Infants and Toddlers pushing kids out of program
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Anonymous
| My DS was referred, evaluated and accepted into the Montgomery County Infants and Toddlers Program (MCITP) back when he turned 18 months old. During their 2 part evaluation they identified that he was over 24% delayed in every area with the exception of gross motor development. They also flagged him as being high risk for Autism but said they cannot give formal diagnosis. We then went to a private provider and got an diagnostic eval done (ADOS) and he received a ADS DX at 19 months old along with a recommendation for ABA therapy of 20 hours a week. We then took this Dx to MCITP during the Family Service Planning (FSP) meeting and requested that they added the recommended therapy to this FSP. They said they they use an outside provider for ABA (CSAAC) and submitted the request which was approved for 10 hours. Evidently 10 hours is the max the MCITP covers through CSAAC they explained. They also provided weekly SPIN (Special Educator) to come to the house to do parent and child sessions one hour a week. His primary deficit was expressive and receptive language but they did not provide a speech therapist because they said DS was too young and they usually start that at 2 so we went to a private provider for speech and occupation therapy. DS is now 23 months old and has made significant progress and now has over 200 words and is manding (requesting) constantly which was his main ABA goal and MCITP is now not agreeing with the ASD diagnosis. They are saying that he has already mastered all of the FSP goals that were set and is now showing development higher than his chronological age and feel that the program is not longer appropriate fit for him. They want to get their own developmental/educational psychologist to evaluate him and determine if the Autism Diagnosis is in fact accurate. Their initial plan and discussions with me were that he would transition out of MCITP into the Montgomery County PEP programs or the CAPP (Pre-K for Autism) but now they are saying that they dont feel these programs will be a good fit for my DC and that my child not does not require that type of support. I have the feeling they are trying to push my DC out because they do not want to cover the funding for CSAAC and other supports for kids with Autism hence they want to get their own people in to remove the Autism diagnosis that we received privately. It's funny that before they did not diagnose Autism but now they have people that can all of a sudden do that. My husband and I fully agree with the Autism diagnosis and understand that it is a spectrum and some kids are very high functioning but still need supports in place even though some skills can be ahead of NT kids. Can we deny their evaluation and still with our own private DX to continue them to fund ABA through CSAAC? |
Anonymous
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In general the Infants and Toddlers program is only set up to serve the children who are most behind. Having a diagnosis doesn't entitle you to services - and if a child approaches or reaches the low average range of skills for the age they can remove services.
Doesn't mean your child doesn't have needs or wouldn't benefit from more herapies, it just means that the county will no longer pay for services. |
Anonymous
| I would agree to the evaluation and do another private evaluation or go back to the people who gave you the initial eval. It does sound like your child made a lot of progress, so you don't want a misdiagnosis (or conversely to incorrectly loose services). In either case it sounds like so much has changed quickly that you need to re-eval! |
Anonymous
Yes, however from what the OP describes her son is still significanly delayed. EI programs are unfunded mandates in most state. Meaning a federal law requires the programs, but most states don't have the money to pay for them so they essentiality don't exist. My guess OP is that you're up against budget cuts. |
Anonymous
| I would hire an advocate to guide you in this process, who may then refer you to a lawyer. It sounds like you are getting a run-around. Advocates are useful because they know what options are out there and can tell you what's available rather than you relying on the system that often only tells you what it thinks you need. An advocate can also lead the charge in a fight. They can also be realistic and tell that, no you're not going to get services based on other cases they've seen. I hated my time in I&T and was so happy when we graduated to PEP. And if your kid is doing so well why haven't they mentioned other PEPs besides the autism program? |
Anonymous
| Congrats on all of the progress your son has made! Where do you see him still having significant delays? If your child is caught up with age level peers in all or most areas, it makes sense to dismiss him and not put him in PEP. I wouldn't worry about the diagnosis as much as he is so young, but in determining what skills he is still lacking. If there are still large deficits, isolating the skills that he needs will help determine his best PEP placement. |
Anonymous
| Sometimes language disorders can look like autism, but they are not. Same with other things. If your child is catching up that quickly, I can see why they are pulling back services. If you have a private diagnosis, especially of autism, why can't you do private services through your insurance. Many insurances cover ABA and speech for Autism. We got far better services privately. |
Anonymous
My DS is not showing any delays to them anymore and has reached all the FSP goals and has exceeded the expected milestones for an typically developing child at this point according to them. He has over 200 words and knows all his letters and can count and recognize numbers to 20. He also knows all his colors and basic shapes and is starting to speak in 3 word sentences which they said is advanced for a child under 2. He still has flags that are clearly autistic like not being able to sit still and getting easily distracted so I think the Dx does not just account for language delays. |
Anonymous
My DS does have a short attention span which we need to work on and ABA is addressing. He also is unable to sit still. I am thinking he would better fit an ADHS Dx but I know they would not diagnose that at such a young age. |
Anonymous
But does he have a harder time sitting still or not getting distracted than most children younger than 3. That's the benchmark. |
Anonymous
I would say so. |
Anonymous
| Get an ADHD diagnosis now if you can. We got one at 4 from a dev ped. Your kid honestly sounds like what used to be PDD NOS - mine is very similar. Your son is at risk obviously for behavioral and educational issues. I would also hire an advocate. |
Anonymous
| Even with a harder time sitting still, I would be surprised if they offered PEP services. It doesn't sound like he currently needs an IEP. I think you should be proud of his progress and deal with issues as they come. From a school's standpoint, I can understand why they are looking to dismiss. |
Anonymous
+1 I really don't think you're going to qualify for services if the remaining issue is that a toddler doesn't sit still and is easily distracted. Not saying that those might not be signs of issues down the road, but for now, it sounds like infants and toddlers have done their job and he is up to speed |
Anonymous
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Ugh... I agree with the PP who said go back to your doctor and see what they think. They will give you some sort of written diagnosis/report with recommendations. You can share this with the school.
Typically, with kids with ASDs, the challenges they face will change as the demands on them change. I would still push for him to be in PEP. There are less intensive programs that would have him with typically developing peers in the classroom environment. I would tell them that his goals should be related to pro-social behaviors, etc. See what else your dev ped recommends. |