IEP eligibility for child with high functioning autism
Hi parents
Has anyone gone through the process of getting their high functioning child on the spectrum eligible for an IEP? How does one show that a child's social, emotional and communication issues hinders his/her access to learning? I am hoping I can get some advice from you lovely people before the next time I talk to the school!
Thank you so much for your help. Stay safe.
Sep 14, 2020
Parent Replies
You might contact the school IN WRITING telling them you want your child to be tested. The test itself has a section for the child to fill out and questions for the parent to fill out that addresses your student's issues directly. The school has to legally comply with your request. The test is done at no cost to the student or family. You will be able to use the results to support your student all the way through college - with more time on tests. So having a test done by the school is invaluable. If you have a private test done the costs run $2K - and up and are usually not accepted by the School district, as they have to run their own test. Good luck!
My son was evaluated by OUSD at age 3.5 and has high functioning autism. He’s 6.5 now and has had an IEP ever since. They don’t differentiate between where your child is on the spectrum as far as the IEP goes. There are different classrooms and your child will probably be in an inclusion class which is general education with accommodations. After assessing your child, they will come up with a plan of ways to accommodate your child to help them learn. During the IEP meeting you can make suggestions as to what you think will work best for your child.
My child qualified for a 504 plan, where you can get accommodations but you have to do the same work as the other kids. The IEP is where you don't have to do the same work as the other kids. You can ask the district for a free evaluation and they have to give it to you, without you having to prove anything. We did this, and then we (parents) had a meeting with the principal, a teacher, and the evaluators (psychologist and other learning disabled professionals from the school, they watched her on the playground and administered tests). See the dredf.org website. (disability rights organization. Good luck, accommodations can help your child!
Just to correct, an IEP and 504 are not separated by the type of work done. A child with an IEP can still be required to do the same work as all their classmates, however, there can be accommodations like more time, or spread out into smaller, more manageable chunks, etc. It's true that the work may be different for some students, but this is not true for all students with IEPs. Also, if you disagree strongly with the results of the school's assessment you can get your own assessment and the district would be required to pay for it. They will probably give you a list of clinicians to use, but you are not required to use theirs. Check out these resources: DREDF, DRC, wrightslaw.com.