I'm not a true advocate (for pay) - I only advocate for my sons, myself and my widow mother. That being said, what I say to you is not any type of "professional advise". However, it is my experience, as well as the experience of many other parents I have spoken to, that there are IEP teams and school districts that attempt to do things a little bit out of the norm in regards to what is stated in the Special Education Law guidelines or procedures for your particular state. First and foremost, read over and become familiar with the Federal Law and well as your State law on Special Education services.

Is your daughter currently in Pre-K and this IEP meeting is about her transitioning into Kindergarten? My understanding is that in Pre-K, the child is not classified in the IEP as Autistic - but as a child with an educational disability. It is when the child transitions between Pre-K into Kindergarten, that the IEP team needs to assess the child and determine what Special Education classification they will fall under, (i.e, hearing imparied, visually impairied, Autism, other health impaired, etc.)

My understanding is that if you had a complete and thorough evaluation (ADOS, CARS, etc.) by a medical professional (such as the psychologist or developmental pediatrician), and they give a formal diagnosis of autism, F84.0, that is a medical diagnosis and your child qualifies for services - based on his/her needs (i.e., HFA child may not need speech therapy if he/she is speaking fine, but perhaps he/she needs social skills support or behavior therapy to deal with aggression or issues with transition, etc.). A child with more severe autism will need more - such as what is provided at an out of district school. The school should give services tailored to the needs of the child.

I would go back and ask the school psychologist and the IEP team to further clarify what they mean by the statement that your child does not meet the criteria for the Autism category for the classification for special education services. You have a diagnosis from a medical professional. What is your child's current special education classification? (If your child has medical issues, don't be surprised that the team may want to classify your child as "Other Health Impaired" and say that the health issues are more pressing than the autism diagnosis.)

Also, it is my understanding that even if your child has the autism diagnosis, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be placed in an autism program (which is a much smaller classroom). If he/she is HFA, he/she may be placed in the inclusive classroom, but he/she is still able to get the services that are needed, such as OT, Speech, etc.

I hope this helps I know it's alot.

By the way, what state are you in?

@A MyAutismTeam Member, thanks again for your reply! This was very helpful! I’ve submitted the ADOS report for the psychologist to review and am waiting to hear what her final decision is. During the meeting she did tell the diagnostician to Wait on her review of the ADOS report before putting any diagnosis or otherwise down on paper. I’m just taking her word for it.

The example you gave about the social skills part made things much clearer for me .. I truly appreciate it!

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A MyAutis...

Did the school psychologist and the IEP team review the ADOS-s report (and autism finding)? If it wasn't presented in the meeting, they will not consider it in their decision. All reports and documents must be presented and then they decide whether to consider it in the decision. However, I believe the ADOS-2 is a more thorough evaluation than the CARS and has more weight. If the school acknowledges the Autism diagnosis in the IEP, they will need to assess the specific needs of your child in relation to that diagnosis. For example, if your child is very quiet and does not socialize much, they maybe more apt to provide social skills training or goals, because of the autism diagnosis. However, if your child is classified under Other Health Impaired, they may just interpret the behavior as being shy and choose not to address it.

@A MyAutismTeam Member thank you so much for your reply!
We’re in Texas. The meeting was for transition from pre-k to kindergarten. The School psychologist started the conversation about the diagnosis by saying “we do not go by medical diagnosis”! When I mentioned that she’s been evaluated twice by a child psychologist using ADOS-2 she said she’ll reconsider if I submit the diagnostic paperwork. She and the developmental pediatrician used CARS. I did ask her to give me a detailed description of her findings. I sat down with her and we went through her evaluation in detail for over an hour. Her conclusion was that she exhibited minimal to no symptoms of autism! My daughter has had intense ABA therapy and that may have changed things.. I don’t know.. she still lines things up and stuff but not as much as she did.
I can’t remember the exact special ed classification she’s under right now, but she qualified to be in the school PPCD program due to speech delay when she turned 3. We thought it was related to her being preemie at that time. Autism diagnosis came later. The plan right now, based on her performance is for her to go to the regular kindergarten classroom which I’m fine with and currently she’s getting all the support she needs.

I will definitely look at the federal and state laws again.
Thanks again

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A MyAutis...