My son's school says he's "not autistic enough" to qualify for all mods

[Not_Giving_Up]

He's an Aspie with severe ADHD and takes meds to help him cope. When we moved here a year ago, the school did an evaluation on him and said that he is not autistic enough to count as autistic by their guidelines. I offered to send him to school sans meds and let them re-evaluate him. A lot of modifications that were made for him in TX are not being made for him here, and last school year was a disaster. This school year seems on track already to be the same. Can they do this??????

[KamaAina]

1. Contact your local Autism Society

they should be able to put you in touch with an advocate or even an attorney if necessary. Sad to say, this sort of behavior is par for the course for most public school systems. Try growing up in Conn., where I did: each town has its own separate school district, thus a move of 5 miles meant starting from Square One with a new district. :eyes:

[MichiganVote]

2. Depends. First and foremost, there has to be an educational need for SPED certification.

Its confusing for many parents these days whose children are diagnosed anything to understand why the children are not automatically accorded special services. But just as a Food Stamp program has qualifiers, so too does special ed. in a school. Special ed. is a service not a place. If your child is appropriately supported without special education services then the more "restrictive" designation of special education is not warranted.

However....

That said, ANY child may have a need for appropriate accomodations or modifications. In general, students with a diagnosis of ADHD or Aspergers need some of these as well as some kind of social plan to help them succeed socially.

You should have received a copy of the procedural rights as well as area referrals. There are things that a parent can do to contest the findings of an evaluative team.

These are the usual basics when it comes to students with ASD

(1. A personal visual schedule
(2. Reduction in the daily sensory overstimulation that randomly occurs throughout the day (time out area w/o stimulation for short periods)
(3. A communication system, often visual, that tells a student what you want w/o the need for verbal stuff
(4. A social plan, where to sit for lunch, what to do at recess, who to count on for peer support and play
(5. Reduced or adapted PE or Music (these seem to be the hot spots for these kids, probably the noise)