Does having Asperger's qualify you for an IEP? - Asperger's Syndrome Message Board

Willstrideryder · 09-14-2006, 12:12 PM

Hi All!

I am very frustrated with our school. Our 7 year old son is PDD-NOS but without an IEP. They have denied him one even though he clearly needs speech therapy for social skills. They also denied him a 504 plan as well, even with a dr's note. His psychologist also recommended that he gets OT, which he was evaluated for, but his score wasn't quite low enough. He is top of his class (I think he is more Aspie). He has SO much anxiety before and after school, but at school everyone says he is the model student. He can't shut his mind off at night and he asks questions after questions after questions....HELP!!! Today I went out and bought a a video camera so I can record him and proove to them that he needs help. I don't know what else to do. Are kids with Asperger's not allowed to have an IEP? Yesterday he couldn't get a drink of water because he kept thinking that a bug was on the cup! (there was no bug) He couldn't feed himself cereal because the spoon was too slippery! I feel like no one understands me and I am this big bad person trying to get IEP's for all of my kids. Any advice is SO appreciated. Thanks!

Midget · 09-14-2006, 12:15 PM

A few kids I went to highschool with are Aspies, and they had IEPs. Maybe policies are differnet in your district, but I think this needs more investigation. Have you tried contacting anyone higher-up in Special Ed for your district? Perhaps the supervisor could help you.

sross24 · 09-14-2006, 02:45 PM

Willstrideryder,

It has always amazed me how much you and I are alike. My 6 year old with PDD-NOS (who I feel is really Aspergers), also has no IEP. I am fighting the school about it though. They say that she is doing fine in school, so there is no need from their standpoint. And she is getting by because she is very intelligent.

Someone gave me some advice. Get some neuropsych testing. One thing that can help is if the childs IQ is above average and their other test scores are average, then you can fight the school and say that the child is not working up to their potential. In other words if their IQ is above average, then their schoolwork should also be above average. The other thing is independent evals. An outside speech eval by a speech pathologist with lots of recommendations might help.

Now I give you this advice, but I do have to say, that I have not taken this advice myself yet. I don't know about you, but having four kids, three with special needs is overwhelming. I'm having trouble keeping up with all the appointments, and paying the copays for them all. I know you have four kids of your own, so you can relate.

Anyway, good luck to you. And let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

-Steph

GatsbyLuvr1920 · 09-15-2006, 12:12 PM

Yes, they're eligible for an IEP. I don't really know much about IEP, but at the very least, your son qualifies for learning accommodations. I wish I had had them when I was in grade school. Luckily, though, I have them, now, even if the first time I could utilize my accommodations was in college...

Regardless whether he's an Aspie or has PDD-NOS, you can talk to his teacher about tailoring the subject matter for your son's individual and different learning style.
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

mommygiraffe · 09-18-2006, 10:09 AM

My son's school psychologist told me that my son qualifies for placement due to his Asperger's dx. He has this from a psyciatrist and a neurologist. This week he is finishing up his testing, and then we'll go from there.