Re: Anyone have suggestions?

January 5, 2006

LOVE IT-

Liz and Troy wrote:

AWESOME IDEA about homeschoolers!

Liz

>

> I would like to see someone speak on homeschooling students with

> Autism. Or

> maybe better yet, have a time scheduled for those who homeschool to

> meet and

> discuss in a roundtable kind of format, like it is with the parent

> panels.

> in Austin

>

> Anyone have suggestions?

>

> I'm going to be giving input about speakers and topics for the 2006

> state

> autism conference. nna is too. Does anyone have any burning

> desire to

> see a particular speaker?

>

> Let me know

> S.

>

> Texas Autism Advocacy

> www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

>

> Texas Disability Network

> Calendar of Events

> www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

>

January 5, 2006

Don't know if you want therapist's feedback on this, but I am hearing a lot

about the DIR program that the Connections Center in Houston is running. It

would be nice to be able to get an overview of the program.

HTH,

Mimi Branham

January 5, 2006

Well, this is a really interesting issue. So interesting that the Texas

Council for Autism and PDD recently spent $30,000 to see exactly how and who

was diagnosing autism. The CDC is spending millions in about 15 states to

see how and by whom autism is diagnosed.

first of all, you need to understand that a diagnosis is the key to opening

the door of services--nothing more. If you are seeking insurance services,

then you need a medical doctor. If you need school services, then the

school must give a school label to it. Officially, the school is not

" diagnosing " the child with autism. They are saying that this particular

child meets the criteria for the school's label autism on such and such a

particular day for such and such a person(s) and so can receive services

from the school. Having a school label for autism does NOT mean that you

can then turn around and go get private services through the insurance.

What I find highly irregular is that school's are contesting medical

diagnoses. You don't see a school contesting other disabilities, like CP,

seizure disorder, asthma etc. However, parents of these children can go

through just as much hassle dealing with the school as do we parents of

children with autism. The school is able to contest a medical diagnosis

because there is no biological test for autism. The diagnostic process is

very subjective. As we all know, our children perform very differently for

different people in different places. Because of this, a school can say,

" Oh, we simply don't see that behavior at school. Oh, little ny never

does that. " and thus this child doesn't match the criteria for autism.

Often though in those situations, this same child will be receiving lots of

conduct notices--

Then there are just plain ignorant and negligent teachers who wouldn't know

a child with autism if he bit them.

My sense of it is that it's not so much that the law allows them to

diagnosis, it's that the state requires schools to assure that the money is

being spent on children who truly need those services.

Most of the time though, it comes down to money. The district simply does

not want to spend the money--because they are strapped for it what with

football being so expensive and all. I recently had a former special ed

teacher who taught in a one of the often recommended districts in the

Houston area tell me that she was told to state things in such a way that

parents wouldn't think to ask or know to ask for everything that there child