Reply to IEP meetings, do they always suggest autism?

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Reply to "IEP meetings, do they always suggest autism?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Dear OP -

It is hard to know the specifics of your child's needs over the limitations of the internet.  However, I would suggest you hire a private advocate to review your child's IEP and to go with you to the IEP meetings for professional support.  For our family, it is my child's tutor.  She is not an attorney but she has a Masters in Special Education and is familiar with the testing reports and recommendations.  She was recommended to us by the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

In short, early intervention is best.  However, the wrong IEP with inappropriate services and accommodations can limit your child's development.  In our child's case, we had her privately evaluated and thought we were successful in actually getting an IEP with lots of support, however there was one particular support recommended that MCPS said they would not provide that drove us to seek out an advocate.  When the advocate read my daughter's IEP, the advocate immediately saw accommodations that spoke volumes as to the school washing their hands of actually teaching my daughter basic reading and writing skills.  The advocate helped us remove disabling accommodations from the IEP and push for appropriate goals and objectives to increase my daughter's proficiency in her areas of weaknesses.

The other piece of the puzzle is the need for private support for your child.  MCPS only provides at best half ass services.  Even if they promise you the moon, what happens to your child if they do not deliver what your child is entitled to in the IEP?  My daughter has had a great IEP but I would link the majority of her progress is the result of the special education services she receives from her tutor twice a week.  My daughter is now in high school and has supported classes but the reality is that the special education teachers do not give her instruction towards her specific goals and objectives.

Finally, Autism is known as a Spectrum Disorder because there are all shades of needs and abilities for children afflicted with this disorder.  A professional once described the spectrum to me as this:  Imagine a line.  On the left side is ADHD, somewhere in the middle is Asperger's, and at the far right is Autism.  All these disabilities have the executive functioning difficulties of ADHD but as you move to the right, other issues such as problems with social and relationship development become apparent.  With the school team, focus on the services the IEP will provide and whether or not they are appropriate for your child.   The school team will push for what is most convenient for them instead of focusing what is best for your child even if it means mislabeling a child.  The school team's label is not a permanent, but it would warrant a question to the team why they suspect autism without evaluation data and private documentation that supports a diagnosis?  Also, have your pediatrician review the data collected and see if he concurs with an Autism diagnosis and to determine if further private testing is warranted.  If an all inclusive setting is recommended, ask to observe a class and see the environment they are proposing to place your child.  Again, get the opinion of an outside professionals to gauge what is best for your child's needs.  The label the IEP team uses to justify services is not as important as the accommodations, goals, and objectives the IEP provides. [/quote]

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