| What Does This Diagnosis Mean?, Part II
Children who are served under an Individualized Education
Program (IEP) in public schools may have
received a diagnosis of autism or a related
disorder from a medical or psychological
professional outside of the school system.
However, it is possible for school personnel to
complete an evaluation and arrive at a diagnosis
of autism and then work with the entire IEP team
to determine the child's eligibility for
services related to that disability.
The
evaluation seeks to determine the child's
potential as compared to the child's current
level of achievement. That means the school will
be using the results to determine that the
disability is or is not impacting the child's
academic success. A school psychologist and
special education staff will complete a
battery of assessments, checklists and
informal observations that
evaluate:
*
intellectual
functioning
* the
child's learning strengths and
weaknesses
* academic achievement in areas of reading, math
and written expression (if
applicable)
* the
child's behavioral profile across school
settings
*
the child's communication
abilities
*
the child's adaptive skills, or their
independence in daily activities of
living
The
team's finding in these areas may warrant more
discrete testing in a specific area.
When
all the information has been gathered the IEP
team will provide the family with the
results of the assessments, which may include
formal diagnoses. However for the educational
setting there is more to determine. The team
will compare the child's performance on the
assessments and informal measures to determine
strengths and weaknesses and the subsequent
educational impact of both. If it is determined
that the disability is not negatively
impacting educational achievement then it is
likely that no special education services
will be provided for the child to assist them in
the school setting.
If
it is impacting the child's educational
performance the IEP team must consider all areas
of eligibility that are represented by the
child's deficit. The team may determine that the
child meets criteria for more than one area of
eligibility. To determine that a child's
disability qualifies them for an eligibility of
autism they must demonstrate the
following:
*
Delays, arrests, or inconsistencies in
developmental rates and sequences in motor,
sensory, social, cognitive, or communication
skills.
* Difficulties in social interaction
& participation
* Deficit in the use of
verbal/nonverbal language, especially for social
communication
* Unconventional, unusual, or
repetitive responses to sensory stimuli.
*
Displays stress over changes and/or engagement
in repetitive
activities.
It
is important to note that in the educational
arena the autism eligibility does not
distinguish between specific diagnoses such as
Aspergers Syndrome or PDD-NOS.
While
seeking an educational eligibility for
autism a family should expect the
appropriate school personnel to spend
ample time taking a thorough history and
discussing parental concerns. School
personnel should also spend time getting to
know both the parents, but
especially the child, as well
as, observe the child in multiple school
settings in addition to completing their
formal assessments.
In
our next edition of Parent Matters we will
discuss more current thinking on the
characteristics of autism and its related
disorders.
Fondly,
Janice Guice | 
