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I live in California, and I have a special needs kid. She is not autistic. She has brain damage. However, because she is special needs, I have met many other parents with kids who are autistic.

Those kids are having more problems than my daughter with brain damage. She has motor planning problems that affect her speech and coordination. However, she is in kindegarten, and she can read and write. She is sociable (but quiet because of the speech problem). She doesn't have behavior problems. She listens and has a great attention span.

The kids that I know with autism (Asperger's syndrome which is high functioning autism) have been in kindegarten several years, and still cannot read or write. They can talk better than my daughter, but it's a little strange. There thought process is different. They don't have much attention span. They will have to be in a special ed classroom (my daughter will be in a regular classroom with pull-out).

I've seen some kids with autism that have terrible tantrums and need full-time aides. They have routines, and if someone messes with their routines they have terrible tantrums that could hurt someone.

I will also say that our public school is doing a great job with my daughter, and they are truly trying to help the other special needs kids.

My son went to a private Christian school, and so far we like the public school better. The private Christian school would have done nothing to help my daughter. In fact, I know they would have made her feel inadequate because she would not be able to memorize and recite Bible verses. The public school has done tons for her self-esteem because they reward her for her reading and mathematical accomplishments, instead of focusing on what she can't do well (speak).