TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A new private school for autistic children recently opened in Tallahassee and will accept up to 15 students this academic year.
The Inspire Autism Academy specializes in kindergarten through seventh grade. Unlike most other schools, the school will have no standardized testing. Such testing, school officials say, makes children with autism extremely anxious.
Jean Moore, the Inspire administrator, said the enrollment will be capped to ensure that every student has the proper one-on-one time with the teacher and the therapists.
"If a child functions at a lower level on the autism spectrum, public schools will send them to special education classes,” Moore said. "The high functioning ones get placed in regular classes with the rest of the students.
"My son felt like he didn’t fit in that environment. He would come home each day and tell me how frustrated he was; how depressed he felt. He didn’t feel like he had many friends.”
Moore said the academy, focusing on high-functioning children with autism, is unlike any other learning center in the area.
Tuition is covered fully by the Gardiner Scholarship, with funds available to all children on the autism spectrum.
For more information on how to apply, click here.
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