Autism/ASD- Aspergers

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Expert: - 5/4/2011


Question
My 10 year old son was diagnosed with ASD - Aspergers in Nov 2010.  Before we received the results my son has a meltdown at the school and the police were called and my son was baker acted for 3 days.  I took ASD diagnosis to the school to request for an evaluation.  They immediately qualified his as EBD and placed him in a special day school for EBD (a hospital) why they completed the ASD evaluation.  Six months went by before they called to finally have the meeting for ASD evaluation.  We were told that he did not qualify for the ASD program and that he would be staying in the EBD special day school.  I am confused as to why he did not qualify his for ASD as that is his medical diagnosis.  I need to get him out of the EBD school because it is an awful environment for him to be in.  During one meltdown they restrained him.  Please let me know how I can get him qualified for ASD.

Answer
Kelly,

The school district should have performed a number of assessments on your son and they should have reported their results at the meeting they held (I assume it was an IEP Team Meeting) because they qualified him for special education under the category of EBD (Emotional Behavior Disability). This was probably a result of his melt down and hospitalization (Baker Act) for 3 days. It may be difficult to have the district switch his qualification from EBD to ASD because of this meltdown.

Your options are to request in writing another assessment for your son qualifying under ASD rather than EBD. Then if the district turns you down, you can file a complaint with the Florida Department of Education or you can file for a Due Process Hearing. In either case you will have to give strong evidence that your son's meltdown was a result of him being improperly served before the melt down. You will have to prove that the district not properly serving him caused the melt-down.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Advocate
Advocates for Kids
Email: timrunner@gmail.com
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com  

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Tim Runner

Expertise

Questions concerning autistic student special education: IEP, assessments, Due Process, mediation, resolution conference, federal law, state law, qualifying for services, residential treatment, special day classes, resource specialists, procedures, having your child assessed, adaptive PE, speech & language, non-public school, FAPE, tuition reimbursement for private schools and treatment centers .

Experience

I have been an education advocate representing students and parents for six years. My experience includes: representing my clients in IEPs, SSTs, Due Process, review assessment results for my clients and for other advocates, and mediations. I have represented clients with learning disabilities, autism, Downs Syndrome, cognitively challenged, emotional problems, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and physical disabilities. I have also represented clients to County Mental Health Departments and Regional Centers. My clients range from pre-school to college students in California and various other states.

Education/Credentials
I have a degree in Mathematics from the University of California with minors in Psychology and Physics. I also studied applied statistics in the field of psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I have taught college classes, conducted seminars, written articles for various publications, and testified as an expert witness.

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