Guest guest Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Hi all, My son's school dist. Wants to label my son with " autism eligibility " . I disagree strongly. Has anyone fought a school district and won? I prefer my son to receive speech services under " speech & language impairment eligibility " . I disagree with the school district's evaluation. It appears to me that they misrepresented his behavior to support an ASD diagnosis. Their report doesn't read to be about my child at all. Please help me traverse this adversarial journey. All advise is appreciated. Sent from my iPhone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 The school system is not qualified to diagnose your child. Have you been to any private specialists (neurologist or developmental pediatrician) who has evaluated your son? If they disagree with the district, that could help. Most schools give more services to children who are labeled autistic, but those services can also be inappropriate for the child. It depends on the child. I would not sign any paperwork that the district gives you until you agree on what it says. I would be straight forward with them regarding your thoughts and tell them why you feel their label is incorrect. I would ask that they provide speech therapy for your son because that is the area of difficulty that you are seeking help for at this time. Remember, the school district has no right to your child. You have the right to refuse services that you do not feel are appropriate. Some school districts try to rush parents into signing IFSP and IEPs, but the pressure is on them, not you. You can call for a re-evaluation meeting at any time. Best wishes, > > Hi all, > My son's school dist. Wants to label my son with " autism eligibility " . I disagree strongly. Has anyone fought a school district and won? I prefer my son to receive speech services under " speech & language impairment eligibility " . I disagree with the school district's evaluation. It appears to me that they misrepresented his behavior to support an ASD diagnosis. Their report doesn't read to be about my child at all. Please help me traverse this adversarial journey. All advise is appreciated. > > > Sent from my iPhone > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Yes, , you need an independent evaluation--the school can and should pay for it, but it drags on. Insurance in most cases will pay for an evaluation with a developmental pediatrician --but be sure it is one who knows apraxia/speech problems and how they can share some of the neurological soft signs and behavioral problems with ASD without being ASD. Most experienced doctors can tell the difference--but school districts prefer to lump them all in one category and not have to worry about separate goals and remediation services. DO NOT let tis happen to your child if you feel s/he si NOT ASD. Most children who are apraxic and NOT ASD--need to be with neurotypical children , in an inclusive environment. I fought tooth and nail for this one with my school district, I still did not win but refused their special preschool services with ASD boys only for my apraxic only 4 year old girl. She's now in mainstream kindergarten and I just sneeked her in without worrying about the school district--they weren't even told, we have the IEP meeting sometime in Spring for her 33 year evaluation and we'll see what additional services they will offer for her in first grade--we'll still do our private speech and OT though--we're just looking for accomodations in class--sxtra time to answer questions, repeated instruction, maybe some jumping jacks in the corner to reset her sensory wise. But you cna't count on the school district to provide fiull and appropriate services for apraxic kids, they are most often not able to--the SLPs do not have morot planning PROMPT training--no time to do 1:P1 and not enough, our kids need it 4-5 times on average. So take what you can from them, fight--politely--demand your child's rights to a FAPE--but be aware that sometimes the battle is not worth fighting because they cannot possibly provide exactly what your child may need so be realistic and take what you can get from them--but the firs tstep is definitely the private evaluation which they cannot ignore, If left to do their own they do not give diagnosis remember, they are an educational institution and only identify areas of need and that is way too vague and can e only because that's all they can offer or are willing to offer so this is the first step--a private speech evaluation--with an SLP who knows apraxia and then a developmental pediatrician who also knows apraxia to see if there are any ASD issues and if there are recommendations should be made--but most high functioning ASD kids should be in an inclusive program with typical peers and support, that is the least restrictive environment for them so they can model normal speech and behavior with the help of an aide --another thing schools do NOT like to do becuase it is too costly. Good luck! Elena From: megansellwood <meganreville@...> Subject: [ ] Re: ARD meeting. Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 1:18 AM The school system is not qualified to diagnose your child. Have you been to any private specialists (neurologist or developmental pediatrician) who has evaluated your son? If they disagree with the district, that could help. Most schools give more services to children who are labeled autistic, but those services can also be inappropriate for the child. It depends on the child. I would not sign any paperwork that the district gives you until you agree on what it says. I would be straight forward with them regarding your thoughts and tell them why you feel their label is incorrect. I would ask that they provide speech therapy for your son because that is the area of difficulty that you are seeking help for at this time. Remember, the school district has no right to your child. You have the right to refuse services that you do not feel are appropriate. Some school districts try to rush parents into signing IFSP and IEPs, but the pressure is on them, not you. You can call for a re-evaluation meeting at any time. Best wishes, > > Hi all, > My son's school dist. Wants to label my son with " autism eligibility " . I disagree strongly. Has anyone fought a school district and won? I prefer my son to receive speech services under " speech & language impairment eligibility " . I disagree with the school district's evaluation. It appears to me that they misrepresented his behavior to support an ASD diagnosis. Their report doesn't read to be about my child at all. Please help me traverse this adversarial journey. All advise is appreciated. > > > Sent from my iPhone > ------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Thanks for the advice. I am expecting the ARD to be less pleasant than a pap smear and mammogram ;-/ I plan to not sign a thing until I get an independent eval. I keep reminding myself that I know my child best and if the school dist doesn't listen, then I can (gulp) home school for a few years. Merry Christmas Sent from my iPhone On Dec 22, 2009, at 3:16 PM, Elena Danaila <edanaila@...> wrote: Yes, , you need an independent evaluation--the school can and should pay for it, but it drags on. Insurance in most cases will pay for an evaluation with a developmental pediatrician --but be sure it is one who knows apraxia/speech problems and how they can share some of the neurological soft signs and behavioral problems with ASD without being ASD. Most experienced doctors can tell the difference--but school districts prefer to lump them all in one category and not have to worry about separate goals and remediation services. DO NOT let tis happen to your child if you feel s/he si NOT ASD. Most children who are apraxic and NOT ASD--need to be with neurotypical children , in an inclusive environment. I fought tooth and nail for this one with my school district, I still did not win but refused their special preschool services with ASD boys only for my apraxic only 4 year old girl. She's now in mainstream kindergarten and I just sneeked her in without worrying about the school district--they weren't even told, we have the IEP meeting sometime in Spring for her 33 year evaluation and we'll see what additional services they will offer for her in first grade--we'll still do our private speech and OT though--we're just looking for accomodations in class--sxtra time to answer questions, repeated instruction, maybe some jumping jacks in the corner to reset her sensory wise. But you cna't count on the school district to provide fiull and appropriate services for apraxic kids, they are most often not able to--the SLPs do not have morot planning PROMPT training--no time to do 1:P1 and not enough, our kids need it 4-5 times on average. So take what you can from them, fight--politely--demand your child's rights to a FAPE--but be aware that sometimes the battle is not worth fighting because they cannot possibly provide exactly what your child may need so be realistic and take what you can get from them--but the firs tstep is definitely the private evaluation which they cannot ignore, If left to do their own they do not give diagnosis remember, they are an educational institution and only identify areas of need and that is way too vague and can e only because that's all they can offer or are willing to offer so this is the first step--a private speech evaluation--with an SLP who knows apraxia and then a developmental pediatrician who also knows apraxia to see if there are any ASD issues and if there are recommendations should be made--but most high functioning ASD kids should be in an inclusive program with typical peers and support, that is the least restrictive environment for them so they can model normal speech and behavior with the help of an aide --another thing schools do NOT like to do becuase it is too costly. Good luck! Elena From: megansellwood <meganreville@...> Subject: [ ] Re: ARD meeting. Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 1:18 AM The school system is not qualified to diagnose your child. Have you been to any private specialists (neurologist or developmental pediatrician) who has evaluated your son? If they disagree with the district, that could help. Most schools give more services to children who are labeled autistic, but those services can also be inappropriate for the child. It depends on the child. I would not sign any paperwork that the district gives you until you agree on what it says. I would be straight forward with them regarding your thoughts and tell them why you feel their label is incorrect. I would ask that they provide speech therapy for your son because that is the area of difficulty that you are seeking help for at this time. Remember, the school district has no right to your child. You have the right to refuse services that you do not feel are appropriate. Some school districts try to rush parents into signing IFSP and IEPs, but the pressure is on them, not you. You can call for a re-evaluation meeting at any time. Best wishes, > > Hi all, > My son's school dist. Wants to label my son with " autism eligibility " . I disagree strongly. Has anyone fought a school district and won? I prefer my son to receive speech services under " speech & language impairment eligibility " . I disagree with the school district's evaluation. It appears to me that they misrepresented his behavior to support an ASD diagnosis. Their report doesn't read to be about my child at all. Please help me traverse this adversarial journey. All advise is appreciated. > > > Sent from my iPhone > ------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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