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My son 3 1/2...PDD/Nonverbal....has been denied speech 2 times..they say he's echolalic...is he entitled to get speech therapy ??...where can i prove it in IDEA that he should?

just based on that limited information, of *course* he is entitled to speech therapy.

I suppose the laws regarding treatment vary state to state....perhaps you should get a second opinion on his diagnosis, if that is what is required for the therapy. (in my state, PDDNOS qualifies for therapy, so I'm not sure what to advise.)

I find that you have to fight tooth and nail to get the appropriate therapies for your children...I have, anyway. my younger son, mild to moderate autism, after months of paperwork and crap, was qualified to receive three 30 minute sessions a week. I thought it was completely assinine.

I, of course, was at every session, and watched and learned. for a young child, speech therapy or OT isn't really that involved. If you can't get the therapy you feel he needs, you can give it to him, yourself.

ugh. I'm sorry you are having trouble securing therapy for him. it shouldn't be so hard.

PDD is used to classify the three disorders, mainly: Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett syndrome.

What I should ask is what PDD does he have? (either of the three)

i.e. PDD is not a generalized disorder.

true.....but PDDNOS is.


you bring up an excellent point....if there is PDD diagnosis..then there should be a further "label".

Of course medical labels don't equal school sevices - however who exactly has denied the speech therapy? Was there a formal IEP done with testing through the school. If so and they disagree than you should be able to ask for a second evaluation outside of the school. It would be unusual I think for a professional to say a non-verbal child doesn't need speech therapy, but an uninformed person said that about my son when he was little - literally asking why a child who doesn't speak would need "speech" therapy.

What you need to do is the get a speech doctor to signify that he needs speech therapy based on his performance compared to the performance of a normal child at 3.5 years of age regardless of his label. The school cannot ignore what is in black and white. If they do, you can request a fair hearing and show your evidence to the hearing officer (again, before you do, make sure it is documented that your child is not performing to norms and as such, needs assistance).

im sorry but i do not know what PDD label he has been given ...i live in a border town in TX and have limited to no resources here.....they (docs) tend to not know much about Autism...& yes it is very difficult to get services here...im stressed ...i am alone in this battle w the school but i wanted to know where exactly in IDEA it says that he is entitled to have it......

a (supposed) autism team evaled him and was told that he didnt need it and that he would get it in the PPCD class......also, now they are calling him echolalic......i see him as connecting what i say to what he is using echolalia with...so i see a connection & that is why i see it as being imparitive that he recieve speech....

I have read that Occupational Therapy works for speech, you may try that.

What does echolalic mean?

An Autistic characteristic where the child repeats words or sounds, usually for non-verbal as well.

Oh!

Thank you!

No problem!

really?....he was denied OT also....the school system here just takes whatever funds are needed for the special ed dpt and distribute them to one another and dont give the necessary therapist for the success of our kids....(they are rotten to the core)....TEA (Tx Ed Assoc)...failed all the dist because of the Special Ed dpt.....then u wonder why...(grr)

If the school is neglecting your child's needs then you need to go through the bureaucracy, which means going in order from the super-intendant to district to state.

You need to mention this to the board of education (you must have one in your state) like I said: go in order, if the last one fails, go to the next level, and so on.

I am not familiar with what the PPCD class stands for. If it is a small special education class than are they saying he will receive speech "within" the classroom? My daughter (mild MR not autism) was in both special ed classes for those under 3 in which she went to a school and recevied multiple services at the school (Speech, OT, PT, and sometimes they would have a mini class with three of the kids or so.). After 3 there was a different program that the local district had to provide and the speech therapist was part of the classroom - along with other therapists depending on what the kids needed.

Also - echolalia is seen in a variety of conditions - some just speech impaired and others who have autism or MR. My daughter had what they called delayed echolalia - which may have been due to a processing delay. Regardless - there are different ways of phrasing things to try and determine if something is just being repeated without meaning or if there is understanding. I would ask for copies of the evaluations and have someone go over them with you and perhaps another family member or friend. If they have done an IEP YOU are supposed to be part of that team and the team is not very effective if one of the members does not have access or does not understand what is being used to determine services. You may also want to look on the Wrightslaw website and see if there is an ASA group in your area for more information specific to your area.

My son has PDD-NOS. PDD is not a label. PDD-NOS is a label. My son has had speech since age two. Of course this child should have speech. And I'd fight to get it. PDD-NOS is on the Autism Spectrum.