Reply to Loaded question: MERLD and autism

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Just tell them your child has been tested for ASD and it has been ruled out. (Which is true, I assume?)[/quote]
Yes, based on the dev pediatrician evil, it has been ruled out. Our 3 year IEP revaluation is coming up and the team has to decide what testing our child needs so that she gets the supports that she needs to go to K. So I am wondering what tests they are going to suggest for our child.[/quote]

Sorry OP, I haven't read most of the other stuff because, as usual, people seem to be talking about their own issues rather than trying to focus on your concerns.

I don't live in DC, but I can tell you in our area it is only psychologists who do the ADOS, though there are definitely developmental pediatricians who will diagnose or rule out autism without it. If your child truly received a comprehensive evaluation for autism from the developmental pediatrician, including an ADOS, as well as an autism diagnostic interview with you, then it doesn't seem like there would be a need for the school to repeat it so soon. But if your child has not received an ADOS I would let the school do one if they want, along with any language and developmental testing they recommend. I mean, why not? If they complete the testing and you do not understand or agree with the results you can always pursue a private re-evaluation later.[/quote]

[b]OP is saying that her child has been ruled out for ASD[/b], to you are meaning well but also derailing the topic.  If OP is in private speech, she should have the private speech therapist write a report and submit that as what is seen/done in private speech is very different than what is done at the public school level.  If the child is seeing a developmental ped, there is no need at 4-5 for a psychologist.[/quote]

Right, except for now teachers and a psychologist suspect an ASD, and MERLD can apparently be hard to distinguish clinically from an ASD.  The responsible thing to do here would be a second opinion (or new evaluation if an ADOS was never done).  [/quote]

Teachers are not trained in diagnosis nor do most psychologists understand language disorders.  A developmental ped would be the most appropriate evaluator at this point.  This has nothing to do with the OP questions or topic and you are pushing your agenda of it has to be Autism.[/quote]

Well, this is actually the OP's question:  why are teachers and psychologists still suggesting autism when the diagnosis is MERLD?  I think the *responsible* answer to that is "get another evaluation/second opinion," given that ASD and MERLD can be hard to distinguish, become more clear over time, and can coexist. At the very least she should be consulting again with that dev ped. If she goes into the IEP and refuses the school's suggestion to test for autism, that seems like a questionable choice.  At the very least, it means th[b]at teachers are seeing needs that they think are unmet by the MERLD supports.[/b]  If OP is so very sure of the diagnosis by her developmental pediatrician, then the answer is simple:  she just tells the teachers and school psychologist "thanks, it's MERLD."  End of discussion.  If she is really sure, then it shouldn't matter.

[/quote]

For our 3 yr IEP re-evaluation, our school gave us everything recommended in the neuropsych eval.   DS has ASD/ADHD according to neuropsych and ADOS.  Not sure why someone would refuse to do ADOS.  It is basically a child playing and interacting with the SLP and not arduous or time consuming.  The more information you have about your child, the better you can advocate for them to get the supports and services they need.  Ultimately it is about meeting the needs of your child.[/quote]

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