Johnson City, Tenn. — A group of mothers of children with autism in Johnson City, Tennessee were worried about how their children were having problems trying to fit in while attending traditional schools.
Despite the fact that many are now aware of the steadily increasing number of those affected by autism spectrum disorder, resources and special schools for children with ASD still remain scarce.
The group decided to take the initiative and started planning for what is now known as the Jeremiah School— a school for children with autism.
One of the mothers in the group, Amy Lowe, shared how painful it was for her to watch how her son struggled in his previous school. She told:
“I don’t want him to be alone… I look into my sons eyes and I see him in his world, and he wants me to come into his world, and I sometimes don’t know how to do that.”
Jeremiah School will open this fall, but the school plans to start with a relatively small group of students— or at least for now— where they expect only around five or six children to enroll for the entire school year.
The school is planning to integrate physical activities into their program to help motivate the children, like doing yoga before starting with their lessons.
Jennifer Ledbetter, one of the two teachers at Jeremiah School this year, says the need for the special schools is evident everywhere. She told:
“I have seen the need, the parents feel it, the students feel it and the teachers in the public schools feel it too.”
The school is now accepting applications for the school year 2016-2017.
Source: Jordan Moore in wjhl.com Tri-Cities school opening this fall to focus on children with autism