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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had our IEP meeting recently; DC will start K next year.  We've seen a developmental pediatrician and had a neuro-psych evaluation.  We've gotten diagnoses of ADHD, MERLD (prior to the new DSM), and Social Communication Disorder.

I was expecting the question, and the school psychologist did indeed asked if we suspected autism.  In short, no, but I realize my kid has challenges and it's hard to imagine a mainstream setting for K especially socially.  Do the schools not recognize that kids can have issues other than autism?  What questions/accommodations should I be asking for?  This is Mont. Co. btw.  TIA.[/quote]

I have been down this road with our child. Multiple evals saying MERLD and a Learning Disorder and not autism. But from preschool on, school social workers and school psychologist pushed an autism educational label. My child is now in middle school, and here is my input:

-- As long as your child lags in language, people will think autism. They've been conditioned to do so.
 
 -- As long as your child lags in language, peer friends and social situations will be difficult. This will immediately reinforce the autism idea from above.

--The degree of receptive difficulty directly relates to difficulty in school. It is SO challenging to try and learn without receptive language.

--Some MERLD children read early or on time; others struggle which makes school even more challenging. Try to jump on the reading early because if he can read, it opens up so many opportunities. Whole language is often best first for MERLD kids because they can have trouble blending the sounds that phonics requires.

--If you can, keep your child mainstreamed. Statistics show that once a child is put in a separate program, they don't rejoin mainstream schooling. The expectations are so different (low) and there's little pushing them to challenge themselves. The Least Restrictive Environment is the one your child legally belongs in. If that means a one on one aide, then that is what the school is legally required to provide. The standard is if the child is learning and progressing, they belong in a mainstream classroom.

--School psychologists often have very little training in autism. Why anybody thinks they are autism experts is beyond me. They maybe have taken one or two classes, and there is zero accountability when they place a label of autism on a child. Depending on the district/state, many don't have even a master's degree.

Good luck. I know it's difficult. But if you believe in the MERLD/ADHD diagnosis, I would be very hesitant to accept an autism educational label or let them segregate your child.

[/quote]

FWIW, as the parent of a MERLD/ADHD child, I would have a very different recommendation on reading.  While I agree that early focus on reading is really important, I would disagree with the emphasis on "whole language".  While whole language does give our MERLD child context clues that enable meaning and comprehension in the immediate or short term, what I think has been critical for our MERLD child is a heavy emphasis on decoding -- explicit phonetic (or sound/letter) teaching, explicit practice in segmentation and in blending.  Once our child had that 5 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour a day, his phonics improved GREATLY.  Once the fluency of phonics improved, comprehension also improved -- perhaps because all that energy that had previously been spent on trying to figure out a word by context has now been automated.  Fluency in decoding has improved and been automated allowing that energy to now be focused on understanding meaning at the sentence and paragraph level.

I also agree with you about mainstreaming.  My MERLD child really needs to be exposed to typical language to continue learning.  A non-mainstreamed environment would not be good for him. That said, some pull out time that focuses on his specific needs would be helpful.  [/quote]

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