My daughter, a young woman of 19 years old diagnosed with aspergers.-is passionately interested in the arts--painting, composing music and singing. Her talents lie primarily in the area of visual arts. She is dyslexic, has learning difficulties in math and although she is bright and articulate, her social difficulties and meltdowns as she has moved through adolescence have caused her to move from school to school. She has lost a lot of time out of school. She needs to complete a high school diploma. She has a fourth grade reading level and a lower math level. We are looking for a residential school within an hour of Washington DC, Boston, New York, Michigan or Atlanta (Places where she has relatives) that is oriented towards autism spectrum disorders. The places to which we have been referred so far either cater to young people with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties or mildly retarded young people but she is very resistant to such environments. Please help.

-- Diana Baird N'Diaye (diadiaye@hotmail.com), August 20, 2000

Answers

Nothing specific to recommend, though you might contact the Autism Society of America(vox:301-657-0881;fax:301-657-0869).Perhaps they can point you toward some possibilities?

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), August 22, 2000.