a kid's exam essay. Making sure they mention all the buzzwords, but not really bringing it together coherently enough to make me believe it's going to work. Yes, we'll specialize in A&A. Yes, we'll cater to regular kids. Yes, we'll have small classes. Yes, We'll cover the full curriculum. Yes, we'll provide a good faith-based moral background to the education. Yes, we'll do that without excluding anybody. Yes, we'll turn water into wine and lead into gold.