Crossroads Center for Children opened in Glenville, New York in 1998 as a private non profit school serving a small group of children diagnosed with autism. Today the school is located in Schenectady County and enrolls approximately 120 children from 20 school districts in the surrounding eight counties. Additionally, the school now enrolls typically developing students for the integrated daycare program. Integration in preschool and beyond is becoming increasingly common as the advantages for both students with disabilities and their typically developing peers are recognized. Both groups of children benefit from building friendships with people who are unique and this arrangement fosters tolerance and empathy. Both groups learn valuable lessons from critical thinking and social skills instruction, in addition to the quality academic programming.