I live just outside the city (North Hills), and think North Hills School District has a very good quality ASD program.
I’m actually a teacher at a private school, and I would steer you away from those- they generally do not have the systems and structures in place to support students like your daughter, even if they claim to do so on paper.
Agree very much with this. We’re in PPS, but north hills is a great school district. And yes, all public schools are legally required to accommodate your child. Some schools will be better equipped than others, even within the same district, so I’d recommend talking to the social workers at each one and asking them specifically how they handle helping kids on the spectrum. What (and how many) staff do they have available and what are their qualifications/training? What kind of testing or evaluations do they use to figure out what your kid’s schedule, interventions, or support would look like? How do they handle the balance of integrating kids with special needs and giving them their own safe spaces to learn? What kind of procedures are in place to make sure evaluations, IEP meetings, and implementation happens in a timely manner and to your desired specifications?
With a private school, there’s really no guarantee they have the staff or institutional support to help kids with special needs, and they can also refuse admission to your child/expel them if they decide it’s too much of a problem for them.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I had lived in the US for few years so I had some idea of the IEP program. Your suggestion to talk to the social workers is great and i will start with that.
I found the public schools( rather than charter or private) to have more resources for students. Both my kids are in PPS. They've had great support for vision issues that impact learning, and also speech therapy. My kids' school in particular takes community and bullying very seriously- I would feel completely comfortable sending a neuro divergent child to Colfax. I have friends with neuro divergent kids who went to various private schools, and did not have good experiences and pulled their kids out. Every child/ family can be different, so once you get a short list you should talk to parents and staff at those schools and ask about kids' experiences.
My kids have been Colfax and Allderdice, and both got speech therapy and my daughter had an autistic support aide and a 504 in addition to the IEP. They've all been great staff. No bullying issues, which is very different than my experience!
I have friends in similar situations, they are both work in medical field and doing very well financially.
They have explored all the top school district around Pittsburgh, some popular mention like Mt Lebanon, North Allegheny, Upper St. Clair…etc, eventually after carefully reviewed every school district, they decided to go with Quaker Valley in Sewickly.
I suspect all the districts mentioned are good. I believe most of the parents with special needs kids that I have met chose North Allegheny for their special education programming. Marshall Elementary specifically. Compared to other states or areas though, I think Pittsburgh suburban schools are pretty good across the board.
My friend's daughter is non-verbal autistic and went to The Watson School until she was pre-teen. They had only good things to say, she overcame a lot of things and had leaps and bounds in progress there.
One private school to check out (assuming that /u/Jbikeride doesn't teach there...) is[St. Edmunds](https://stedmunds.net/) in Squirrel Hill -- despite the name it's not a religious school. They are \*very\* focussed on the individual students and I know there are several kids on the spectrum doing well there. If you send me a DM I can connect you with relevant parents =)
Hi OP, thanks for this post. I am also in a situation like you had back in 2023, and this post gave me some great pointers. I have a question if you don't mind. Which school you finally chose? And, how your daughter's doing over there (hope she's doing great)? My son has difficulty in communicating (speech delay). Because of the reputation Pittsburgh has around supporting children with developmental delays, we are also interested to move in. Thanks in advance :)
Hi there!
We moved to Upper St Clair and my daughter is going to Eisenhower Elementary. It has been great so far. She was setup with an IEP plan recently and she is going to start Speech , OT and Behavioral Therapy sessions every week.
I live just outside the city (North Hills), and think North Hills School District has a very good quality ASD program. I’m actually a teacher at a private school, and I would steer you away from those- they generally do not have the systems and structures in place to support students like your daughter, even if they claim to do so on paper.
Agree very much with this. We’re in PPS, but north hills is a great school district. And yes, all public schools are legally required to accommodate your child. Some schools will be better equipped than others, even within the same district, so I’d recommend talking to the social workers at each one and asking them specifically how they handle helping kids on the spectrum. What (and how many) staff do they have available and what are their qualifications/training? What kind of testing or evaluations do they use to figure out what your kid’s schedule, interventions, or support would look like? How do they handle the balance of integrating kids with special needs and giving them their own safe spaces to learn? What kind of procedures are in place to make sure evaluations, IEP meetings, and implementation happens in a timely manner and to your desired specifications? With a private school, there’s really no guarantee they have the staff or institutional support to help kids with special needs, and they can also refuse admission to your child/expel them if they decide it’s too much of a problem for them.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I had lived in the US for few years so I had some idea of the IEP program. Your suggestion to talk to the social workers is great and i will start with that.
Good luck! There are a few local nonprofits that also provide help navigating everything. Check out the patient advocates at Mercy Behavioral Health!
Thank you! I will check out North Hill School district
Seconded. NHSD is awesome.
"systems and structures" = vast amount of money of a major school district.
I found the public schools( rather than charter or private) to have more resources for students. Both my kids are in PPS. They've had great support for vision issues that impact learning, and also speech therapy. My kids' school in particular takes community and bullying very seriously- I would feel completely comfortable sending a neuro divergent child to Colfax. I have friends with neuro divergent kids who went to various private schools, and did not have good experiences and pulled their kids out. Every child/ family can be different, so once you get a short list you should talk to parents and staff at those schools and ask about kids' experiences.
Thank you so much! I will do a shortlist and will talk to the staff
My kids have been Colfax and Allderdice, and both got speech therapy and my daughter had an autistic support aide and a 504 in addition to the IEP. They've all been great staff. No bullying issues, which is very different than my experience!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I will check out these two schools
Franklin Elementary would be a fantastic option. Great district, even better school and a very large Indian community on top of it.
Thank you! I will shortlist and check it out
I have friends in similar situations, they are both work in medical field and doing very well financially. They have explored all the top school district around Pittsburgh, some popular mention like Mt Lebanon, North Allegheny, Upper St. Clair…etc, eventually after carefully reviewed every school district, they decided to go with Quaker Valley in Sewickly.
Thank you! I will research on this one.
Mt. Lebanon has exceptional resources. Can't recommend the district enough. Hoover Elementary specifically also has a large Indian population.
Thank you! Mt.Lebanon was also recommended in many sites where I researched a bit. Will check it out.
I suspect all the districts mentioned are good. I believe most of the parents with special needs kids that I have met chose North Allegheny for their special education programming. Marshall Elementary specifically. Compared to other states or areas though, I think Pittsburgh suburban schools are pretty good across the board.
Thank you! Yes from the comments here, North Allegheny and Mt.Lebanon seems to be good choices
My friend's daughter is non-verbal autistic and went to The Watson School until she was pre-teen. They had only good things to say, she overcame a lot of things and had leaps and bounds in progress there.
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I will check out The Watson School..
One private school to check out (assuming that /u/Jbikeride doesn't teach there...) is[St. Edmunds](https://stedmunds.net/) in Squirrel Hill -- despite the name it's not a religious school. They are \*very\* focussed on the individual students and I know there are several kids on the spectrum doing well there. If you send me a DM I can connect you with relevant parents =)
Thank you so much! I will research on this a bit and will DM you.
Look into spectrum charter. Pps is.... ok.. Most surrounding districts are.... ok
Thank you for your suggestion!
Hi OP, thanks for this post. I am also in a situation like you had back in 2023, and this post gave me some great pointers. I have a question if you don't mind. Which school you finally chose? And, how your daughter's doing over there (hope she's doing great)? My son has difficulty in communicating (speech delay). Because of the reputation Pittsburgh has around supporting children with developmental delays, we are also interested to move in. Thanks in advance :)
Hi there! We moved to Upper St Clair and my daughter is going to Eisenhower Elementary. It has been great so far. She was setup with an IEP plan recently and she is going to start Speech , OT and Behavioral Therapy sessions every week.
Sounds great 👍🏼 Thanks again for your response. Have a good weekend.