To prospective parents interested in pursuing the angel program , I caution you to communicate with the school principle , assistant principle , and the director of the angel program prior to making the commitment to joining the program . I also strongly encourage you to read this review as I do not want the same thing to happen to parents of children with special needs .
The Autism Intervention and Guidance for Early Learners (ANGEL) Program at Holy Rosary Catholic School seemed too good to be true. Our youngest child was diagnosed with autism in May of 2019. Like any parent at the beginning of a chronic diagnosis , we felt defeated and hopeless . How could we help our child and what environment would provide safety as well as an individualized approach to learning ? Many calls were made to many centers who were not able to accommodate for autistic children. After many discouraging calls, we discovered the angel program. We were so intrigued and even blessed to know of a school that allowed the atypical child to work alongside the neurotypical child .
We toured the school with the assistant principal and our child. The school , parishioners , and staff appeared very humble and kind. We discussed the diagnosis and were assured that our child would be welcome with open arms despite the disability. We left feeling a sense of peace. Despite these differences , we found a place that was dedicated to working with developmental delays and seemed very focused on embracing each child and creating a safe environment . Not to mention, it was a catholic school and we wanted to raise our son in the catholic faith. All so good. So many emotions and so many thank yous to God for placing us in this unique place.
The first month proved to be challenging. Anyone with an autistic child knows that a change in routine can be devastating . The teacher appeared stressed with all of the different therapists from TEIS cooking into the classroom and when asked about Luke's progress, we were assured things were going ok. To assist with this transition , we offered to gradually introduce our child into the classroom by bringing him in several hours per day with gradual increases as his anxiety decreased. With each week, our son seemed to be more confident and less apprehensive . As a family , we also felt confident and less apprehensive . Our son was growing ,and he was happy. What more could one ask for?
After a month of attending class Monday through Friday , we began to receive emails from the assistant principal regarding our son's lack of developmental progress and the concern that he needed more assistance after having conversations with the angel program director .
At the time, he received speech therapy , occupational therapy , and ABA therapy. We agreed that the ABA hours did need to be increased and that he was in need of more early intervention. However, there began to be barriers to achieving increases in therapy.
This is where the feelings of doubt started to notably increase.
As we agreed that our son needed additional ABA hours , we contacted his current BCBA and asked to quadruple his ABA hours at the least . We were quickly advised that we could not use our ABA therapist at the school for additional hours and that our son would need to seek such therapy outside of the school.
We were provided with the options of only bringing our son to holy rosary two days per week, paying $35,000 to have a full time BCBA in the classroom( with this option being strongly discouraged by the principal) or allowing our son to stay two half days per week.
As two full time working parents , these opinions seemed next to impossible in the middle of a semester . How could we transition our son into more therapy while maintaining jobs ? To intensify ABA therapy takes months. Months. One must have a neuropsychologist evaluation prior to seeking insurance approval for additional ABA hours. Most often , neuropsychologist have a 3 plus month waiting list at best in the Memphis area . Additionally , ABA centers have anywhere from a 6-12 month waiting list.
We felt so discouraged. How could we achieve the above ultimatum so quickly ? How could we create more change for a child that craved routine and how could someone who promised hope and security not give our son a chance to thrive ?
I write this out of pure concern for prospective parents , as I now have learned numerous families before me have experienced the same difficulties with this program . Welcomed with open arms of reassurance only to be turned away or shunned after being accepted and left scrounging for placement in other local centers .
I want parents of special needs
Children to know this information before accepting a spot into
The program. The diagnosis itself is brutal . Being rejected prior to stating is brutal. Being rejected after acceptance , even worse . May each of you with special needs
Children be blessed . read more