Real people. Real experiences. Real love for IA.

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The Meier Family

The Independence Academy has made a world of difference for our son, Will, and our family. Beginning in fifth grade, Will began to seriously struggle. Up until this time, he had never experienced any school problems. Upon entering fifth grade, however, Will began to fail all of his classes, throw tantrums, become defiant, and was constantly sent to the principal’s office for behavioral problems. He disliked going to school and came home crying every day. He was very unhappy, unmanageable at school, and became difficult to live with — our entire family was affected by Will’s behaviors. After the first two months of fifth grade, we pulled Will out of school and began to home-school him because we had no other options.

We tried placing Will in a different school, but he could not handle the demands placed on him. The demands were not out of the ordinary for a fifth grader, but they were too challenging for our autistic son. We did not know what to do at this point.

We came across The Independence Academy while doing some online research and decided to give it a try. We saw a tremendous change with Will after the first two weeks at IA! He loved going to school, and his behavior had changed dramatically not only at school, but also at home. He was placed in challenging classes and getting very good grades. We had not seen Will so happy, communicative and pleasant for a very long time.

The staff at IA is excellent! They understand the minds of and know how to effectively teach autistic children, and truly care about the students. We have been extremely pleased with the school and strongly encourage parents who are struggling with their child to try The Independence Academy. Our only regret is that we did not know about this school sooner.

David and Stephanie Meier


                                                         The Bruns Family

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We came from a public school — one of the largest public schools in the state — and it has been wonderful for my other boys, but for Ben the environment was just too big, too stressful and too overwhelming. He spent a lot of his time there, I think, just surviving the day. At IA, the stress level is so much more reduced that he has really blossomed with his academics.

I love the teachers. I love the staff. They give so much of themselves. They pour their hearts and souls into these kids. What makes The Independence Academy so great is that the teachers are here because they love our kids, they understand our kids, they invest in our kids, and they really, really want to see them succeed.


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The Dallman Family

As children who have Autism are going through school, their needs change profoundly. In Luke’s case, a regular school couldn’t serve him how they do here at IA. Luke has been part of the IA family since sixth grade and is now a Senior. IA has not only met his academic needs in terms of small class size and structure, but has also helped him with his social growth. He has made friends and faculty have helped him develop the interpersonal skills to be a good friend to others. The collaboration with outside experts like Hands in Autism and the Erskine Green Institute go a long way to prepare students for life after IA. The Independence Academy is much more than a middle or high school. They are truly focused on setting the students up for success in life. 


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The Smith Family

Ben has friends at school now, which is something that wasn’t happening before. He has also become interested in after-school activities. The Independence Academy is 100% equipped to transform the experience of a child who has not fit in previously, to making them feel included.