you really need to look at the options in your area for your child. Visit a few main streem schools in you area and ask them directly. What would my child be doing in the classroom? How will his/her breaks be handled? What educational provisions can you make?

Then visit the special school and ask the same things. Think about where you child is at and the problems that have made you think about a special school. Remember the decision is your and no one should take that away from you. However also ask those professionals that know your child what they feel would be best for him/her.

Finally remember that there are good and bad teachers/schools in every setting. It may be worth it to drive 5 more minutes up the road and see what other schools offer. Good Luck with this hard decision – you could consider having a “trial” in the mainstream to see how everyone goes. That is a popular choice sometimes.

Good luck J

I think they should be mainstreamed as much as possible and they can handle. I have a child with autism and she’s high functioning. She has EC class for 1 hour and 20 minutes, the rest of the day, she’s with her regular class. She’s doing great!!!

This question is a situation by situation question. Kids with severe issues and severe diagnoses will probably do better in a special school. However, the teachers of regular ed are becoming more specialized to deal with more types of learning disabilities. So, in the future, there might be less of a need for special schools, on a whole…

As a parent, you must do what is best for your child and what is best for your family. some parents give their child over to a group home, that’s not for me, but my circumstances don’t warrant it either. My child is not a hazard to me or herself.

My son has struggled and he is far from slow .. infact he is very intelligent on things he is intrested in

He starts a special school in december as he needs much more help than a mainstream environment can offer him

He will benefit as the teachers have a more in depth understanding of his disabilty and i feel he wil lcome on in leaps and bounds