Also, under FERPA (Family Education Right to Privacy Act) no one outside of the school will EVER see your child's label. Educationally, this is the legal definition for an Autism label (which is not a medical dx):
(1)(i) Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section.
Your district has determined that he fits into this category. Fine. Giving him this label will mean that he'll get the help he needs. There are NO negative implications. No one will know but you, the IEP team and the teachers who actually work with him. You can always ask for an explanation for why the IEP Team believes he needs this particular label. Of course, you can also ask for an IEE to get a second opinion, but the truth is that while you're doing this, your son is missing out on intervention for his needs. If it were me, I'd let them label him GIRAFFE if it meant getting the appropriate services. That's how unimportant the particular label is (except in NY where the label of autism gets kids MORE than any other label).
Think of special education this way. It's a huge room with 13 doors (the 13 classifications). There is a guard at each door. Evidence has to be given to this guard that the child fits the label before the guard will open the door (clearly, the school district believe it has this evidence -- evidence you're going to ask them to explain). Once the guard sees that the child fits the label, he opens the door and the child enters the room. Inside this big room are ALL KINDS OF GOODIES (supports and services). The child can now be given ANY of these goodies that he needs. His label now means nothing, really, because all the goodies are given out based on identified NEED, not on the label. Getting the label is just the price of entry. Once in, all is available to any classified child if the IEP Team (and you are a legal and FULL member of that team) says the service is necessary.
Don't pass GO. Don't collect 0. Go straight to the IEP Team and say "yes" to the autism label.
I am trying to get help for my son. It seems like we have the opposite situation than most of the posters on this board. The school has labeled our son with an autistic spectrum disorder label, however his psychologist determined it was from depression/anxiety disorder NOS. Although we want the services the school has offered in his IEP we are reluctant to sign the papers with the autism label. What are the consequences of signing these school papers with that label?If you're happy with the services they are proposing in the IEP the label really shouldn't matter. Yes, ultimately you'll want a label that properly reflects your child's condition, but the IEP should be designed to address the core deficits, regardless of the condition that is causing them.
The consequences of signing the papers is the autism label is filed as part of your son's permanent record. However, labels can be changed (my son's just was from developmental delayed to autism). If you strongly believe an autism label is incorrect, you can request an independent evaluation at public expense (as JessicaO indicated). If there is a possibility he does actually have autism, you may want to consider having him seen by a psychologist who specializes in diagnosing it. This way if the diagnosis by an autism specialist supports the original psychologist's diagnosis, you've got a strong case for having it changed.
Update...My husband and I sat down and really thought about what was best for our son and we are going to sign the papers so that he can get the help that he needs. Thank you to those that replied. This is unknown territory for us and we are a little confused about the whole process.