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pls advice- pdd-nos with NO IEP

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mddd
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10 Oct 2010, 11:16 pm

Both my twins were dx with pdd-nos at age 16 mths & after intense EI they have made huge improvements & now (at age 4 yrs) only one qualify for special ed, the other did not inspite of me trying twice with the school district but everytime the same story of "he's doing academically good & no issues in preschool classroom". I am happy that my son is smart & enjoying school but at the same time i am spending sleepless nights on wondering if he needs some services . The issues he has at home is visual stimming with trains, at school SOMETIMES very sensitive (cries if some kid refuses share toys)-cannot stand up for himself, but overall the teacher has no complains. They go to the head start program & also attended 2 preschools b4 & had no issues.

I know that my son would be the smartest and less impaired of all of children in a special ed class, which I think would not be fair to him, given his ability to participate on a regular class and eventually learn social skills (hopefully) from NTs . But at the same time i am wondering what holds for him in future at school for which i need to make him ready with therapy???????? should I wait for problems to arise & then seek help.. I am SOOOOOOOO confused.

My kids also have medical needs so i am very much stressed & sometimes donno which needs to focus on:(



buryuntime
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10 Oct 2010, 11:52 pm

mddd wrote:
Both my twins were dx with pdd-nos at age 16 mths & after intense EI they have made huge improvements & now (at age 4 yrs) only one qualify for special ed, the other did not inspite of me trying twice with the school district but everytime the same story of "he's doing academically good & no issues in preschool classroom". I am happy that my son is smart & enjoying school but at the same time i am spending sleepless nights on wondering if he needs some services . The issues he has at home is visual stimming with trains, at school SOMETIMES very sensitive (cries if some kid refuses share toys)-cannot stand up for himself, but overall the teacher has no complains. They go to the head start program & also attended 2 preschools b4 & had no issues.

I know that my son would be the smartest and less impaired of all of children in a special ed class, which I think would not be fair to him, given his ability to participate on a regular class and eventually learn social skills (hopefully) from NTs . But at the same time i am wondering what holds for him in future at school for which i need to make him ready with therapy???????? should I wait for problems to arise & then seek help.. I am SOOOOOOOO confused.

My kids also have medical needs so i am very much stressed & sometimes donno which needs to focus on:(

I think you should only be focusing on things if problems arise. Just because they're on the autism spectrum doesn't mean they need to be stressed out from loads of unneeded therapy. Special education can do more harm than good if it is not necessary, including not being given appropriate learning material and being around children with worse behavioural problems.

Also, being diagnosed at 16 months sounds very very early. Your kids are still young. They could improve rapidly or have lots of issues as they grow up as social demands increase. You can't know. Most aspies on this forum weren't diagnosed until late (teenage years for me) and a lot of them do fine. Some don't though. The point is you have an early diagnosis and awareness of their issues so you're already one step ahead.



OddFiction
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11 Oct 2010, 12:29 am

I don't know what their other medical issues are, but depending on how troublesome they are, those might be more important at this point. It seems they are doing well enough on the autism issues if they are fitting in at school right now... usually if there are going to be problems there, they will surface later.

Feel free to mention their other issues - we've probably heard about them too, and might have advice to pass on...



momsparky
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11 Oct 2010, 8:29 am

Is your child showing signs of stress at school? (e.g. refusal or unwillingness to go, meltdowns a few hours after leaving, stimming increasing on weekdays) If he or she is happy and enjoying school, I'd agree - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.



gbollard
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13 Oct 2010, 11:03 pm

If the problems are social rather than academic then you'll probably find that an IEP won't make much difference to him. Consider putting into a Cub Scouts group. This will have a few advantages. It will give him a circle of friends outside of school in case there are problems with school in the future. It will help him to develop life and leadership skills and it will provide him with opportunities to try out all sorts of new interests.

Most scout groups will let you trial them without cost for 3-4 weeks.


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14 Oct 2010, 9:38 am

I'm also in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it club." It's a wonderful thing that your son is doing so well. At such a young age, it's even possible that he was misdiagnosed. Focus on the positives and try not worry too much (easier said than done, I know). You and/or the teacher can always request another eval if necessary. It's never too late to address any issues that may come up.