Changing diagnosis on IEP?

My son was recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Where I live this is considered a medical diagnosis and can be written under the category of 'autism/other' on the IEP.



He's currently diagnosed as DD (developmentally delayed). If we change the status of his IEP from DD to Autism/Other, he can receive more appropriate services for his needs according to what his physician at Vanderbilt wants him to have.



The issue we are having is with the school psychologist and the district psychologist. The district psychologist evaluated him last year and said he had ADHD and needed to be put on medication. We discussed her findings with his pediatrician and agreed with him that there was more to this so we got him evaluated at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to make sure that that was in fact what was wrong with him.



They diagnosed him with PDD-NOS due to his developmental delays, speech delays, fine motor delays, linguistic processing problems. They informed us that while it was not uncommon for children with PDD-NOS to have ADHD, in our son's case, he did not have ADHD.



We took that report to the school and gave copies of it to everyone who needed a copy. We are still waiting to have our IEP meeting. Each time we schedule one it gets canceled. They've canceled 6 meetings already. The school psychologist actually flat out told us that she does not agree with his medical diagnosis of PDD, that her diagnosis of ADHD is right and we still need to put him on medications.



We are literally at our wits end and have no clue what to do. So I want to know a few things.



What do we need to do to get his diagnosis changed so that he can receive services based on what's actually wrong with him?



Does a school or district psychologist have the authority to over turn a diagnosis from a medical doctor?



If they keep canceling meetings is there someone we can talk to about it so that we can finally get one?Changing diagnosis on IEP?
Changing his categorical identification from Developmentally Delayed to that of Autism generally requires that the case goes back through eligibility as opposed to a review/revision on the IEP.

If this is not the case - request that your son go back through the Re-Eligibility process now.

The Eligibility Committee needs to review all the documentation, including consideration of any outside evaluations and determine if your son meets the standardized criteria for the categorical identification of Autism.



Since this is a Committee decision, if the category agreed upon is Autism - great! If not, you as the parent can write a dissenting opinion and appeal the decision made. Your son's case will then be re-heard by an eligibility committee with "new" people to look at all the documentation with a fresh slate. As in inside tip - 99% of the time, the committee will go along with the parents at this point because it will avoid a long, lengthily and costly appeal process.



As far as your son's ADHD-like behaviors - it's often part and parcel of those students on the autism spectrum. The school needs to do an FBA (Functional Behavioral Analysis) and a BIP (Behavioral Plan) to identify and define those specific behaviors which are impacting your son's performance in the educational environment as well as to speificy a plan as to how those behaviors will be addressed.



Hope this helps - best of luck!Changing diagnosis on IEP?
You either need an advocate or a lawyer that specializes in special education. I have a son with an IEP that has PDD-NOS and what you are going through is ridiculous.



The school psychologist is NOT a medical doctor and therefore has no authority to overturn a medical diagnosis. She can disagree with it, they can force you to have a due process hearing, they can even request an IEE (independant education evaluation) from an impartial third party paid for by them, but they cannot suggest medications PERIOD. The fact that they keep suggesting it should be a red flag and you should get it in writing and file a complaint with the state. Only a licensed physician or psychiatrist is allowed to prescribe those medications.Changing diagnosis on IEP?
as i have said before



you need to request DUE PROCESS



you can also file a complaint with the justice dept..i'd have to google IDEA violation complaints





you still haven't said if your child is at least in kindergarten..if he is in preschool there is only one classification--preschool handicapped..according to fed regs..your state may have additional regs



no doctor can overturn another pros diagnosis--they can contest it



but a non medical psychologist is not qualified to insist on meds



you have the right to request an INdependent eval from the school district



contact



U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs鈥?(OSEP鈥檚)



re violation of IDEA