Houston area: School districts with strong support for learning disabled children

[Grayling813]

My daughter who lives in suburb of St. Louis, MO just sent me message that my son in law has opportunity to take area manager position in the Houston area. My grandson who is seven has autism and their number 1 concern about moving is a school district that has great programs and support for autistic children and their parents.

I know nothing about the Houston area. They are thinking about the Katy area. Any suggestions or recommendations appreciated.

[srothstein]

I do not know about the way they handle learning disabled children, but my five year old granddaughter is in kindergarten in the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD next to Katy. My daughter has been impressed with the school so far. I was most impressed when the teacher emailed the parents with suggestions for learning activities while out of school. This was when all they had done was extend spring break for a week, not shut down completely. In addition to telling the parents what they were working on already to keep them up, she had sent links to various museums and other sites for kids to do virtual visits at.

We may have gotten lucky in which teacher she has, but I believe that this normally reflects the ISDs attitudes and culture overall. If they encourage good caring teachers, they will quickly run off the bad ones too. Based on that limited experience, I would recommend this ISD.

Side note, she actually lives in Harris County outside of the incorporated area of Houston, which lowers property taxes just a little.

[Vol Texan]

I have friends who are schoolteachers and other friends with autistic children here in the west side of Houston (Katy side). If your daughter would like some direct introductions with someone to talk to, please send me a PM.

Note also that Jim McIngvale (aka Mattress Mack to us locals) is a BIG time philanthropist in this area and also a big proponent of helping autistic children. Just last year he hosted a “Autism Prom Night” in one of his stores, and he has donated plenty of $$ to supportautism research here in Houston.

[WildBill]

My daughter who lives in suburb of St. Louis, MO just sent me message that my son in law has opportunity to take area manager position in the Houston area. My grandson who is seven has autism and their number 1 concern about moving is a school district that has great programs and support for autistic children and their parents.

I know nothing about the Houston area. They are thinking about the Katy area. Any suggestions or recommendations appreciated.

I don't know about the schools, but I know a little about Katy. It is a relatively new area and that has grown rapidly. The houses
are less expensive that many of the areas closer to most companies. My main concern would be the job location "in the Houston area."
That covers a lot of territory.

I have several friends living in Katy who work in Houston and they spend 1.5-2.0 hours each way commuting to Houston.
In fact, one couple ending up selling their Katy house two years later, because they didn't have time for anything else.
They ended up taking a big loss on the house and it took eight months to sell.

Another friend takes mass transit to her job in downtown Houston, but it still takes 2 hours in the morning and in the evening.
That is a major consideration.

Good luck. I wish you and your family the best.
Bill