xMINDS: Major Cuts to MCPS Autism Services - Autism Unit Reduced by half

REDUCTIONS IN AUTISM-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE RAISE CONCERNS

As Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor enters his second year and Dr. Margaret Cage is early in her first year leading the Division of Specialized Support Services, MCPS is executing significant changes to special education that directly affect autistic students and their families.

We have learned of reductions and reorganization within MCPS special education, including the elimination of supervisors of services important to autistic students: Autism Services, Speech and Language Services, Transition Services, and Alternate Learning Outcomes. Most concerning, the Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half. Two positions were eliminated, and five psychologists with autism-specific assessment expertise were reassigned to general caseloads, dispersing specialized knowledge that has long supported schools and IEP teams. At its peak, the Autism Unit included 21 full-time specialists serving 73 schools. The unit’s longtime supervisor, Kristin Ericson, is also departing after 43 years at MCPS, representing a major loss of expertise and institutional knowledge. For more information, go to:  Superintendent's Recommended Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget Superintendent's Recommended Special Education Staffing Plan Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget Important Upcoming Dates: Board of Education Public Hearings: Thursday, January 15, and Tuesday, January 27, 2026 Board of Education Board Work Sessions: January 20, and January 29, 2026 Tentative Board of Education Adoption: Thursday, February 19, 2026 Final Adoption: Expected Thursday, June 4, 2026

UNCERTAINTY AHEAD It remains unclear how autism services will be delivered under the new structure or how schools or educators will access specialized support. These changes come at a time when MCPS projects continued growth in the number of students with autism and plans to expand its Classic Autism program into three new schools with 10-13 additional classes — raising urgent questions about capacity, training, and oversight. WHY THIS MATTERS Autistic students often require specialized support tailored to their unique learning styles. Even well-intentioned educators who lack training in autism may struggle to provide effective support, as they may misinterpret what they are observing.  Reducing autism-specific staffing while expanding autism programs risks leaving schools without the expertise necessary to meet students’ needs. https://xminds.org/resources/EmailTemplates/News%20Webpage%20January%202026/index_preview.html

MCPS parents worried about proposed changes to special education staffing at schools

 https://www.fox5dc.com/news/mcps-parents-frustrated-about-proposed-staffing-changes-special-education-departments

BREAKING: Taylor Proposes Major Cuts to Autism Services *** Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half***

 

As Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor enters his second year and Dr. Margaret Cage is early in her first year leading the Division of Specialized Support Services, MCPS is executing significant changes to special education that directly affect autistic students and their families.

We have learned of reductions and reorganization within MCPS special education, including the elimination of supervisors of services important to autistic students: Autism Services, Speech and Language Services, Transition Services, and Alternate Learning Outcomes. Most concerning, the Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half. Two positions were eliminated, and five psychologists with autism-specific assessment expertise were reassigned to general caseloads, dispersing specialized knowledge that has long supported schools and IEP teams. At its peak, the Autism Unit included 21 full-time specialists serving 73 schools. The unit’s longtime supervisor, Kristin Ericson, is also departing after 43 years at MCPS, representing a major loss of expertise and institutional knowledge... https://xminds.org/resources/EmailTemplates/News%20Webpage%20January%202026/index_preview.html

Montgomery County paraeducator accused of kicking child with autism

A paraeducator in Montgomery County was charged with child abuse Monday after she was accused of kicking an elementary-school-aged child with autism in the chest because the boy drank some of her soda.

Meleni Hoffman, 32, faces felony abuse and misdemeanor assault charges in Rockville District Court, where she is scheduled for a hearing next month.

Hoffman, who has not been arrested, did not respond to messages left on a publicly listed phone number. As of Wednesday, a lawyer was not listed as representing her in court records.

Investigators say that on April 9, at Candlewood Elementary, Hoffman took out a snack “that interested the kids in the class,” causing them to gather around her. One child ran over and “took a sip of her soda,” police said...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/21/montgomery-county-paraeducator-accused-of-kicking-child-with-autism/?share=wec8agytaelaskoumum2

Opinion: Cutting MCPS autism program is detrimental mistake

Darnestown Elementary Learning Center is only one focused on autistic-specific strategies

As parents of children with autism (ASD) attending Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), we are not strangers to advocating for our students’ needs. We attend countless Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, we research local ASD resources for help and accommodations, we attempt to comprehend the federal and Maryland education and disability laws, and we champion the voices for our neurodiverse children. But once considered at the forefront of special education, MCPS has taken one step forward and two steps back when it comes to taking accountability and creating the best-possible learning environments for our children on the spectrum. 

In March, the dissolution of the autism program within the Darnestown Elementary Learning Center (ELC) was announced during the school’s PTA meeting and was later confirmed by MCPS central staff at the Board of Education meeting...

https://moco360.media/2024/04/06/opinion-cutting-mcps-autism-program-is-detrimental-mistake/

Montgomery County parents slam plan to cut staff for autistic students

DARNESTOWN, Md. - Parents in Montgomery County are expressing major concerns over a planned staffing change in the upcoming school year impacting students with autism.

Currently, 60 students attend the Darnestown Learning Center at Darnestown Elementary School. The center has 12 paraeducators, which are school employees who work under the supervision of teachers or other professional practitioners.

Half of them will be reassigned to other locations in the next school year, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed Tuesday...

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/montgomery-county-parents-slam-plan-to-cut-staff-for-autistic-students

School District Changing Where Students with Autism Diagnosis are Enrolled

Five parents who urged members of the Board of Education (BOE) not to reduce its Darnestown Autism Learning Center learned Tuesday that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is changing the way it educates students with an autism diagnosis.

Currently, 60 students attend the Darnestown center. Beginning with the next school year, fewer students with autism will be sent to this center. However, all students requiring special services as required by their Individual Education Program will attend schools where their needs will be met...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/school-district-changing-where-students-with-autism-diagnosis-are-enrolled/

Mom Hasn’t Seen Son With Autism Since March Because Of COVID-19 Lockdown

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/06/02/mom-hasnt-seen-son-autism-lockdown/28398/

COVID-19: Helping Families With Special Needs During a Public Health Crisis

As a mother of a daughter with autism and intellectual disabilities, as well as a professional in the human services field, I am all too familiar with the unique challenges facing families of individuals with special needs.

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic brings additional worry. In these unprecedented and uncertain times, there are many steps families and caregivers can take – such as the ones listed below – to provide reassurance to children and adults living with emotional, behavioral and cognitive differences...

https://autismspectrumnews.org/covid-19-helping-families-with-special-needs-during-a-public-health-crisis/?utm_content=122928152&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-38526568767&fbclid=IwAR1GegBtv53Ssdjgqg98ylF7hrfTAs7iJidpLJgkHVNEGpP0cdKcOxqb4TU

ABC News: Student with autism steals the show with inspiring graduation speech

Breaking: Justice Department Settles with Montgomery County, Maryland, After School Program to Ensure Compliance with the ADA

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Bar-T Year Round Programs for Kids (Bar-T), located in Montgomery County, Maryland, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, including child care centers, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and those associated with them.  Bar-T is the largest provider of before and after school programs in Montgomery County, operating at approximately 30 Montgomery County public school locations.    

The department investigated whether Bar-T discriminated against a student with a disability, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and her parents when it expelled the student on the basis of behaviors associated with ASD, without properly considering whether Bar-T staff could implement reasonable modifications to permit the student to remain enrolled.  The settlement agreement requires Bar-T to adopt a nondiscrimination policy; designate staff at each operating location to address ADA issues; implement a process for parents or guardians of children with disabilities to request reasonable modifications and for Bar-T to conduct an individualized assessment of each request; provide ADA training to staff; and report on compliance with the agreement.  Bar-T will also pay $13,500 in compensatory damages to the student and her parents.

 “Through this agreement, Bar-T is taking important steps to make sure that all children in its programs, including children with disabilities, will be given the opportunity to have a positive and successful experience in a supportive after school environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. 

 “Children with disabilities deserve equal opportunities to attend after school programs.  The policies Bar-T has agreed to implement will ensure that its programs provide an inclusive environment for all students,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning.

To read the settlement agreement or for more information on the ADA, visit www.ada.gov.  For more information about the ADA, including how to file a complaint, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-montgomery-county-maryland-after-school-program-ensure-compliance

Bar-T Settlement Agreement

Young adults with autism face many new expectations and challenges — with none of the support that is available during high school.

A giant wave of children diagnosed with autism in the 1990s are now reaching adulthood. Researchers estimate that about 50,000 young people with autism turn 18 every year. What’s clear is that this is a perilous phase for many of them, with at least three times the rate of social isolation and far higher rates of unemployment compared with people who have other disabilities. Whereas the majority of young people with language impairments or learning disabilities live independently, less than one-quarter of young adults with autism ever do so...

https://spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/twenty-something-free-fall/

Montgomery County is unusual, if not unique, in creating such a program.

In a science class at Lakelands Park Middle School, 13-year-old Mike Keller sat between his professional aide and his science partner during a lesson about how force affects balance. The Montgomery County teen, who has autism, stood up a few times in a burst of energy and once walked out of the room. But with some redirection from his aide, he appeared to focus on a series of questions that his teacher posted on the whiteboard.
His teacher asked him an easy yes-or-no question at one point, and as an aide held a keyboard in front of him, Mike typed the word “Yes” on the iPad, followed by a touch of sarcasm: “Duh.”
Mike is not able to speak. He points at letters on a laminated alphabet board or types on a keyboard that an aide holds. Nationally, most students who can’t talk are in self-contained classrooms or autism programs or, like Mike used to be, in a separate school for students with severe disabilities.
But five years ago, Mike and his mother traveled to Texas to explore a novel communication technique called Rapid Prompting Method that led to what his family describes as a breakthrough. About a year later, he joined a new pilot program in Montgomery County Public Schools for autistic students who rely on keyboards and communication partners...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/parents-of-autistic-children-are-pushing-schools-to-allow-controversial-communication-techniques/2017/02/28/1bd33da2-ed6a-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html?utm_term=.1df8072f08f7

[The Washington Post is] doing a disservice to individuals with autism and their families by printing an article that [implies] folks with autism can be so dangerous that they must be shocked into compliance.

The only articles I would be interested in reading on this topic are (1) one announcing the closure of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center or (2) one announcing that aversive shock punishment is illegal to use on individuals with disabilities.

I have an adult son with autism who has engaged in self-injurious behavior. It was decreased through use of a positive behavioral plan, designed by a competent psychologist and monitored with data collection. Any medication prescribed to him was overseen by a board-certified psychiatrist with expertise in working with autistic individuals.

Under no circumstances would I ever consider aversive shock punishment (don’t call it “therapy”) for my son or any of his peers. You are doing a disservice to individuals with autism and their families by printing an article that [implies] folks with autism can be so dangerous that they must be shocked into compliance.

Lyda Astrove, Rockville, Md.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/letters-readers-respond-to-stories-about-active-shooters-autism-therapy/2016/12/20/759c499e-be2d-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.839587c7f527 

Virgin Group invests in Auticon to help employ more adults with autism in the UK

London, 20 October 2016 – Following Auticon’s recent launch in the UK, Auticon Group CEO Kurt Schöffer is delighted to announce Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and UK charity Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as new investors in Auticon.
The investment will help enable Auticon, which exclusively hires IT consultants on the autism spectrum, to accelerate its growth in the UK IT market. Originally founded in Germany in 2011, Auticon only launched its UK office in spring 2016, and is already working with UK companies on IT projects with its newly recruited consultants.
The investment by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Group also offers Auticon a chance to promote social change in attitudes towards autism and employment. Auticon was founded on the knowledge that autistic adults often have extraordinary cognitive abilities, yet many find it difficult to secure or maintain mainstream employment...

http://auticon.co.uk/blog/virgin/

Guest Post: Communication is a Human Right

2014 Syracuse University Conference Schedule

MCPS Director of Special Education Gwen Mason and parents from the Montgomery County autism pilot program spoke at Syracuse University (Douglas Biklen, leading researcher of Facilitated Communication and at this university) at their annual conference in July.  This university conference is solely about facilitated communication (FC).   As FC is of such great controversy, the newer terminology to avoid this is supported typing.  However, Syracuse is firm about keeping the FC name.   The Montgomery County Autism Pilot project does not use the name of FC to avoid this controversy, but did however, go to a conference on Facilitated Communication and presented their program there as a mode.

By way of history---- there was a tremendous amount of controversy in setting up the Montgomery County class-- the autism program under Kris Secan did NOT support or agree with it at all, and the parents of the 5 children were the ones that pushed to get the program. Their efforts including due process at the hearing levels, IEP meetings, and due process where MCPS rejected and would not enter psychological results completed by other leading professionals in the field that used facilitated typing into the IEPs, and labeled the data as invalid.  MCPS Director Gwen Mason and others worked to make it happen- not the Autism program under Kris Secan. Indeed, Kris Secan's staff are not involved ( or minimally involved) in it. 

The controversy on FC, (now usually called supported typing) continues within MCPS and the autism professionals that work there.  Many even refused to go the trainings that were held by staff from Syracuse University in MCPS.

In addition, there are speech pathologists in MCPS who have been trained privately in Texas and Syracuse in the methodology and are NOT ALLOWED to use them in MCPS  (unless they are in the Pilot program of course) .  All of them I know practice privately and deliver the supports in their practices. 

The problem of equal access to the program and even the strategies/technology in it  is significant. My hunch is that maybe there is a perception that kids who should have supportive typing technology available to them are ONLY those who are perceived as being more "high functioning" or  worse, have had to prove that they are!   

This is outrageous,  because communication is a human right, regardless of how "low or high functioning" someone is , and to deprive somewhat of the right to communicate in a way that might work for them is unethical and immoral.  It would be like not giving a kid with intellectual disabilities eye glasses when he needs them because he is perceived as "not smart enough"   Seeing is a human right, so is communicating.   Access to medical treatments for diseases are not withheld based on intellectual ability,  and neither should educational strategies be either.

Furthermore,  depriving someone of the opportunity to even see (have access to) if supported typing (or other technology) might help them communicate better at their level is even more wrong.  No matter where you stand on the FC/facilitated typing debate, the bottom line is that access to any technology or strategy should be non-discriminatory.  And, to determine if a strategy or technology is effective, there has to be a time period where it is tried and taught and practiced first.  Right now, most children with autism and other disabilities can't make it to the point where they get this opportunity.  I love research and follow it obsessively, but aIso believe that what counts is what works for what child at what time in their lives!

Many parents had the resources and supports to access and pay for facilitated typing training and are truly ground breakers in sharing this with MCPS and convincing them to start the project, and they may indeed change the face of autism instruction in MCPS in the future.  I hope their efforts will extend to advocating for all other children with autism (and with other disabilities) in MCPS to have this access, and make sure that levels or perceived levels of "intellectual ability" should not be anywhere in the criteria to access such technology and teaching strategies.

But MOST parents do not/did not have access or resources to such methodologies, and thus it is close to impossible to prove their child might benefit from them-- as there is no way to get data without giving the access to start with.  If you do not have private financial resources to help you, MCPS currently can not be counted on to give "equal access" and the "burden of proof" is on these families.    

We absolutely must support each other's children as well as our own in this endeavor. 

Sorry for the length of this post--- But these families--- in and not in the project- and this issue are dear to my heart.

By~
Montgomery County Advocate for students with special education needs.

Autism Communication Pilot Project

Syracuse Institute on Communication and Inclusion

Do you have a non-verbal child with Autism?

Do you think your child could use technology to communicate: like an iPad?

Montgomery County Government has funded an "autism communication pilot project" that is being implemented in TWO schools. For FIVE children. These schools are in Bethesda and Potomac.

Resources, training, and technology are being lavished on these five children. Today, we heard the Montgomery County Innovation Officer and Chris Richardson speak effusively about training for parents, training for siblings, expansion of use of the technology into afterschool programs, working with the recreation department, etc etc.

I am fuming mad.

Not because these FIVE children don't deserve every bit of this effort. They absolutely do.

But there are many many other parents across Montgomery County who are DESPERATE for this type of intervention and technology for their child. I know, I have talked or emailed with some of you. But Chris Richardson and Dan Hoffman seem to be comfortable limiting this program to the five privileged familes at these two wealthy schools. The County Council ED committee (Craig Rice, Phil Andrews, Cherie Branson) seems to be willing to let them get away with that.

Does the community think this is "fair"? Does the community think this is "equitable?"

I don't. I think we need to make an appointment with Craig Rice and outline to him just exactly why it is patently unfair to limit this potentially life-altering technology to five kids...while at the same time approving MCPS to purchase $15 million dollars worth of Chromebooks to be distributed across MCPS.

The Superintendent is always babbling about Equity. From the disability community perspective, this Autism Pilot Project is so blatantly INEQUITABLE that I think we need to make a stand.

Playing God with MCPS Students: Only 5 Students at 2 Bethesda/Potomac Schools Granted Opportunity to Learn

Let's see, what was the big announcement from MCPS recently?  
Oh, yes. From Education Week:

Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools will buy 40,000 Chromebooks and other digital devices for students, embarking on what is believed to be the country's largest K-12 computing initiative featuring the popular—and relatively inexpensive—new laptop computers...

Yea! Largest in country! MCPS is No. 1!! MCPS is No. 1!!

Oh, wait.

That is, unless you have a child with autism who is unable to communicate.  Sorry, if you have a child who is unable to communicate and needs assistive technology to be able to participate in school MCPS and Montgomery County do not have technology for your child.  

MCPS and Montgomery County only have enough money for 5 students at two Bethesda/Potomac schools to have the opportunity to learn using assistive technology. The pilot project has been wildly successful, but rather than adding any new students to this program, MCPS and Montgomery County will just stick with the 5 that were in the pilot.

Maybe MCPS is actually No. 2.

Here is the statement on the Autism Communication and Technology Pilot that is in the packet that is being presented to the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee on Monday, July 28th.   

Autism Communication and Technology Pilot: As reported in the previous status update, the pilot intends to use new methods, some of which are highly reproducible, as well as new tablet applications to improve the educational outcomes of non-communicative students diagnosed with autism. The pilot has completed a full year and has been tremendously successful. The students are operating at or near grade level in an inclusive setting. The pilot has even sought and gained approval for the students to take their Maryland State Assessments via their tablet devices, something that had not been previously planned.
Moving the pilot into a new stage has been an obvious choice and in the past several months the project has faced a decision regarding what to accomplish in the next stage. The pilot currently consists of five students at two elementary schools and rather than add additional students we have decided to focus the next stage on transitioning the current students to middle school. The Innovation Program will help fund the additional training needed for paraeducators and seek opportunities to add afterschool supports through the Department of Recreation

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/cm/2014/140728/20140728_ED1.pdf

NYT Magazine: "A mermaid lost her voice in a moment of transformation. So did this silent boy."

In our first year in Washington, our son disappeared.
Just shy of his 3rd birthday, an engaged, chatty child, full of typical speech — “I love you,” “Where are my Ninja Turtles?” “Let’s get ice cream!” — fell silent. He cried, inconsolably. Didn’t sleep. Wouldn’t make eye contact. His only word was “juice.”
I had just started a job as The Wall Street Journal’s national affairs reporter. My wife, Cornelia, a former journalist, was home with him — a new story every day, a new horror. He could barely use a sippy cup, though he’d long ago graduated to a big-boy cup. He wove about like someone walking with his eyes shut. “It doesn’t make sense,” I’d say at night. “You don’t grow backward.” Had he been injured somehow when he was out of our sight, banged his head, swallowed something poisonous? It was like searching for clues to a kidnapping...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/reaching-my-autistic-son-through-disney.html?_r=0

Principal quits, teacher under fire for videotaping boy stuck in chair

http://www.freep.com/article/20140226/NEWS06/302260147/teacher-video-tapes-boy-stuck-in-school-room-chair