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Reply to "Montgomery County Public Schools SPED programs - eliminating ASD programs? "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The ASD diagnosis is too broad. The range of abilities means that there is little cohesion in the ASD parent community for advocacy. This broad diagnosis also prevents a portion of the ASD parent community from wanting to cooperate with the broader special needs parent advocacy community.[/quote]

It's broad because in the past, clinicians were not great at distinguishing between autism and aspergers. Different clinicians would give a different diagnosis to the same kid. It also wasn't stable over time as needs can and often do change significantly from early childhood through adulthood.

An ASD diagnosis does not automatically lead to an IEP, and certainly not to placement in an autism program, nor would it be appropriate for every kid with an autism diagnosis. For some kids with ASD, the general education classroom is the most appropriate setting for them. The kids that have qualified for self-contained autism programs are unlikely to be the ones whose diagnoses people question.

As a parent of a kid with ASD with low support needs, I'd be totally fine if my kid's diagnosis was called something else, but until the medical establishment figures out a way to do that consistently and meaningfully, the ASD diagnosis is what we have. As a parent, I can't erase that diagnosis any more than you can.

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