My daughter is on the spectrum. She has been on the ESA program for eight years. She has attended two small private schools and her education has been WONDERFUL!
Before she got the ESA account our experience with public school was horrible. They treated her as though she was severely mentally disabled and had zero expectations of her. I had to fight with them to get even the smallest supports for her. There is NO WAY they spent $28,000 (money they received for my daughter) on her.
Since being on ESA, my daughter has received a fantastic education, therapies and one on one tutoring. We pay for all that with the ESA money and have lots of money left at the end of the year. Compare that to the inferior education she received at the public school, and the school received more money than our ESA.
My daughter is high functioning and thriving! I completely expect her to be self supporting when she is done with school, and not become a drain on the public system. That is all due to ESA!
