1st Face to Face with School district | Autism PDD
They don't want to spend the $$$$$!!!!!
Sit down and type a formal non-emotional letter documenting exactly what happened at that meeting. Then give your reasons and documentation as to why you disagree. Here are some ideas...
Dear Sirs:
This letter is regarding my child, _____________, whose case was discussed at a meeting which included me, ________________(list each person by name and title if you can).
As you may recall, my child's diagnosis was questioned by the team/group. I was informed that my child would have to be retested because his diagnosis is "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and not simply "Autism". I must disagree and question you as to the reasons why retesting is necessary. It is a well known fact that "Autism" is a spectrum disorder, and regardless of where an individual falls along the spectrum, he or she still has AUTISM. Autism by it's very nature requires special education services as children with autism are unable to communicate or socialize like typical children can. They also engage in certain ritualistic or repetitive behaviors which vary from child to child. According to the book, "Educating Children With Autism" by the National Research Council, eighth printing Oct 2005, page 213, "Because of their shared continuities and their unique social difficulties, children with any autistic spectrum disorder......., regardless of level of severity or function, should be eligible for special educational services within the category of autistic spectrum disorders, as opposed to other terminology used by school systems....."
In addition, I was shocked that a Speech Therapist would feel qualified to make a statement implying that my child "does not have an educational need". My son deserves a FAPE, or Free Appropriate Public Education, just like every other child in this school district. As you already know, time is of the essence when it comes to autism, and aggressive early intervention is universally considered to be the best way to help the ever growing numbers of children with autism in this country have their best chance at a successful future.
Finally, I am including a letter from Dr.___________, my son's developmental pediatrician, detailing exactly why my child has been diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder and outlining the interventions that he/she feels are necessary for my child to receive a FAPE from this school district.
I will be contacting you within a week to discuss the matter further. If you need any further information from me, do not hesitate to contact me at__________.
Sincerely,
Your name
_________'s Mother
And now the dance has begun...but they will now know that you are not going to be easy to manipulate...that you are documenting and studying the law, which is how it should be...anything to put you on even ground...whatever it takes for your child...
God Bless!!!
If it is any consolation, we went through something similar at a triennual review.
This is slightly picky of me, but I could not find the quote on page 31 on the national research council book. I wanted to highlight it for my next IEP...
OOPS!!!!
It's page 213, repeat, page 213, under the heading: "Recommendations"....SO SORRY!!!
PLEASE FORGIVE!!! Hi, everyone. I had my first dealings with the school district. (I am very dissappointed. My son is going to be 3 and he says 3 words at the most. He doesn't follow directions at all. Most of the time when I talk to him he doesn't even acknowledge it. My son is very loving though. He does hug me & kiss me. I was told that the face to face was to meet him since he would be attending school next year. When I get there with my son I have to wait because not everyone is there. I soon find myself in a room with 7 people. They try to get my son to say hello to them. Of course it's not happening. My son wanders around the room while I am bombarded with questions about him. They go on to say that since Autism Spectrum disorder is his diagnosis instead of it being Autism they have to retest him. 2 of the young ladies that are at the meeting will be doing the testing in April. I am then told by the Speech Therapist for the district that she doesn't believe that my son has an educational need. That he will most likely qualify for speech theraphy twice a week. She also states that she believes that the Developemental Pediatrician misdiagnosed him. My son babbles to himself alot but doesn't actually say words. I feel so depressed. Thanks for letting me vent.I do the same thing ... venting. .. I think we all need a moment to let go of it w/o our spouses - sometimes they take it too personally. It is not the ST place to dx your child for a MD! Just keep that in mind.
You have my sympathy! SD SLP's can "believe" all they want about a diagnosis ... but they must follow what goes into the IEP, RIGHT?
[QUOTE=AndrewsMommy] OOPS!!!! It's page 213, repeat, page 213, under the heading: "Recommendations"....SO SORRY!!! PLEASE FORGIVE!!! 
Thanks, No apologies necessary. I just wanted the page number badly since that book is a summary of peer reviewed papers and might carry a bit more weight that "I heard it on the web." The reason I wanted it is that my elder son is PDD/NOS but the school district disqualified him for services saying things like PDD/NOS does not meet the criterion, he is not autistic and his academics are too good. We are trying to re-qualify him so we might use it later on.
Although I am not sure how, since Wright's Law says that if a parent starts to come on as an expert, the SD staff will become defensive, and we have seen that.
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