Is it worth requesting special ed services if child probably won't qualify (DCPS)

[Anonymous]

My child has been diagnosed with ASD1. Evaluator says he probably won't qualify for special ed services but in an ideal world should get ST for pragmatics and specialized instruction in social skills. Basically he masks really well (he is only 6) so he sees all of his inflexibility and rigidly for home. At school he is generally well behaved apart from needing extra prompting sometimes during transitions and multi step tasks as he freezes up at times. He is limited socially - he talks to and plays with other kids, can share and take turns but struggles with any kind of imaginative play so he plays alone a lot. Is this even worth pursuing? He does OT and ST privately.

[Anonymous]

What exactly do you want them to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What exactly do you want them to do?

Evaluator says he probably won't qualify for special ed services but in an ideal world should get ST for pragmatics and specialized instruction in social skills.

[Anonymous]

I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

Fair enough, that makes sense. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like either your DS doesn’t actually have autism, or the educational impacts won’t be apparent until later. Don’t waste the school’s time. Also I’m curious about an evaluator that would dx autism with zero impact at school, and activitely discourage the IEP. It doesn’t add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

I disagree. The demands on kindergarteners are actually quite high if the child is on the spectrum and exactly when you’d expect to see the disability readily apparent. Truly scratching my head at this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like either your DS doesn’t actually have autism, or the educational impacts won’t be apparent until later. Don’t waste the school’s time. Also I’m curious about an evaluator that would dx autism with zero impact at school, and activitely discourage the IEP. It doesn’t add up.

He definitely has autism. ADOS was administered and the results were very clear. He was identified earlier than he might otherwise have been because he had extreme anxiety as a toddler that required therapy, leading to the eventual recommendation to get evaluated for autism.

Evaluator is NOT discouraging IEP. Actually evaluator is recommending we seek IEP. They are just being realistic about what the system will actually provide. We definitely don't want to antagonize the school by requesting the evaluation, but it also feels irresponsible to ignore the psychologist's recommendation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

I disagree. The demands on kindergarteners are actually quite high if the child is on the spectrum and exactly when you’d expect to see the disability readily apparent. Truly scratching my head at this one.

Tons of kids, especially girls, are being diagnosed with autism as teenagers. The disability is often NOT readily apparent during kindergarten. Associated behavior/attention issues are often misinterpreted as being caused by something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

I disagree. The demands on kindergarteners are actually quite high if the child is on the spectrum and exactly when you’d expect to see the disability readily apparent. Truly scratching my head at this one.

Tons of kids, especially girls, are being diagnosed with autism as teenagers. The disability is often NOT readily apparent during kindergarten. Associated behavior/attention issues are often misinterpreted as being caused by something else.

Those are not accurate diagnoses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like either your DS doesn’t actually have autism, or the educational impacts won’t be apparent until later. Don’t waste the school’s time. Also I’m curious about an evaluator that would dx autism with zero impact at school, and activitely discourage the IEP. It doesn’t add up.

He definitely has autism. ADOS was administered and the results were very clear. He was identified earlier than he might otherwise have been because he had extreme anxiety as a toddler that required therapy, leading to the eventual recommendation to get evaluated for autism.

Evaluator is NOT discouraging IEP. Actually evaluator is recommending we seek IEP. They are just being realistic about what the system will actually provide. We definitely don't want to antagonize the school by requesting the evaluation, but it also feels irresponsible to ignore the psychologist's recommendation.

A child cannot “definitely have autism” with no impact on their ability to function in school. It just doesn’t work that way. If what you’re saying is true my guess is that there is educational impact you’re not aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

I disagree. The demands on kindergarteners are actually quite high if the child is on the spectrum and exactly when you’d expect to see the disability readily apparent. Truly scratching my head at this one.

Tons of kids, especially girls, are being diagnosed with autism as teenagers. The disability is often NOT readily apparent during kindergarten. Associated behavior/attention issues are often misinterpreted as being caused by something else.

Those are not accurate diagnoses.

Okay, if you say so

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be worth it to go through the school evaluation process. It sounds like he would qualify for a 504 with accommodations for extra prompts and breaking down multi step processes. He might also qualify for an IEP for social skills support - it wouldn’t necessarily mean pull out services but could get him into the co-taught classroom.

He is very young and the demands on kindergartners aren’t much, so you don’t know what the future will bring. Having the school evaluate now might shave some time off their response if things go off the rails in the next year or two.

I disagree. The demands on kindergarteners are actually quite high if the child is on the spectrum and exactly when you’d expect to see the disability readily apparent. Truly scratching my head at this one.

Tons of kids, especially girls, are being diagnosed with autism as teenagers. The disability is often NOT readily apparent during kindergarten. Associated behavior/attention issues are often misinterpreted as being caused by something else.

Those are not accurate diagnoses.

Show us your credentials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like either your DS doesn’t actually have autism, or the educational impacts won’t be apparent until later. Don’t waste the school’s time. Also I’m curious about an evaluator that would dx autism with zero impact at school, and activitely discourage the IEP. It doesn’t add up.

He definitely has autism. ADOS was administered and the results were very clear. He was identified earlier than he might otherwise have been because he had extreme anxiety as a toddler that required therapy, leading to the eventual recommendation to get evaluated for autism.

Evaluator is NOT discouraging IEP. Actually evaluator is recommending we seek IEP. They are just being realistic about what the system will actually provide. We definitely don't want to antagonize the school by requesting the evaluation, but it also feels irresponsible to ignore the psychologist's recommendation.

A child cannot “definitely have autism” with no impact on their ability to function in school. It just doesn’t work that way. If what you’re saying is true my guess is that there is educational impact you’re not aware of.

I didn't say there is no educational impact, you did.

There is an educational impact. With private services he has improved immensely at school. He used to need a LOT more help.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live? Other parents in your county might be able to be more specific with how to seek supports.