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My family currently lives in NJ. We are planning on relocation to NC in the next couple of months. Cary/Apex/Holly Spring area. I have two children, 4 and 10. My 10 year old has Down Syndrome. I would like to know how is the Special Ed school System in Wake County. Any teachers, parents of children with Special Needs that can give me an insight? Thanks.
ps. feel free to send me private messages as well.
I do feel that a my Northern clients that have special needs for their children
found the system to be very supportive. My girlfriend has a 2nd grader in a self contained program at Penny Elementary School - area, and she loves it.
When contacting the school, ask about the placement procedures and how they test to reestablish their IEP. That will vary from state to state. I am sure you will be happy with the availablity of programs. My daughter has a disability and, prior to our move, our well funded NY school district only gave us standard support and here we were able to use a 'vision itinerant specialist' that really worked with her learning style.
That is a relieve to know. My son’s latest IEP was very good. They are going to place him for next year on a Less Restricted Environment. 25% of the day on the regular program. I am very excited that next year, if we stay here, he will go to a program like that.. and hope if we end up moving before next school year, that they can place him in a similar program over there. Thanks for replying to my post. Do you know of any good pediatrician around the area that are more familiar with DS? I take my son to the Judy Center of Down Syndrome in Hackensack, NJ and the doctors are excellent... are there centers more or less like that around the Raleigh Area that you know of?
I do feel that a my Northern clients that have special needs for their children
found the system to be very supportive. My girlfriend has a 2nd grader in a self contained program at Penny Elementary School - area, and she loves it.
When contacting the school, ask about the placement procedures and how they test to reestablish their IEP. That will vary from state to state. I am sure you will be happy with the availablity of programs. My daughter has a disability and, prior to our move, our well funded NY school district only gave us standard support and here we were able to use a 'vision itinerant specialist' that really worked with her learning style.
I know several families that have moved to NC from the northeast and midwest because the special ed services in NC are very good. I can't say that I'm thrilled that they moved to NC in order to take advantage of taxpayer supported services but I understand.
BTW I recently talked to a friend of mine who teaches special ed in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and previously taught in Wake county schools. She stated that Wake county does primarily self contained classrooms for special ed.
One of my clients had a son who was a junior in HS and he was not placed in self contained. My feeling from the Special Ed director was that the goal is for the children to be placed in an inclusion enviornment they called " regular setting " with a resource setting blended in for those who need some added reinforcement for a period or two.
Try these sites for links to support and healthcare www.NCHealthinfo.org and DukeHealth.org and triangledownsyndrome.org. Duke hospital has a childrens hospital that does a lot of research in this special area. I am sure you can find a really great doctor. They are such special children and your concerns must be huge while making a move. My niece has a 4 year old with Downs. We just love her so much and she is doing so well. I have watched, and am a firm believer of mainstreaming. Good luck, it takes a very special parent to be their advocate. I am sure you will get the support from the system here.
Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate your input. Being that my son is going to be mainstream for next year, here in NJ , hopefully when we move there he wont be placed in a self contained classroom... lynnsprufera, thanks for the websites.. I will definitely check them out. Once again, thanks so much for your replies, I know this will be a great move, and I trust that my son will find great support in NC school system... BTW do the law changes depending on the town, ie Garner to Apex or Holly Springs to Cary or since they are all in Wake County, do they all run under the same principles?
lynnsprufera, you are totally right when you say they are such special children, they are just so loving, their heart is so beautiful.. they are really a blessing if you learn to understand them, supply their needs, and give them the love and attention they deserve. My son is my life... the love I get from that little boy is incomparable. I am really so proud of his achievements, so proud on how hard he tries every single day to be the best that he can be. He is really a great boy!
CNJ, I would suggest that you contact the Wake County School System directly for additional information. I have found that any time I've had a question about something and have called them, they have been extremely responsive. Here's a link to their Special Education Services page.
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