Considering a move

We live in Queens. For a variety of reasons we are considering selling our house and moving to LI. My main concern is my youngest who has autism. All I have ever heard about is Half Hollow Hills district. How it is amazing for kids with special needs. My son is minimally verbal and has lots of behaviors (verbal stims, very sensory, needs to bounce, etc.).

He could not be served by our local public school that my other 2 children go to. My question is in LI does this mean he would go to BOCES? What is BOCES? Is it like District 75 for NYC? If this is the case is this different from the school district? We are open to moving wherever (obviously I would like to be as close as I can to Queens) but we would move to Suffolk if it means better opportunities for him. He is 7 years old and has a 1:1 para in school.

Sorry for all the questions but our heads are spinning. We have friends that live in LI (in different parts) but none are familiar with special ed programs and that is our priority. Thanks very much if you got this far and could explain it to me.

Considering a move

I think it’s hard to make a determination on where your son would go. HHH is an EXCELLENT school district for special education. Working in that field previously I would say they are top in terms of programming. I would contact the school office and perhaps discuss your sons needs and get an opinion there. It’s hard to say; boces is an alternative placement when the child’s needs cannot be met in school. I’ve worked with my kids diagnosed with ASD that attend a school within their district because the district has the ability to meet their needs. Often times this will be based on the child and the school district and if the capabilities of the school can meet the needs. Good luck! It’s definitely overwhelming. We moved to meet my sons needs. I was tired of fighting with my district. I had experience giving BCBA consults with the district I previously lived in and they were horrible with kids I worked with. Once my son had needed services I really had to fight to get the bare minimum and it wasn’t enough. I moved over 1 district and got much more!

Re: Considering a move

Like the previous poster said, a child would go to BOCES if a home district is unable to meet his or her needs.
I don't have a ton of info, but I believe that districts like Syosset, Half Hollow Hills, Patchogue-Medford, and Three Village provide strong special education programs. I do not have specific experience with any of these, but they may be districts to look into.

Considering a move

Many districts on Long Island try to house their students in their own districts if they have a program for then rather than immediate send out to BOCES. Your three top special ed districts on LI are going to be Half Hollow Hills, Commack and Three Village. Other districts may also provide good services but those thee are constantly among the best. I would also take a look at a district's finances if you can (which should be on their websites). There are most likely going to be cuts in aid coming and being in a more financially sound district is always better for special education services.

NEW Re: Considering a move

If you're worried about how far you'd have to move, there's a BOCES campus in Westbury, closer to Queens. But Suffolk's BOCES campuses generally have more extensive programs. It might be worth visiting these places to get a feel for their environment and resources.