Excelsior University for Children

My son is 4 years old and also autistic, he goes to pre-k for half a day within CCISD, so my husband and I were looking for a school for him to go to the second half of the day while we were at work. You would never know my son is autistic besides the fact he is non verbal. He has tics and funny quirks but for the most part is a happy boy.

I contacted Excelsior and spoke with the director who assured me they were educated on ASD and would be able to accommodate my son. We did a tour of the school 3 weeks before the start date and filled out a very thorough packet with every detail I could think of about my son. Myself and the director made the decision to let my son come for a few hours the Friday before he was supposed to start so that he could meet the teacher and the classroom.

I took him in and the teacher seemed nice but I felt a little uneasy due to him just wandering around the classroom and she was busy with the other students(maybe 10 others).

When I returned an hour and a half later, my son's eyes were very red, which I assumed was from him crying.
The teacher in his classroom preceded to tell me she was a little underprepared for my son and that he was violent, not toward the other kids but himself. As she was telling me this, she also made the motion of hitting herself and her head. While, like I said, my son has lots of quirks, he has never been violent. Him "flapping" is not violent, that is a stimulation thing he does when he is excited or happy and if she knew anything about Autism, she would know this.

She also told me my son would not listen on the playground and became upset and she had to hold him from throwing him self on the concrete, something I have also never had happen at home. He does not always understand instructions due to him being non-verbal. He cannot properly communicate.

I just feel nobody at that school read the packet I was required to fill out and I believe they fabricated the truth about being educated about children with ASD.

The Monday my son was supposed to start, I sent the Director a courtesy email at approximately 7 a.m. stating my son would not be attending.

Had he started that day, his bus would arrive at Excelsior at 11:15.
I received a phone call after 12:00 p.m. from the Director letting me know his bus never arrived.
The fact that she noticed almost an hour after he was supposed to arrive is a red flag for me.

I was very excited for this school and for my son to start a new adventure but after seeing how everything was handled, I do not recommend this school especially if you have a child with any disability.