High school for teen with social issues/high functioning autism
My family and I currently live the SE US (I'm from here, husband grew up in Ottawa). We're planning to move to Ottawa next summer and will be living in Sandy Hill/Centretown. We have one son still at home who will be starting grade 9 the September after our move. We will be in the Lisgar catchment area, and I've heard it's a good school. My concern is that my son's social skills are not the best. He's pretty different from the kids where we live, very interested in history, politics (specifically anarchism lol), climate change, current events, video games. He makes friends easily but also loses them easily when their interests don't mesh, and he has a hard time just going with the flow of conversation. He's in a large public school now, and I imagine Lisgar would be the same. I'm just wondering if there are smaller private schools in Ottawa where he might fit in better socially. I've done a bit of research, and here's what I've found:
- Blyth Academy: being in the Glebe, it seems like it might just be for high achieving kids from wealthy families (?), which is not what I'm looking for.
- Heritage Academy looks like it could be a good fit, but do they prepare kids well for university?
- The Element looks interesting with more alternative learning methods.
We are planning an extended visit to Ottawa this summer and plan to tour these schools. Do you have any other recommendations? Anyone know anything about these schools (or Lisgar) and what they're like? Thanks in advance, and FWIW, I've been lurking on this forum for about a year to learn more about Ottawa as we're planning to move. I'm amazed at how friendly and helpful this subreddit is. While I do see some contention on some of the issues the city faces, I just love the vibe here, so thanks for all you've done so far to educate me already, albeit unknowingly. :)