SPECIAL NOTE TO OUT-OF-STATE PARENTS
CT FEAT frequently
receives inquiries from out-of-state parents seeking information
about public school services in Connecticut. Typically, such parents
are seeking specific guidance regarding selecting the best school
systems for special education services.
Unfortunately, CT FEAT does not compile specific information about
individual school systems. One of the reasons is that the
information is constantly changing.
Please do not call our hot line or request to join our listserv.
These services are available only to Connecticut parents.
Our organization is run by parent volunteers and the hours we can
volunteer are limited. We reluctantly have concluded that we can no
longer take the time to respond to requests for information
regarding services in Connecticut.
While CT FEAT cannot advise you about specific towns, we do provide
a great deal of information on our web site which should help you in
your decision-making process.
Unlike many states, Connecticut does not have a single state-wide or
even county-wide system of public education. Instead, each of
Connecticut's 169 towns has its own separate school system.
Services available within a given town can vary rather dramatically,
even from year to year. Individual children within the same town can
be receiving significantly different kinds of services.
The most important variable affecting the quality of services in a
given district seems to be ongoing parental advocacy. Sometimes a
good quality program will collapse completely simply because a given
family, with good advocacy skills, moved on to a different school or
town.
In some instances, an influx of new families into a town reputed to
have good services has resulted in the diminishment or even
elimination of those services.
Anecdotal information from our parent community suggests that some
of the wealthiest towns sometimes provide the worst services. If you
are interested in a specific town, it's a good idea to personally
contact its director of special education services to learn more
about that town's particular approach to autism intervention. Good
luck!