oh boy - my IFSP meeting is tomorrow! I want my ds to get services so I dont want to delay the meeting but how do I dispute the ED diagnosis without a doctor's report??
I think there is a big difference, as least in our School district there is. I would not except an ED label. IF your child is PDD-NOS they are not Emotionally disturbed. You will not get the help from an Autism Team when you have an ED label. Will he get an OT, ST, and sensory diet in the ED classroom? I would be concerned. You might want to check out the difference between the ED classroom and the Autism classroom yourself to make sure your child is where they should be. Good Luck.
tzoya -
thank you thank you thank you thank you
A School psychologist cannot make a Dx! You said your child saw a Neurologist and a Development Pediatrician? Call the Dr.'s your son has seen and explain the situation to them. My Dr. just gave me a script to take in to the School and he was then evaluated by the School Autism team. You might want to postpone the meeting until you are better prepared, and have your Dr.'s Dx. I want to bump this for more help from someone who can be of more help to you.
In New York State, a child under the age of 5 CANNOT get ANY educational label but Preschool Child with a Disability. If your child is blind, he is considered a Preschool Child with a Disability, if your child is autistic, he is considered a preschool child with a disability, if your child has an emotional disorder he is considered a preschool child with a disability. That is because NYS recognizes that very young children develop differently and that getting an accurate dx before school age is often an iffy thing. The truth is that whatever your child has that is negatively affecting his development, the school district is REQUIRED to give him services that address HIS problems, no matter what his dx. There is an exception, though, but it only kicks in at school age. In NY, a school aged child who has an educational classification of Autism has special services that are not guaranteed to other disablities. To find out what, go to www.nysed.gov and search Part 200. Then scroll down to 200.13 and click on it. Those guarantees only start at school age, though. Right now the important thing is to get the interventions NECESSARY for your child's particular deficits. The medical dx is immaterial at such a young age.
My 20 month old son was recently evaluated through NYS Early Intervention. He is speech/language delayed and has sensory issues. The psychologist that evaulated him dx with emotional disturbance of childhood - nos. Should I be concerned about the diagnosis insofar as services go?
I had taken him to a neurologist and developmental pediatrician who both agreed he is pdd or on the spectrum. The neuro also wants him tested for Landau-Kleffner. My understanding is that the emotional disturbance dx is inconsistent with a pdd diagnosis. Does it matter?
Please help!
We just went through the dx of emotionaly distrubed for an IEP...My grandson's father was told that he would get better services if he would go along with that dx. I have found out this is NOT true. In a lot of cases the school will use this dx in order to have the child in more special ed class rather than mainstream the child as they should be.
It took 2 days of 5 &6 hour meetings along with help from Family Bridges, an Advocate from SW Independant living, judevine, headstart program and a lot of outside testing but we got a well written IEP that should work great for my grandson.
My grandson went to Kindergarden for his first full day and did great so hang in there and don't settle because you don't have to.
By the way our dx from the school is now other health issues/PDDtrust me - it rubs me wrong too!
have you had him seen by a developmental pediatrican? They are experts on autism in children and see things I never even thought of...I would get a second opinion:)
he was seen by a developmental ped first. he said probable pdd-nos, but he wanted to wait until the EI reports were done.I never heard of "emotional disturbance"..what is it?
I have heard of emotionally disturbed..but wouldnt want that label if my child is pdd/autistic because it implies her emotions are pathologic or something..
Sorry to be so ignorant of this term..seems more negative than autism to me??
I will have to read up on it..learn something new everyday...but something about this terminology rubs me wrong!In our district kids can get an ebd (emotional behavior disturbance) dx
that is not a medical diagnosis and only used for school purposes. It is
usually given to kids who have some agressive tendencies, which some
kids with autism have. I am not aware that it brings benefits (though they
claim that you get services faster and it is easier getting an aide). But
they can also stick the kid into a self-contained program with other
aggressive kids, which is not really appropriate for an asd kid. I know a
parent who has successfully fought the ebd label for her AS son.as a follow up -
I challenged the diagnosis at the IFSP meeting and took him to see a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder. I spoke to my service coordinator who said to fax her the report as soon as I get it and they will make the appropriate adjustments in the services.
Excellent Job! I think your child will get services that will benefit him more with the ASD classification. You are now an advocate.
In IL, when kids are put into self containted classrooms, the ED kids are kept completely separate from the ASD kids because of very different needs. My son is in a mixed class (the mix being mild ASD, severe ADHD, severe speech language impairment & mild MR). There is a completely separate program for kids with ED.
Here is how the two ED and Autsim disability categories are differentiated in Illinois:
Autism is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. (A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age 3 could be diagnosed as having autism if the other criteria of this Section are satisfied.) 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.
Emotional Disturbance (includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance) means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
In our school district the specific services are definitely individualized toward the child, but when it comes to class makeup, the disability category your child has would definitely determine which classroom your child would be in. And as we know, classroom = peer group = role models = potential friends.
I think it can only be in your best interest to assure that your child's disability category is accurate.