medical vs educational diagnosis Thanks again for all the input. I am not planning on giving the school all his records, just the ones that I pick and choose. Mostly, they just seem to want the GARS, or something that say he has ASD and not just global delays. Harriet Part of the confusion comes into play because of the terminology.  "Diagnosis" is something that only medical professionals can provide.  "Educational classification" is something the school districts, using the classifications provided in the IDEA as the minimum reference, through their qualified employees such as the school psychologist can do.  The term "diagnosis" is used interchangeably, particularly by school personnel, when it shouldn't be.  In Missouri, we have Educational Autism, but that classification is not usually applied until after age 6 - prior to that children as classified as "YCDD" - Young Children with a Developmental Delay.  By age 6, they have to be either moved out of services, or into one of the categories specified by the IDEA, under which autism is one. As a tangent to this discussion, to qualify as disabled for Social Security benefits, a medical diagnosis is required - the school psychologist would not be considered qualified because they did not have a medical degree.  A psychiatrist, developmental pediatrician, pediatrician, developmental neurologist or neurologist would all be able to provide a medical diagnosis acceptable for that purpose.  The school psychologist is an expert in the field of school psychology, but not in treating disorders, so they would not be considered a valid person to provide the diagnosis. Many children who have the medical diagnosis do not necessarily receive the educational classification.  It all depends on the severity (or lack thereof) of the needs to be addressed.  As far as releasing medical records to the school district - to simply sign a blanket release is a big NO-NO.  You don't want the district to have complete access to your child's medical records - they may find something that can be used in order to not provide services or an appropriate classification.  If you are asked to provide a release, ask them why they want the records and what they are hoping to find.  Then, provide them with ONLY records pertinent to obtaining the classification/services you are hoping to get for your child.  That's all they truly need to have. Thanks all. We have a wonderful developmental pediatrician, and I have requested my son's medical records, the GARS and everything else. I may pick and choose what I want the school to see, but I will make certain that the school gets what they need to give ds the services he needs. Harriet A few other thoughts.  Since the diagnosis is 5 years old they may want to check and see if the autism has been cured.  My elder son has been cured in this fashion. They may be looking for a medical diagnosis to see if they can bill medicare.  No necessarily a bad thing since Medicare has higher standards that IDEA, and if they bill medicare you can hold them to those standards. I would not release my medical records to a school district any more than I'd install a 24/7 internet camera in my bedroom. Ed psychs can get a credential with less study than is necessary in the outside world.  So they are qualified to make educational classifications, but not diagnoses.  I had one Ed psych either did not know, or was putting on a show to confuse us, that PDD/NOS diagnosis could be as severe as an autism diagnosis. Incidentally my District goes on and on about educational vs medical diagnosis to not qualify one of my sons.  This reached the height of bizarre when they told us that a PhD who writes books in Amazon.com and is on retainer go the next school district over to testify in court did not know enough to make a judgment on educational classifications. Dad2Luke&Alan40214.6606828704In MO they work around this by saying "Educational Autism." And WHY could a school Psychologist NOT diagnose?  With all the training they have and testing they do?  My goodness they go to professional school for 4 years or more and do an internship in their field.   I do in fact consider my school to have made my daughter's diagnosis, if we had left it to her pediatricians,  we would still have bupkes! ... and despite having medical insurance, until my husband was laid off, the policy we had through his work DID NOT COVER Autism or Developmental Delays.  It would have cost me 2200 in cash to get her a clinical evaluation. The school is technically correct in what they are doing.  Under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilties Act), the school cannot diagnos, only recommend services.  This gets confusing in that services are reccomended in a category method.  I read several parents claiming the school diangoised their child, and it has me scratching my head.  It's not my place to argue with them, but I would like to point out that the schools are not allowed to do this, and no wonder so many are confused about their ASD diagnoses. My IEP team refused to use the label of autism without the diagnosis.  I had one from the state, but there was a real discussion at the table about the official diagnosis because a nurse typed it up.  It was accepted because a developmental pediatrician and psychologist signed off on it.  My diagnosis was much more than a GARS, it was 6 page report stating his strenghts and weaknesses and suggesting the next route of treatment.  But honestly after reading some nightmares, I have to say I've been truly blessed by the State, the school district and the Army in providing answers and services for my son. The good thing about medical records is that they legally can't disappear for 7 years, and most hold them longer.  So it's not lost, you just need to contact who diagnosed him and get a copy.  If the school continues to argue with you. It may seem petty in our quest to provide services for our children, but I for one am glad the school can't dx kids.  One, they have an obvious vested interest in inflating diagnosis, and two they don't need to be labeling our children. However, you can always input whatever you want on your childrens' IEP and the teacher will read that.  Realistically the education should be the same without the label.  You can add in the comments section that your child has a diagnosis of ASD, or you can simply say what her strenghts and weaknesses are.  (something I had to do while waiting for the offical occupational therapy diagnosis).  I'm so glad I took the Exceptional Children's class, because you also learn, that BY LAW, you are an important member of the IEP team, and your wishes must be doccumented.  They can't always provide them, but they have to say why.  [QUOTE=foxl]In MO they work around this by saying "Educational Autism." And WHY could a school Psychologist NOT diagnose?  With all the training they have and testing they do?  My goodness they go to professional school for 4 years or more and do an internship in their field.   I do in fact consider my school to have made my daughter's diagnosis, if we had left it to her pediatricians,  we would still have bupkes! ... and despite having medical insurance, until my husband was laid off, the policy we had through his work DID NOT COVER Autism or Developmental Delays.  It would have cost me 2200 in cash to get her a clinical evaluation. [/QUOTE]  I do see what you're saying, but I agree with IDEA too.  Here's a recent example from Britian on why schools shouldn't.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7102640/S chools-over-diagnosing-special-needs-to-cheat-league-tables- says-advisor.html  Also, our schools aren't medical providers, if they were to diagnose, we'd have to keep malpractice insurance on them, and you know some parent would sue over the lablel.  Autism is a medical diagnosis, and under current law that diagnosis is required to provide accomadations under 504. But some things to keep in mind if you are having trouble with your diagnosis.  All states must provide early intervention, that is before age 3.  We received our dx from the state agency for free.  Your county mental health department may have services after age 3, and many provide medicaid for children with austism despite other insurance.  If your child is more moderately disabled, there is also medicaid available through social security administration.  There are non-profits who provide medical grants that you could apply for, here is one where having medical insurance isn't a factor http://www.uhccf.org/  Also, for $140 here in NC you can get an Occupational therapy evaluation, and for $35 an hour, one from the psycholigist who administers behavioral therapy.  Also, try contacting your local Easter Seals and see what they say. I'm a poor single mom, so I did alot of research and have gotten help from the community.  One other place to consider if it's in your area, is your local chapter of the American Autism Society.  My chiropractor, who attends DAN! seminars, has waived the fee for adjusting my son if I pay for my adjustment. My old case-worker for the state's early in program still offers counselling to me.  I really have found ally's just by looking for them.  Really though, I strongly advocate a developmental pediatrician if it is at all affordable for your family.  My son has thrived under the care of ours  (I don't use DAN for those wondering, I can't afford it).  And it's wonderful having someone manage his care.  But I understand too, having someone tell you what to do stings, so do what works for your family.  I ran into an issue yesterday that somewhat puzzled me. DS was diagnosed 5 years ago, first by the school district, then by a medical specialist (several, actually).  He has just recently transferred back into a public special ed school after 2 years of ABA.  I adore his teacher and ds loves her as well. Yesterday, she emailed me and said that the school psychologist wanted to do a parent autism interview with me. I told her this was really silly, as DS was diagnosed 5 years ago.  Of course, when I got home, I could find ALL of his medical records except for the darn GARS report. Couldn't find it anywhere.  I email the teacher back, wondering why this was an issue at this time.  She said that at this particular school, an ASD label often gets lost in all the other labels, and that she is afraid other teachers would not realize that ds is on the spectrum, as well as globally delayed.  So, I called the hospital this morning and requested release of his records and should have them to school in a few weeks.  But, why would someone question whether he is on the spectrum 5 years later, when he so clearly is?  Harriet Yep.  I noticed in our meeting to determine triennial testing, the SD rep. made a biiig point of remarking that T does not have a medical diagnosis.  So I made a biiig point of retorting, I am still considering obtaining one.  (MY insurance now would cover it!). Not sure I would want the school to have access to the records ... she might have been fishing for that, though too.
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