"Outgrowing" austism: IEP vs. 504 Plan?

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Awesome!

You still have a lot of difficult roads ahead of you, in my opinion, and NO WAY would I give up the IEP. Yet.

I am wondering if the problem is that your son no longer appears to qualify for any specific service. We were told last year that in our district, having an IEP required qualifying for some service. Until last year, it wasn't an issue, because my son always met either the requirements for OT or speech or resource in any given year (a child can "graduate" one year and then re-qualify in a future year because the standards are moving targets). But last year we actually reached the point where he could fall out of the services at the same time, but got a reprieve by being able to keep him in speech for social skills. Watching this past year with that safety net, we're finally ready to let go and just have the 504.

But my son is about to turn 16. We're already past most of the hot spots (upper elementary, middle school, and puberty).

Organizational skills as a developmental delay are likely to become a big problem with your son over the next 4 years. And seemingly little things, like not being able to change shoes fast enough to move from PE to the next class. You are going to want the power of the IEP to call all the teachers into the room and figure out what your son needs.

The driving factor for us was always the dysgraphia, too, and my son has a permanent accommodation for keyboarding. But we saw, over the years, so many other things that came along with it. Those other things are still there, even if they are not obvious anymore. No one outgrows an ASD, even if doctors and schools want us to believe they do. They learn to cope, to work around, etc. But with your son being only 9 the goal post is still moving, and moving rapidly. New gaps are going to appear.

I was wrong; the IEP is officially gone.

I think that this is exactly it. Pragmatic speech aside, he doesn't really qualify for speech therapy at this point. And the amount of PT or OT that they're even capable of providing is minimal, at best. And it's only going to get worse...they're getting more students next year, but losing two teachers, thanks to school closures and budget issues.

That's the other problem. The school is more than willing to provide services, I think. But they literally CAN'T right now. And I can't deny that there are kids there who need significantly more help than Eldest does, even now.



Oh, god, I don't even want to think about puberty. It's going to be a rough, rough time.

I can't find the citation right now, but I am fairly certain that school districts that can't meet the needs of their SPED population can increase the tax levy to cover these costs, since they are mandated by law to provide FAPE.

Problem is, school districts don't want to make waves in the tax base, so they don't. Until parents stand up and say that SPED kids getting support is important for all kids, it isn't going to happen.

Trust me, one can't outgrow autism. Its the way the brain is wired: physiciologically/neurologically. Some people are very adaptable, and if he's been able to adapt in such a way that his autism is no longer intefering with daily life to the extent it was when he was younger, then that's great! That a good sign the road ahead will be smoother for him.
However, if you feel he still need real assistance specific to challenges related to autism, then id suggest getting second opinions so that he can get whatever help will best help him.
But id take it in stride that he's adapted well to living with the unique challenges autism presents. the most important thing is that he is getting assistance that best suites his needs at this time.
best wishes.