Optimal_Illusion: daisiem: My son is an Aspie, and I am grateful that he fits under the Autism diagnosis. His IQ if off the charts, but he has the social skills of a potato. There I said, it, I'm a bad mom, but it's the truth. Without that diagnosis, he wouldn't have an IEP at school. Without that IEP, there is no way he would survive high school.

heh. "Potato."

My son is also an Aspie. Was diagnosed about 12 years ago. And yeah, without the IEP, he'd never have graduated. he can't look anyone in the eyes, has very low tolerance for loud noises and bright light situations, at 8 he memorized the entire Pokemon universe and builds the most intricate creatures, including skeletal and musculature defining aspects...out of pipe cleaners.

He was honor roll for 4 years in HS, with the IEP after barely surviving elementary school and enters college this year on a full ride studying Architecture.

We're pretty proud of what he's accomplished, but know damn well it wouldn't have happened without a lot of help.

This worries me greatly as the parent of two girls with Asperger's. Without their IEPs and medical coding they would not receive the therapy or accomodations at school that they desperately need.

Right now it is the fear of the unknown - will they or won't they qualify under the new guidelines for "Autism"?

seadoo2006: Here's my DSM 2 ... oh, wait, you meant THAT DSM ... well, damn ... walk crank, walk.

[memimage.cardomain.com image 640x420]

lilbordr: [i63.photobucket.com image 640x512]


You two made my day.

/former Me-So-biatchy slave
//'92 VR-4
///Yeah yeah, not a DSM, but we've all got problems...

kaedric: Spiralmonkey: Teknowaffle: kaedric: Ghastly: Now what will socially inept people on the internet self diagnose themselves as?

"chronic" lyme disease sufferers

No, Morgellons disease is the new one.

/Not enough cuckoo clocks in the world to properly illustrate how crazy those people are.

I had never heard of that before, but it is such a cool name - like an old-school Doctor Who villain. The Morgellons are grey-green and made of spray painted bubble wrap and bits of wool left over from making the Doctor's scarf. They live in a quarry in Wales and don't get on with the Sontarans.

haa ha...that's awesome. Love it. I wonder if they are also from Clom, the sister planet to Raxacoricofallapatorius.

They were originally, but they had a spat with the Slitheen and had to move to the Tenth Planet after a feud about noxious gases turned nasty. They didn't see eye-to-visor with the Cybermen there so had to move on to Wales, where they now reside, involved in a cold war of epic proportions with the Sontarans who just don't like them. They're kind of like the gypsy-travellers of space - everyone says they're 'colourful' and maintain an ancient tradition, but no-one wants them in their back yard.

daisiem: Without that diagnosis, he wouldn't have an IEP at school. Without that IEP, there is no way he would survive high school.

Buffco: As a parent of a high-functioning ......... we don't know what yet, I am NOT getting a kick. Her IEP is a lifesaver.


The problem, I feel, is that state governments and insurance companies use the diagnosis of autism as a requisite for providing services, when they shouldn't.

On the one hand, the ABA right that high functioning kids might not need to be described as "autistic". But those same kids still need Early Intervention, and IEPs, and ABA, and whatever other programs they can get. And those are the kids that are the most likely to be able to be integrated into a normal classroom setting after a couple of years of intense therapy, and are the most likely to become adults that function in society.

/dad of an autistic kid that won't meet the new criteria
//live in broke-ass California, so I expect them to be content reducing the number of people getting services.

Krieghund:

On the one hand, the ABA

Er, I meant the APA. Damn acronyms.

GBB: daisiem: My son is an Aspie, and I am grateful that he fits under the Autism diagnosis. His IQ if off the charts, but he has the social skills of a potato. There I said, it, I'm a bad mom, but it's the truth. Without that diagnosis, he wouldn't have an IEP at school. Without that IEP, there is no way he would survive high school.

Heh. I WISH I had the social skills of a potato. A potato was our prom king and star quarter back.

/Don't even ask about the cucumber

Got laid more?

The proposed revision doesn't bother me except for this part, relating to obtaining an educational diagnosis vs a medical one (the two can be completely different, although both use the DSM criteria).

This part: The necessity for multiple sources of information including skilled clinical observation and reports from parents/caregivers/teachers is highlighted by the need to meet a higher proportion of criteria.

Schools place almost the entire weight on teacher and their own consultants' data and very little on parents or outside data. My older daughter's initial school evaluation scored markedly high on ALL autism related testing *except* the ADOS module 3, due to her father and I being very involved in scripting with her and social training. The ADOS is an observation given in 45 minutes or less with an adult examiner (or more than one adult examiner) privately. There is no peer involvement. The school declined to give her an educational diagnosis of autism based only on this ADOS test, although *twelve* other tests scored her well within an ASD.

It was not until we obtained a private evaluation (consisting of a team with a speech pathologist, a child psychologist, and a developmental pediatrician) at our own cost, hired an advocate, and then spent more than year contesting the school district that she was given the correct diagnosis. (Six months in, they said she was "emotionally disturbed" so she qualified for Special Education services - however, here in Texas there are many things you cannot get unless you have an educational diagnosis of Asperger's or Autism for the "Texas Autism Supplement".)

Since then, she has flourished. There are still difficulties. She has an aide, has pull out services, OT, etc. as well as accomodations within the classroom and for homework. She is now a solid A/B student with a good disciplinary record instead of the violent, frustrated, and unwilling to do any work whatsoever student that she was in third grade (She is now ending sixth grade.) While she may eventually not meet criteria on her own merits, that time has not yet come and if she loses eligibility within the next six months to a year (whenever the DSM 5 becomes protocol and then the trickle down to the school level, re-evaluation, and her annual ARD in December), she will face a great deal of difficulty.

Autism/Asperger's is an EXPENSIVE diagnosis for a school district. It is my worry that with the tighter regulations that we will again face where one test or one area alone will exclude her from the *educational* diagnosis, and she will thus lose her IEP and accomodations. She may still qualify under OHI (Other Health Impairment) for Special Education, but we will lose access to the Autism Supplement that has basically made her a new person and a contributing member of society.

It's nice to think that schools are supposed to provide based on need and not by label, but that is EXACTLY what they do. Without the label THEY want, you DON'T get much in the area of services or accomodations. You're "just a bad kid".

My youngest is more severely affected and I don't worry as much that she will continue to meet the proposed criteria. She is currently only mainstreamed for about half of her school day as it is, with an aide.