In a perfect world, all children should live at home with their family, play with the kids in their neighborhood, walk or ride the school bus to a community-based school--after affectionately kissing or hugging their parents goodbye. They should receive adequate classroom services and return home at 3 p.m. or thereabouts. They may even enthusiastically participate in and be welcomed into afterschool extra-curricular activities. Sadly, for some school-aged children with special needs and their families, this is not an accurate picture of their world. These children may struggle with a myriad of anxieties, behaviors, and time-consuming and specialized medical or personal care that families must attend to before the child is ready for instruction at their local school. Today, there are many schooling options for parents who have children with special needs including public school, home-schooling, private day school programs, and residential school and care. As every child's needs are unique, families must carefully decide what is the best environment for their child to learn and grow to their full potential. In many cases, public school classrooms offer appropriate and adequate education to individuals with special needs, which allows the child to live at home with their family. In other cases, residential school and care might be evaluated. Whether in a public school or residential school, the key to success is often a well-trained staff that is familiar with each student's personality, learning style, communication needs, cognitive level and behavioral challenges. Different therapeutic and communication techniques must be applied based on the needs of the child. Some students might be verbal, while some might be non-verbal and use high or low-tech augmentative communication devices, sign language and/or gestures, or a variety of visual systems to express themselves. Teachers and other staff members must have a deep knowledge of each student and be able to adapt quickly to different forms of communication and behaviors. In a perfect world, no child with special needs should require a residential program. But for those whose needs do require these services, be it short- or long-term, their IEP team must consider this option along the continuum of available education and care. It is crucial for the child and their family as well as the greater good of the school and wider community.