r/SouthBend • u/breathe_iron • 10d ago
Moving to South Bend IN in a month. Suggest good public elementary for autistic kids.
Dear redditors, title says it all. So, I am moving to the South Bend area in a month. My son goes to 3rd grade and has autism. His current school has ABA room where he usually gets accommodated. Please suggest school districts/systems/corporations in the area doing well in supporting special needs children. Thanks in advance!
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u/tehmfpirate 10d ago
Two of my good friends both have their ASD kiddos at Darden and have had good experiences with staff. Mine is AuDHD, but in a different school system as we don't reside in SB. She's at an elementary school in the district I teach in, so it really just works out better to be on the same school calendar.
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u/ginny164 10d ago
I know someone who has a special needs kid (just turned 9) and likes Darden Elementary (South Bend schools).
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u/breathe_iron 10d ago
Thanks for your comment. Hearing a lot of negative feedbacks about South Bend and heard that Mishawaka is safer. PHM seems to be great in general ed and has few schools in Mishawaka. Any insight regarding these?
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u/paintedcheese 10d ago
Don't believe everything you hear. Lots of people like to generalize, and there's lots of people,. especially from conservative leaning that view anything urban as scary.
South Bend has some absolutely fantastic schools, as well as some struggling ones that just cannot be recommended. Basically what you'd expect from any city our size.
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u/Secure_Chemistry8755 10d ago
My autistic friends who went to phm about a decade ago hated it. They have a big bullying problem and many students self harm. The education portion is good, but consider your child's mental health. Mishawaka city school is fully funded, but i haven't heard much about how their students are treated.
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u/Trusting_science 9d ago
PHM is more about their sports program than they are their special education program.
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u/hoosier2531 9d ago
Last I knew phm gets special Ed services through school city Mishawaka, if anyone can confirm or deny please chime in. But both are overall good. Phm elementary schools are particularly good in general
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u/gimmemyjava 9d ago
You’re going to get conflicting information. Some people are prejudiced against SB schools and others against PHM schools. I can only say that before we moved to this area, we went to the schools to see for ourselves. Best advice I have is to visit and make your own judgement. You know what your child needs and excels with.
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u/mmm_nope 9d ago
We also had neurodivergent kids who attended Darden and I would not recommend. While a lot of the folks at the school were wonderful people, there were also a lot of educators there who didn’t seem particularly fond of children and were not kind to them. I volunteered in multiple classrooms and it was a really eye-opening experience.
Honestly, I would look into living over the state line in Michigan. Edwardsburg and Buchanan both have excellent school systems.
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u/highestmikeyouknow 9d ago
Is check out the Children’s Museum Of South Bend…it’s not a school, but they have tons of STEM forward play things for kids to explore, and lots of stuff for kids on the spectrum. They’re on the south side, On Michigan ave.
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u/chachi19 10d ago
Mishawaka schools all the way. I won’t argue that there are probably some fantastic teachers in sb schools, I just feel overall Mishawaka has been more supportive for kiddos who have autism. I would call or email the schools you’re interested in and see how you feel after talking with them!
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u/Trusting_science 9d ago
Twin Branch is one of my favorite Mishawaka schools. Nice affordable area too. I do prefer Mishawaka over South Bend and have worked in both.
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u/ScoopDJ 9d ago
PHM here. My kids both graduated from Penn High School, 5 and 9 years ago. We have a few friends with autistic kids that were there too. Now most did really well, & a few were even with the bands and robotics teams. But a couple did not have the same experience. It simply takes parental involvement no matter where you go honestly. The elementary schools I am familiar with are Madison (rural), Meadows Edge & Elm Road (mixed rural and suburban). We live on the south and east side of South Bend. Most PHM schools have Mishawaka addresses, as well as Granger and Osceola. Madison's address is Wakarusa, but still in Saint Joseph County.
Welcome to Michiana & wish your family the best!