Looking for an Elementary School with Neuro-Affirming Approaches
Hello Community,
My first-grade son was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder in June, which explained his difficulties in kindergarten. However, things have not improved since school started in August. I’m unsure if his current school is the right fit for him. He continues to struggle with regulating his emotions and has intense meltdowns. It’s been six weeks, and the school is constantly doing damage control. Outdated approaches are causing a disconnect between my child’s needs and how the school deals with him. It's been so disheartening. Despite finding a fantastic occupational therapist, coordinating services has been hard. We live in North Oakland, and my child goes to OUSD. I’m willing to move if we find a suitable school! II’m searching for a school that meets several criteria. First, I want to find a school where the teachers and professionals are warm and creative. They should have expertise in brain science and experience in implementing neuro-affirming approaches. Second, the school should have a strong emphasis on S.T.E.A.M, music, and dance. I understand that this may be a tall order, but I hope that such a school exists. Do you know of any public or private schools that fit these criteria? Thank you for any tips you can provide.
Parent Replies
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. Unfortunately, our experience with our now 11 year old has been that even the private schools do not always provide the right kinds of approaches for neurodiverse kids. The smaller nurturing schools still don't have capacity to support one kid who may be melting down, and their strategies of containment, in our experience, have been harmful. After spending hours/week talking to the school at our older child's school, we pulled them out before the school year was over.
Have you had an IEP assessment, yet? You don't mention if your child's diagnosis was privately funded/sought? If you can start with the IEP assessment, that would be very useful. It will help you navigate resources and access to the education your child deserves. OUSD, unfortunately, is a bit of a mess, but starting this process is really really important. We did not push for the IEP and were deflected to a 504 plan based on the developmental pediatrician's provisional diagnosis (that turned out to be incorrect, as I suspected), but it also delayed our IEP assessment till I was fully fed up 2 years later. I do think that kids' developmental changes between early elementary and later elementary school is quite significant, so understanding your kiddo's needs will be a process, not solved by a singular diagnosis or IEP entitlements. However, having the documentation, the responsibility from the district acknowledged, etc., will help you as you figure out what is best for your child.
If you haven't yet encountered Eliza Frick's awesome work, she has both a podcast and a blog (and books) about navigating educational institutions with a neurodiverse child. She is based in the UK, but many of her representations of these challenges for parents with kids who don't fit the mold remain relevant in the US, too.
Please feel free to contact me privately, as I have a lot of experience, unfortunately.
Black Pine Circle is a private school in Berkeley that fits this description! My daughter just started sixth grade there and loves it. We have friends with kids in the elementary school and they highly recommended it to us. They have a great support staff in addition to the classroom teachers and one of the school themes is “you can be yourself here.”