Based on what happened with ESY last summer, I've opted to not do it again this summer. All the kids from the special ed preschool were split up and sent to different schools for the summer session. The program was only 4 weeks long. So by the time my son got used to the kids, staff and routine, it was time to go back to his regular class for the school year.

I'll be doing my own program for the summer. My son's therapy schedule will not change, so that will maintain some stability in routine. I've also recently joined the YMCA for his swim lessons and will look into gymnastics for him as well. For social time, there is a 'playcare' at the YMCA where kids can play for up to 2hrs a day while parents use the facility. Between that and play dates with former classmates and park time, I'm hoping that will keep his social skills up to par. I got a bunch of activities from the teacher supply store and craft supplies for 'learning time'. We have passes for local attractions (museum,aquarium,etc) and I figure I'll make a schedule each day for him so there will be some structure to his day.

@A MyAutismTeam Member Have you thought of calling the childrens hospital and requesting help with your search, perhaps they know of a children's camp for children with special needs.. Its worth a try..

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A MyAutis...

We are using websites at home like abcya.com and starfall.com; we also use songs from school on CD with visuals and manipulatives a few times a week at home. We also attend this retail chain for exposure rather than achievement, my son has behaviors as well but does gain from this type of engagement. It is in your state too.

The Little Gym of Puyallup
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This information won't help much this year. But hopefully it will for next. You need to preplan for ESY "extended school year" just like you do during the school year. So around March or April, start talking about what ESY will look like for your child. Many school districts offer a standard ESY package. That's not against IDEA law.... but refusing to consider an individual child's needs for ESY is against the law. The short story is.... ESY should be customized based on your child's needs. But most school districts won't offer that.... so YOU need to request it. I've done a variety of interesting things over the years. One year I got the school district to pay for an intensive program offered by an ABA clinic. One year we used our home staff to provide ESY services and the school district paid for that. A couple years we accepted the standard. This year the school district allowed him to participate in their work program. It varied on his needs at the time.

Its probably to late to get any special thing set up for this year. If you can't, then I suggest the following. Create or find a structured setting for x hours per week. Perhaps there's been a service that you can't tap into because you don't have the dough? Maybe that could be covered. This is always hard but I recommend thinking outside of the box.