I am in the process of getting my child identified as a special ed child. He is in a regular fifth grade is very high functioning. His major problem is behavior and shut downs when he gets frustrated or anxious. He has had problems in school since he started. He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in December and now his doctor thinks he meets the criteria for autism. Any way to my problem. His doctor is a psychiatrist. I have given the school all the paper work and the doctor has given it to the school. I got a letter yesterday that his paper work is not adequate. The principal says that I must have a diagnosis from a medical doctor. Am I correct in that the psychiatrist is a medical doctor. I do not understand what else I can provide the school with. The doctor has sent them a summary and the information that he has in the file with some personal information blacked out. They called the paper he sent with the blacked out info unprofessional. I need some suggestions as to what to do next. T hanks
I have to agree that to send them a report written for someone else containing information not for them certainly looks unprofessional. A psychiatrist IS a medical doctor. A psychologist is not. The law does NOT require a medical dx of autism in order to qualify for the educational label of autism (these are two different things). If the school WANTS a medical diagnosis, it probably is a good idea to get one. But since Federal special education law (IDEA 2004) says that your son is entitled to a FREE appropriate public education, if the school district wants a MEDICAL diagnosis, they can arrange for one and pay for it. All you have to do is give your consent. If you don't like the results from THEIR doctor, once the report from their doctor is in, you can ask them to pay for a second opinion from a doctor of YOUR choice. The truth is, no medical diagnosis is going to guarantee your child anything. It has to ALSO be shown that his medical disability affects his educational performance. "Educational performance" includes anything academic, developmental or functional. So here is what you should do:
Check to make sure that your report is from a medical doctor, not just a psychologist.
If it is, ask that the doctor write a report SPECIFICALLY for the school, addressed to the Spec. Ed. Dir.
If it's a psychologist, tell the school that you are willing to have your child diagnosed by an appropriate psychiatrist but that that evaluation will have to be at public expense.
In the meantime, order FROM EMOTIONS TO ADVOCACY from www.wrightslaw.com This is like a "how-to" manual for parents of kids in special education. Read it. Learn it. Follow what it tells you to do. I recently walked out of an IEP meeting with an extra ,000 worth of therapies and testing because I did just that.
Lori -- Here are the steps required to get a full, multidisciplinary educational evaluation. That is the ONLY thing that qualifies a child for special education. A medical diagnosis is not required and, even in the presence of a medical diagnosis, and educational need must be shown.
1. Write to the Director of Spec. Ed. that you are requesting a full, multidisiplinary evaluation for possible special education for your son. Put in the letter that they should consider it your written consent for evaluation.
2. From that day to the day SERVICES must be in place, should your child need them, is 60.
3. By the 30th day, if you have not heard anything, write another letter saying that it's the 30th day and you want an update since the 60th day is (put in the actual date) and you want to know when the IEP meeting to discuss this will be taking place.
4. If the IEP Team says that your son does not qualify, ask (in writing) for an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense. They have two choices. Either pay for the outside evals given by the evaluators of YOUR choice or take you to a hearing (which will be much more expensive and risky for them). Then you can get a second opinion from professionals who are not connected with the school district and WILL be able to show educational issues. Remember, "education" means academics, development, and functional skills. Not just grades.
My report is from a psychiatrist. He has already written two letters to the school with the diagnosis. The last report was not written to anyone else it was the data from the chart. He blacked out personal information that did not pertain to the school. Thanks for your help.