AS or OHI on IEP?
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| Wed, 12-21-2005 - 6:07pm |
DS (7.5 yrs and in 2nd grade) was just diagnosed (last week) with Aspergers, anxiety disorders and mild ADD. I sent in my request for a MFE the same day I received the diagnosis. The principal called me the very next day, she received my letter and she wanted to meet with me, the resource coordinator, guidance counselor and DS's teacher to start the eval process. We met on Tuesday. I signed some forms and we went over a couple of things. The question I have is she said I should decide if I want the IEP under autism (aspergers) or OHI. Why wouldn't I want it under AS? I think it is a more direct explanation as to his disability/condition. OHI could be anything....like diabetes...I think it is too general. I'm I missing something here? Is it just that he'll be labeled autistic? That doesn't really bother me. Or does being classified as autistic restrict him from doing certain things? I really don't understand why I should not put aspergers on his IEP - any thoughts?
TIA, Christie

hmmm, that's interesting. I had to push the school district to change my son's IEP from speech to autism. We had to prove that he needed the change to better serve his needs(social skills teaching and accomadations for special areas classes). I think the goals, accomadations and placement is more important than whether it's an ASD vs OHI IEP. My older son didn't qualify as autistic as far as the school district was concerned so we have his IEP as OHI for ADHD, it's not exactly what his issues are, but it fills the needs at school since he doesn't have a Asperger's Dx even though that's where he seems to fit, currently his Dx is ADD-NOS.
there are other ladies that know more about the whole IEP process that might better answer your questions. OR, you might pose this question on the IEP board, they are truely experts in the subject.
Betsy
Wow, they left it up to the parent? that is weird it is usually a team decision involving the whole team. So at the IEP the psychologist will present thier findings as will all other team members. The psychologist may say (for initial) that x,y, and z categories can be considered and then usually during the IEP the team discusses it.
The determination for category is WHICH category they best fit under. Kids with AS may go under OHI if they don't fit under the autism criteria. Not all kids with AS fit the autism criteria as listed by IDEA or thier state, but have a medical diagnosis of AS.
If you child fits the autism criteria for your state and IDEA then I would put them under the autism heading because that is the one that fits the best. Also, there at times are programs that are more easily available with a certain designation like autism support services that will be harder to access with OHI.
OHI is a catch all for kids who don't really fit in any other criteria, have a medical diagnosis and it is affecting thier education.
HTH
Renee
Thank you Betsy! I am new to all of this stuff so I really appreciate your feedback and thoughts. It really gave me a clearer picture - Thanks!
Christie
PS - I did post the question on the IEP board - I did not get any responses so far so I decided to try this board since I have started posting here regularly and I have read that several people have school-age children with IEPs
Thank you Renee! I appreciate your input. I guess I am mainly confused because I did get a chance to have coffee with two ladies from the local parents support group for children with needs in our school district. I got seriously overwhelmed with all of the info they were giving me. Don't get me wrong....I desperately need the info but some stuff was so confusing. The one mom, Ann, kept saying that I should try to get my son classified as OHI and not under autism. She said before she knew her rights, her son was labeled autistic (he has AS as well) and now she is fighting like crazy to get that label removed. She said she has refused to sign his IEP because of this. I asked her directly what was so wrong with being classified as autistic and I did not get a direct answer. I mean we are talking about him being classified as autistic for school resources....it is not like they are going to make him wear AUTISM written on his back.
Maybe they are just asking me to choose the classification to start the eval under and after the MFE is done, the team will decide which classification fits best - I don't know - we'll see.
Again, thanks!
Christie
I know someone who is like that. It really comes down to they don't want the label of autism on thier child. Typically it is some reason like they don't want all the teachers to automatically label the child as autistic and thus set the expectations too low. I guess they believe autism comes with a stigma and that is part of what I am trying to change at APOV.
Typically you pick the category which is the best fit for the child. Sometimes you will find that there are autism services available to children with an autism classification so if he needs that it can be the better one to get. There are autism specialist services in our town like that, but I haven't been terribly impressed. My husband is an autism specialist in another district and to access the services of his dept it is easier if you have an AUT classification, but I don't think it is neccessary. It really depends district to district.
The categories really are only part of the eligibility process. He has to fit at least one to have an IEP. It really shouldn't matter that much which one it is so long as he can get his needs met, it just helps them plan what he needs etc, to have those. For instance, you are going to plan for a child with learning disabilities differently than one with autism. However, you may have a child that has both learning disabilities and autism so you choose which category is a better fit but the child would still be able to access all the services he would need for his IEP (both LD services and AUT services).
Is that clearer?
Renee
Thank you....much clearer....I appreciate it!
Christie