Cooking the books: Now 1 in 45 said to have autism in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

Ok, you clearly cannot follow an argument so I will stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The same parents who post these article crying out against overdiagnosis come on this forum daily to insist or promote a "full neuropsych evaluation" for any child who exhibits any behavioral, developmental or school based issue -- evaluations that are conducted by god knows who. You don't see that you are part of this problem. You don't see that you pathologize essentially normal behavior. You go around seeing "huge red flags" all the time and yet you decry high autism rates as estimated by parents.

Doubtful the same people who suggest that a neuropsych is the way to go when a child is having issues are the same ones complaining about over diagnosis of autism.

In fact, the people who are complaining and posting all these articles about over diagnosis of ASD most likely never got their child a neuropsych evaluation... since that would be "pathologize essentially normal behavior".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools are reading the same articles as us and are having the same debates. Our son was diagnosed with ASD. He is super high functioning, though, so the sped folks at his school are denying him an IEP. They say he is functioning at the same level as his peers and doesn't stand out at all in the classroom. The teacher flat out told me that she read a story about how our society is over diagnosing ASD and suggested that DS was misdiagnosed. So tge medical community moves the line, then the school community moves right along with it. It's a dance.

What do you want the IEP for, if he's equal to his peers??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

Its not as simple as talking to the doctor. I have. He does not listen. We do not have an IEP or school services. We do all services and school privately. So, your comments are not relevant to us as our school does not do IEP's and provides support without one. And, when we go to private, we will do our best not to have an IEP and continue with private services regardless of the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

Its not as simple as talking to the doctor. I have. He does not listen. We do not have an IEP or school services. We do all services and school privately. So, your comments are not relevant to us as our school does not do IEP's and provides support without one. And, when we go to private, we will do our best not to have an IEP and continue with private services regardless of the cost.

If you can pay for private school, then you can definitely pay to see a different developmental pediatrician or have a neuropsych evaluation done. Quit your whining.

[Anonymous]

^Her child is in private preschool and not even in K. So not hugely expensive.

Just because your child does not need an IEP (yeah, you are doing everything private now), doesn't mean you won't need the IEP later if you ever want to send your child to public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

Its not as simple as talking to the doctor. I have. He does not listen. We do not have an IEP or school services. We do all services and school privately. So, your comments are not relevant to us as our school does not do IEP's and provides support without one. And, when we go to private, we will do our best not to have an IEP and continue with private services regardless of the cost.

If you can pay for private school, then you can definitely pay to see a different developmental pediatrician or have a neuropsych evaluation done. Quit your whining.

+1. Second the suggestion for the neuropsych evaluation. Minimum age is 6. You can take it to the developmental pediatrician and have the misdiagnosis for ASD removed once and for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem I see is that the services are not keeping pace with the number of children who have needs. Schools offer minimal services. Insurance has caps ( for my plan). Private schools are prohibitively expensive and hard to get into.

I wish it were as simple as diagnosis= free services. But that's just not the case. I didn't pursue a diagnosis for free services but to get the help we need for my child to be a productive and happy member of our society.

The "free" school services suck. The Autism Waiver through our state gov has a seven year wait list or longer. If there is something else that is free, please let me know so I can go get it!

Amen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^Her child is in private preschool and not even in K. So not hugely expensive.

Just because your child does not need an IEP (yeah, you are doing everything private now), doesn't mean you won't need the IEP later if you ever want to send your child to public.

He may but he's doing fine without one. More than likely in a few years he will be fine as his delays do not impact his education. If they do not impact his education then no services

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools are reading the same articles as us and are having the same debates. Our son was diagnosed with ASD. He is super high functioning, though, so the sped folks at his school are denying him an IEP. They say he is functioning at the same level as his peers and doesn't stand out at all in the classroom. The teacher flat out told me that she read a story about how our society is over diagnosing ASD and suggested that DS was misdiagnosed. So tge medical community moves the line, then the school community moves right along with it. It's a dance.

Yeah, it's a dance about $$ in the mind of schools, but keep fighting for your child. IEP meetings are no fun at all.
My sympathies.
Signed,
a mom of a high-functioning ASD Kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

Its not as simple as talking to the doctor. I have. He does not listen. We do not have an IEP or school services. We do all services and school privately. So, your comments are not relevant to us as our school does not do IEP's and provides support without one. And, when we go to private, we will do our best not to have an IEP and continue with private services regardless of the cost.

If you can pay for private school, then you can definitely pay to see a different developmental pediatrician or have a neuropsych evaluation done. Quit your whining.

+1. Second the suggestion for the neuropsych evaluation. Minimum age is 6. You can take it to the developmental pediatrician and have the misdiagnosis for ASD removed once and for all.

We have done all kinds of private testing locally and out of state. The man refuses to consider any opinions outside his own. I can get ten more disagreeing with him but no point if he will not change the the diagnosis and service recommendations. How many evaluations should a child be subjected to. If he has what he needs and we do not need it to benefit him why subject him to more testing when nothing will change. Our private school is very inexpensive compared to everything else we spent and cheaper than hiring an advocate and risking him getting lost in a large classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The schools are reading the same articles as us and are having the same debates. Our son was diagnosed with ASD. He is super high functioning, though, so the sped folks at his school are denying him an IEP. They say he is functioning at the same level as his peers and doesn't stand out at all in the classroom. The teacher flat out told me that she read a story about how our society is over diagnosing ASD and suggested that DS was misdiagnosed. So tge medical community moves the line, then the school community moves right along with it. It's a dance.

Yeah, it's a dance about $$ in the mind of schools, but keep fighting for your child. IEP meetings are no fun at all.
My sympathies.
Signed,
a mom of a high-functioning ASD Kid

We have been bluntly told by several evaluators our child does not stand out and doing well academically so not a chance he'd get any help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, you are missing the point. School labels are not the same thing as a medical diagnosis. There are only 13 categories by law under which you can get an IEP:

There are ONLY 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

-Autism
-Blindness
-Deafness
-Emotional Disturbance
-Hearing Impairment
-Intellectual Disability
-Multiple Disabilities
-Orthopedic Impairment
-Other Health Impaired
-Specific Learning Disability
-Speech or Language Impairment
-Traumatic Brain Injury
-Visual Impairment

Change the law or change your doctor and stop bitching and moaning about your wrong diagnosis.

The thing is, schools push kids into the diagnosis that works for them, for programming and money and their own labeling biases. Ofen you have to fight the good fight to have your child labeled with the correct thing in school, instead of the diagnosis du jour of autism.

Its not as simple as talking to the doctor. I have. He does not listen. We do not have an IEP or school services. We do all services and school privately. So, your comments are not relevant to us as our school does not do IEP's and provides support without one. And, when we go to private, we will do our best not to have an IEP and continue with private services regardless of the cost.

If you can pay for private school, then you can definitely pay to see a different developmental pediatrician or have a neuropsych evaluation done. Quit your whining.

+1. Second the suggestion for the neuropsych evaluation. Minimum age is 6. You can take it to the developmental pediatrician and have the misdiagnosis for ASD removed once and for all.

We have done all kinds of private testing locally and out of state. The man refuses to consider any opinions outside his own. I can get ten more disagreeing with him but no point if he will not change the the diagnosis and service recommendations. How many evaluations should a child be subjected to. If he has what he needs and we do not need it to benefit him why subject him to more testing when nothing will change. Our private school is very inexpensive compared to everything else we spent and cheaper than hiring an advocate and risking him getting lost in a large classroom.

Why in the world is he still your doctor? If I had that type of relationship and opinion of my kids docs I would certainly be finding a different health care provider.