I've taken three Son-Rise Program courses here! This is such an amazing, life changing experience!…read moreThe approach is so loving. Letting the child with autism initiate and lead interaction by respecting and joining in their stim or "ism". It is an amazing way to bond with your child in their world so that you can then build a bridge for them to cross into yours. It gives you the tools to improve your attitude. Then you may better help your child to learn and grow and have happy, healthy relationships.

Thanks to Sonrise (Autism Treatment Center of America) my son is recovered from autism just like…read morethe founders' son Raun. He now has friends and even a girl friend, and the director at his school says he is the most mature, kind, and compassionate 14 year old boy she has ever known. We spent 5 years on biomed and saw some improvement, but the great improvement happened when we started Sonrise. Now after 3 1/2 years of Sonrise we have met our goals. You can call and talk with their program advisors at any time. They are extremely helpful.

If you are perspective, parent thinking about sending your child to Franklin Perkins school DO…read moreNOT!! It is not a safe environment and the staff do not have adequate training to deal with the population that they have. On Tuesday November 20th 2025, my 9 year old son and I went to go tour Franklin Perkins for an out of district placement during our visit there my son was physically assaulted by another student. The assault occurred as we were being shown down the hallway by our tour guide Jennifer McGrail. There had been absolutely no prior interaction between my son and the student. My son had walked down the hallway as directed by the tour guide Jennifer McGrail, and as he walked past to go to the next stop on our tour, the student punched my son very hard in the face after this happened, I immediately took my son and removed him from the building, as it was very clear that the staff at Franklin Perkins do not receive the proper training to deal with the emotional dysregulation of the kids in their care. Jennifer McGrail Disclose to us that the student who assaulted my son had been at Franklin Perkins for six months that is certainly adequate time to understand a student's needs and have a comprehensive safety plan in place to keep the student as well as others safe. Furthermore, at the time of this incident, the student who assaulted my son had a one on one aid with him in the hallway and that aid failed to react and prevent the situation from occurring .An apology was never issued to my son in person. Upon leaving the school, we went straight to seek medical attention. Later that night, the vice principal Dawn Bentley called us. It was very clear in the phone call that she does not have adequate training or experience to talk to parents or deal with situations like this as much of a phone call was sitting in silence with her, not knowing how to deal with the situation and very much felt like she was reaching out to us to make herself feel better/gauge our response. I feel very bad for the students at this program who are not being given the support that they need/deserve. Jennifer McGrail and Dawn Bentley are an absolute embarrassment to the educational field save yourselves and your children, the trauma, and skip this joke of an establishment

Horrible place with abuse and will neglect your children. My son almost committed suicide because…read moreof the treatment he received and the staff and administratiom did not try to prevent it at all and ignored my son. He jumped off the roof and broke both his legs and a few ribs and the staff just stood there and watched. It was a student who ended up calling emergency services and the staff stonewalled emergency services saying they didnt see anything. Nothing good was done for my son in this place. Don't believe anyone who tells you this is a safe place for your children. They are covering up their abuse because of the money they receive from the state and private donations. If you value your child's life and safety DO NOT SEND THEM TO DR. FRANLIN PERKINS SCHOOL! Lives are ruined there.

My daughter attended this school for about a year in 2025- not a safe school. Bullying is reported…read morebut not addressed, verbal aggression is allowed, staff are not good at de-escalation or using evidenced based approach to teach skills to youth with ASD. I spoke to many other parents who had bad experiences. Does not collaborate well with outside providers. Caused major regression in behavior and no access to vocational opportunities. Poorly run from the top down. New leadership needed. Your kid would be better off at home than here!

Amazing campus, although it would be better if they had a flagpole out front of the school and…read moreflags in each classroom and a flag in the gym to make it feel more like a school and comfortable

My daughter has attended Simply Social Kids for the past 2+ years. It's been a great learning…read moreexperience for her, with in-the-moment social coaching and short, entertaining lessons to help her learn about/understand social expectations and self-regulation. Nadine and her team do a great job leading the weekly sessions. Periodic check-ins with Nadine and/or other class leaders have been helpful to us as parents to know what progress our child has made, and give us ideas of how to help her at home. Highly recommend!

I have a 10 year old boy who has been diagnosed with mild autism (ASD). He struggles most with…read moresocial interactions, the "give and take" of conversations, how to show interest in others' conversation, and how to appropriately join a dialogue. We have a full fall scheduled but this summer we attended a weekly class at Simply Social Kids. I am so glad we did! The instructor was wonderful! We spoke on the phone and over email and she was very receptive to keeping me updated on the week's activities. I learned behavior cues, to help my son stop and pause to allow other to speak. My son really enjoyed the activities, which to him were just play, while important social practice was embedded creatively by his instructor. I wish we were able to continue in the fall, but hopefully we can revisit in the spring. The director is committed to keeping her staff trained, comes with a great resume herself, and was extremely helpful. It is obvious these instructors have a passion for helping children be their best selves. Thank you Simply Social Kids for providing a safe and natural learning environment for my son to relax and be himself, learn about others and grow socially, without the critical eye of the world around him. I cannot thank you enough!

I had contacted Rhode Island Advocacy for Children after 3+ years of trying to get my son the…read moreplacement he needed.   His school could not provide the services my son needed and was covering up the fact my son was way behind, he was been labeled a disciplinary problem even though he was the one bullied and was physically abused several times by other students.  The last attack happened a month ago and left him with a severe concussion and hearing issue.  My son's school district had broken the IEP & 504 law repeatedly and tried to cover everything up and always made excuses or blamed him.   Rhode Island Advocacy for Children went far and beyond what I had expected and provided 100 % fantastic service.  Joanna Scocchi and Linda Kortick ,  came with me to my IEP meeting and they were successful in working with the school to change my son's placement to where he needed to be!  With Rhode Island Advocacy by my side they were all of a sudden doing the right thing!  My son is now on the road to recovery with much stronger education supports - something that I had tried to get from the school for years and years!   If it was not for Rhode Island Advocacy for Children I don't believe I would have gotten a private placement from the School district and I would have ended up removing my son from school permanently and just given up!  Thank you both for working so hard.  I came to you desperate, hopeless, frustrated after years of getting nowhere and I entrusted you with my son's education and safety.  You made sure you took that to heart as if my child was your # 1 priority!  To anyone who needs support: honestly believe you can trust Rhode Island Advocacy for Children because they do have a heart of gold and don't charge gold prices. Their fees are reasonable because I called other advocates and talked to a lawyer about this before reaching out to Rhode Island Advocacy for Children.  A lawyer that specializes in IEP & 504 laws gave me an idea of what they would charge for my son's case and it would have been easier and cheaper to pay for the placement out of pocket then fight the school!  If you tried to fix the problem alone like I did and got nowhere, do not wait 3 years and call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children as soon as possible  If you didn't start fighting yet, it would be easier to call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children first because you'll probably be ignored and your child is the only one to suffer ! Thank you.

We are so thrilled that we found Forman. It has certainly been a game changer for my son. He came…read morein as a rising Junior full of self doubt about his future and capabilities, and will graduate in a few months as a Senior who has been accepted by an excellent selection of quality colleges. He "found" his learning style with the help of the caring, talented educators at Forman. This DID NOT happen at his large public (highly rated) high school. Socially, he "found" his voice and "his people". If you have a child who struggles due to learning differences, please give Forman a look. They KNOW what they're doing, and do it well.

Last year our daughter came to us stating that there was no way she was going to be able to go to…read morecollege and that she doubted that she would graduate from High School. She is smart, a hard worker but was so discouraged because her learning differences didn't allow her to progress in the environment she was in and her self esteem just crashed. We visited many school and found that Forman seemed to offer the most to give her the help and support she needed. After almost a year there (her junior) it is a completely different world for her. She is not only excited about finding the "right " college but talks about graduate school. The staff and teachers at Forman are not only dedicated and caring - but determined to guide each student to their potential. My only wish is that we had found Forman School her freshman year but are profoundly grateful for the time she does have there. It's a life changer!!

This place sucks. The staff members are rude and disrespectful, took my family member printer and…read moretook that for granted. The floors are supposedly slippery, and you can fall so easily. The rooms are so tiny, the kinds are running in a little line! I do not recommend this place. If you have a kid you has autism I recommend Children Making Strides!

A wonderful school in West Hartford for special needs children. All of the classes (for the most…read morepart) have a 2 to 1 student to teacher ratio. They do so much more than just teach here. Physical therapy and speech services are just a couple of the other services they provide. They also have work programs with a life coach for the older students to help,them transition. Countless extracurricular activities for the students as well to include dances, field trips, and other events such as pasta night and St. Patrick's day celebration. IEC is truly an amazing place and the folks who work there are incredible.

I am a grandparent a child that goes to intensive education academy. I meet many parents at the…read morefamily nights which iea hosts at least once a month. And almost all of us indicate that iea has actually saved are disabled children. I e a is one of the few if not the only schools in which a child can get and Orton Gillingham reading education and also a life skills class. It is absolutely amazing to see the things that the life skills class and Mrs berube do for the children. They bring them on community trips, they run a coffee shack three times a week, they bake for events, and the kids there learn that community is most important. I would recommend looking at iea for anyone who needs both intensive reading education and life skills. But those are not the only things they offer they offer education children. There is music education, art education, physical education and health along with clubs that support children's interests. Intensive education academy is truly amazing. .