My son is a 13 year old with dyslexia and ADD. His IQ is in the average range. He started his education in a preschool disabillities program and has been in & out of special ed. classes. Having been in regular ed. for 3 years( grades 3-5) he was placed back in special ed. upon entering middle school because his reading disability is significant and regular ed at this level is too fast paced. I find he has regressed in these classes, is spoon fed answers and his teachers do not have high expectations for him nor the rest of the class. His self esteem is at its lowest point. He has been asking me for quite some time to put him in a school for ‘kids like him’ ie. LD/dyslexic. He even realizes that he is getting no where in the self contained classes. I have looked into these type schools which sound wonderful and I feel he would truly benefit from. However they come with a hefty price tag- typically $30,000 a year. I am a single mom of 4 and cannot afford this. Does anyone know of any grants or scholarships out there for LD kids? I have exhausted every option within the public school system and they feel they are providing my son with an adequate education which here in NJ is all they have to do. However, my son is crying out for help… If anyone out there has suggestions or creative ‘funding’ ideas please let me know.
I taught at one of those schools (it runs about 18K — a day school), and there was financial aid available. Most of our students got at least some. The school has a development office that keeps track of all that stuff. Even if the schools you’ve looked at don’t, they should be able to give you contact information for funding sources. Even a year or two in teh right setting can make a *huge* difference for a kid.