I have added a new school to the Florida Autism Schools page – Beyond The Spectrum, Inc in Sarasota, Florida. The school has two programs, the Mariposa Program is designed for children with autism spectrum disorder in grades kindergarten through 8th grade. The Monarch Program is for children with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, ADD, ADHD and General Behavior Disorders. The Monarch Program is designed for children in kindergarten through 5th grades.

For more information about the school, call 941-907-3443.

A new school for students with autism is opening in the San Francisco Bay Area this fall (2011). The school is located on Peninsula Avenue in San Matea and it has been added to my California Autism Schools page.

Our Non-Public School will provide students with the most appropriate environment and highest quality of individualized education in which they may learn and generalize their skills. Through emphasis on the student’s strengths and talents, we encourage self-expression, self-efficacy and independence. The Bay Area Achievement School supports our students’ ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with their peers to develop greater social skills.

Bay Area Achievement School serves children Kindergarten through 6th grade (ages 5-14) on the Autism Spectrum, as well as children whose behavior and/or disabilities impede learning in a traditional school environment. The Bay Area Achievement School works closely with the child’s home district to provide intensive educational and behavioral interventions that will help students access the skills required to return to a less restrictive environment.

At Bay Area Achievement School, we recognize the importance of adaptation of curricular materials in order to meet the individual needs of our students as well as developing teaching methodologies that work with the strengths of our students. Our students will thrive in a highly individualized teaching environment, with a 2:5 ratio, with a fully credentialed moderate-severe teacher and highly-trained paraprofessionals.

Bay Area Achievement School
424 Peninsula Avenue
San Mateo, California 94401
Phone: (650) 286-4396 xt. 113

I’ve added the Jordan Lake School of the Arts to my North Carolina Autism Schools page.

About the school:
Jordan Lake School of the Arts offers an advanced liberal arts program with a special focus on the arts and outdoor education. The arts allow an in depth exploration of our subjects as well personal expression. The learning environment at JLSA is inclusive, mixed age classes with a low 5:1 student to teacher ratio. We serve all types of students but specialize in inclusion of the gifted, out of the box thinkers, and those on the autism spectrum. Source: JLSA

Jordan Lake School of the Arts
1434 Farrington Road
Apex, North Carolina, 27523
Phone: (919) 387-9440
Email: contactjordanlakesacom

I have updated the New Jersey Autism Schools page to reflect new information about the autism programs available at several of the Y.A.L.E. School campuses.

The following campuses work with students with Autism or PDD-NOS:

• Audubon
• Hamilton Township
• Voorhees

The following campuses work withs students with Asperger’s Syndrome or ASD:

• Cherry Hill
• Mansfield Township
• Medford Lakes

I have added a second Georgia Autism School to my database – Jacob’s Ladder Neurodevelopmental School in Roswell, Georgia.

Jacob’s Ladder is an accredited private school that provides a comprehensive education to children in pre-K through grade 12. The school is designed to meet the unique educational challenges of children on the autism spectrum as well as those with learning disabilities, language delays, ADHD and a variety of other syndromes.

Therapy options at the school include music, yoga, neurofeedback, hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy, individual counseling, academic tutoring and more.

For more information about the school, please call Jacob’s Ladder directly at 770-998-1017.

Photo: capgros

Thanks to an email from a site reader, I have a new school to add to the California Autism Schools page – Five Acres Therapeutic School in Altadena, California.

Here is a bit of information about the school:

• The school was founded in 1981 as a Non-Public School (NPS)
• Five Acres Therapeutic School provides instructions to students eligible for special education services, including students on the autism spectrum
• Classrooms are equipped with networked computers
• Class sizes run 8 to 12 students per class
• Teacher to student ratio is 1:4
• Summer school program is available

For more information, please contact the Five Acres Therapeutic School at 626-798-6793 xt. 2315.

Photo: jimforest/Flickr

A new school for adolescents and teens with Asperger’s Syndrome will open this fall in Lafayette, Colorado. The new school will be named after Colorado State University professor and vocal autism advocate Temple Grandin. The Temple Grandin School will provide a comprehensive education to students in grades 6-12.

The following quote comes from the Temple Grandin School website:

“The Temple Grandin School is an innovative approach to integrating social communication support and challenging academic opportunities for individual learners. Adolescence brings with it many challenges for all youth. Teens with Asperger’s or other social communication challenges may well feel lost in a sea of unwritten rules, adrift and alone in trying to course the roiling waters of social communication. Indeed, these youth may feel like strangers in their own language with ambiguous expectations that seem so obvious to their peers, but often baffling or inconsequential to them. While many of these same adolescents may have extraordinary abilities in other areas, learning social communication skills is vital to the full expression of their knowledge and skills in clearing the path to reaching their potential. 



The University of Colorado’s Speech, Language, Hearing Center is excited to begin a collaboration with the fine teachers, parents, administrators, and students of the Temple Grandin School in order to help bridge the social communication gap between these students and their advancement into young adulthood in our society. Our community is fortunate to have this much-needed resource developing at this time.”



For more information about the program, call 303-554-7363.

Photo: jurvetson/Flickr

I have just updated the Autism Schools in California page to include several new schools including:

• AchieveKids – Palo Alto
• AchieveKids – San Jose
• Applied Behavior Consultants – Sacramento
• Beacon Day School – Orange
• Chartwell School – Seaside
• Crescent Academy – Tustin
• Frostig Center – Pasadena
• Land Park Academy – Sacramento
• Morgan Autism Center – San Jose
• Pacific Autism Center for Education – Santa Clara
• Pyramid Autism Center – Orange
• Spectrum Center Schools – Various Locations
• Sterne School – San Francisco
• Summit View West – Los Angeles
• Summit View Valley – Valley Glen
• The Kendall School – Modesto
• Tobinworld – Glendale
• Valley Achievement Center – Bakersfield
• Villa Esperanza – Pasadena

If you know of an autism school in California that isn’t on my list, please contact me.

Until today my autism schools in Delaware page was empty. However, I’ve recently learned of the Brennen School, Delaware Autism Program, that is part of the Christina School District. In addition to serving students in the Christina School District, the Brennen School also accepts students from the Appoquinimink, Colonial, Red Clay and Brandywine School Districts.

The Brennen School is located in Newark, Delaware and serves nearly 400 students between the age of 2 and 21 that are on the autism spectrum. The school is staffed at a 1 to 4 teacher to student ratio and has 1 speech pathologist for every 12 students enrolled.

Services offered at the school include occupational therapy, physical therapy, vocational training, music therapy, art, adaptive PE, residential services, parent training and more.

For more information on the Brennen School, please call the school directly at (302) 454-2202.

I have updated the Autism Schools in Connecticut page. Additions to the page include Benhaven, River Street School and the Giant Steps School.

Benhaven’s Learning Network Site Two School Program is located in Wallingford and is designed to meet the varied needs of children all across the autism spectrum. The school has been operating for more than 40 years and serves students from age 5 through age 21.

Located in Windsor, the River Street School is a service of the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC). The school serves students between the ages of 3 and 21 with autism and other conditions. Several programs area available including an extended school day program and a special vocational services program for students aged 15 and older.

The Giant Steps School in Southport accepts students between the ages of 3 and 21. The school has a comprehensive communication department that features speech-language pathologists, play therapists and an assistive technology specialist. Other programs offered at Giant Steps School include music therapy, an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) program, and vocational training for older students.

If you know of an autism school in Connecticut that is not on my list, please send me a note!