Reply to Early Stages Autism Classification

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi OP. We are in a similar boat. DS is almost 3 and will start school in fall. He received speech through Strong Start but then they abruptly "graduated" him from the program, claiming he had no delays. Less than a month later ( he had already scheduled transition meeting to Early Stages) Early Stages classified him ASD! I am not certain whether he has autism but not ruling it out.
After much research (Including DCUM old threads lol) I came to understand it's my new job to help him fight for the services that will help in school, whether it's ultimately autism or something else. It's hard to diagnose anything before 7 but schedule a dev ped anyhow, they take months to get. Educational diagnosis is NOT a true medical diagnosis so just go with the flow is my opinion.
Be his advocate and learn about services/techniques that may help him and push for them in the IEP. If there are behavioral issues you want an IEP place so they don't automatically assume he's a "bad kid" with no home discipline.
It's so weird for us too because with no prior school or daycare experience it's hard to know specifically what issues will arise. As soon as school starts (with IEP in place) ask to schedule a 30 day review. That way you can address potential issues soon. Research your rights regarding signing IEPs, meetings and requesting IEP meetings.

I'm a newbie but I hope this helps! Good luck! [/quote]

You are  very naive. 
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Not the PP with the unhelpful comment, but . . .
Please schedule an appointment with a developmental pediatrician now. Specialists can absolutely diagnose autism before age 7; in fact, early diagnosis and intervention is recommended. If your kid is severe enough to benefit from intense therapy, you really want to start it in the preschool years. ABA, Floortime and other therapies should start as soon as possible. My son was diagnosed with ASD at 2.75 and his symptoms were pretty mild at that time. I have friends whose kids were textbook ASD (limited speech, little to no interest in peers, limited social interaction other than with parents/regular caregivers, repetitive movements/stimming, unusual or intense special interests, meltdowns, etc.) by age 3 and they are all glad they got an early diagnosis and early intervention.

I went through Strong Start and Early Stages coded my son as "Developmental Delay" at age 2.5. Just a few months later a developmental pediatrician administered the ADOS and diagnosed him with ASD. It is not my experience that Early Stages pushes an ASD diagnosis when it is not warranted. (Other districts may well do this, but I haven't heard of DCPS/Early Stages being loose with the ASD diagnosis or special placements for preschoolers. Multiple friends of mine whose preschoolers have ASD were frustrated that Early Stages told us that the most appropriate placement for PK3 was our in-bound DCPS with just an hour or two of pull out services per week.) IMO, if DCPS is coding your preschooler as ASD and talking about an IEP, that is a big red flag to get to a developmental pediatrician asap. Get specialists you can trust to tell you what they think is going on with your child. Without that, you are going in to the school stuff at a complete disadvantage. Either the OP has no idea of the autism signs, or her kid is on the very mild end of the ASD spectrum. But in either case, a developmental pediatrician can help her and her child get on the right path.

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