If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Does your school district need to honor it? Or do they require their own eval?

ETA******* this is for a diagnosis of HFA or Aspergers Syndrome.

If you were given either diagnosis, would the school need to do their own testing to see if they arrive at the same conclusion?

Message edited 8/14/2015 11:54:17 AM.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504 and gives a diagnosi,

I'm pretty sure you need a formal evaluation to get the services. But Now Im curious because I never heard of it just going based on a drs word. Unless when dealing with a 504 is different. I would assume you still need the eval through the school though. I'm sure the drs opinion will help speed the process though.

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504 and gives a diagnosi,

Well, they are two different things. a 504 gives you accommodations typically, and an IEP gives you services and accommodations. I've heard of a dr. eval. sufficing for accommodations under a 504 (i.e. ADHD, getting extra time, etc., or food allergies, getting a mini bus, separate table). But, to receive services, your district will require an evaluation through the district, but they can also take into account your doctor's eval. That is at least *my* understanding of it all!

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504 and gives a diagnosi,

It depends upon your district. It may be taken under consideration, but the district might want to do its own testing. Or the district could say we will give you an iep based upon your doctor's findings and no further testing of the child is necessary.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504 and gives a diagnosi,

It's complicated, but technically the answer to your question is no. They should take your doctors concerns into consideration.
An IEP and 504 are two very different things. A 504 is a plan for a child who has a medical condition such as diabetes and it outlines accommodations that a child would need because of that medical condition. It could be extra time on tests or assignments in case they need to stop to test their sugar or something stating that they are allowed to eat in class at any time. In the case of a 504, you would definitely need a medical diagnosis from your doctor but the district would work with you to develop the 504.
An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. In order to get one, your child must have a disability (such as a learning disability or a speech and language impairment) AND that that disability must be impacting their learning. In order to get an IEP, a referral has to be made to your district's Committee on Special Education. They will evaluate your child and then have a CSE meeting with you to determine if your child has a disability, the impact on their learning and what special education services they need.

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

It's not a guarantee. It maybe taken into consideration but the doctor's diagnosis alone will not guarantee services or an IEP unfortunately.

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

A regular physician can not dictate to the school district if your child needs an IEP. They can support the parent in requesting the district perform evaluations to see if an IEP is needed but a doctors note will do nothing without a formal evaluation process. On a side note, I find it very unprofessional of a regular physician to "diagnose" a child with HFA. They should be making suggestions for referrals but they are not qualified to make a diagnosis.

504 plans are used to help with accommodations in the classroom. They have nothing to do with any educational learning. If there is an academic issue, they need to be referred to the IEP process. 504s can be used to give preferential seating, extra time on tests, homework modification, special tools that the child may need (special pencil grip or to allow them to type reports instead of handwriting), airconditioning in the classroom, aide for allergies, things like that. A doctor's note will help with a 504 as it can pin point exactly where there is a deficit. If you are thinking about getting a 504, then try to figure out what accommodations you would need to make your child successful, it will help with the meeting. Just because you can get accommodations, doesn't mean you always need accommodations. Do what is best for your child.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

It was not a "regular" Physician that suggested this.

We went to Aspire Center in Melvile. My DD had three separate evaluations that lasted about 3 hours each. They are PHD's, Psychologists and several types of Therapists.

I also had a 2 hour consultation at the start with previous evaluations. My DH and I along with DD's teacher filled out many questionnaires.

It has been a long, in depth process. We will be meeting with the center next week to get a diagnosis and paper work to bring to the school. Aspire said that the 30 plus page report of all testing will not be completed for several weeks.

So, we do not know the results yet, but I am wondering if she does have either diagnosis, will all of this testing be enough, or would they still want to do their own- in the school?

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Well that is a totally different story.

Then yes, where you went will definitely hold alot of merit but you will still need to go through the district's evaluations. If the school's evaluations differ from your doctor's then you have a pretty good chance of getting what you need based on the doctor's report.

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Yes, it should hold enough merit. Most likely the school district will accept the testing, because the batteries that the district uses most likely are same to what was used. The exception is it is being completed and interpreted by Dr.s. The school can not make a diagnosis, only doctors can. Generally if the recommendations of the report are on point, and reasonable the district should follow.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

The district still only needs to "consider" those reports, they are no guarantee to anything.

Based on the expensiveness of these evals, the district would look them over and likely accept them and not re-do testing. However, the district professionals may decide that a piece of information is missing from these reports and ask you to sign consent to do testing that just fills in the gaps.

But whether it is just a physician diagnosis or thorough testing, the district still just "considers" it all.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

MY son was diagnosed with autism, adhd, and spd and my school district gave us a hard time. This was after I took him to the neuro per their request because the PDD-NOS diagnosis was no longer good... I am working on a 504 plan now as he won't have anything after this upcoming school year.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

I haven't read through the replies. But, school districts don't diagnose anything. They will provide services based on where the disability lies. The physician makes the diagnosis and then you go to the district and ask for educational evals. They will provide classroom mods, and related services. The fact that you have a diagnosis is good. It will get him the correct classification. At least that is my experience. A kid could come to me with a diagnosis of a speech and language impairment but, I still need to evaluate him to decide exactly where the disability lies and what his speech and language goals will be.

For example my kid has ADHD. A school won't diagnose that. IF I went for a 504 or IEP on my own without the diagnosis they would classify him emotionally disturbed. They can't place him in the correct classification of other health impaired with an official ADHD diagnosis.

The classifications are Autism, ED, OHI, Multiple disabilities and I believe that is it. I may be forgetting one.

Also the autism diagnosis is important because it is one of the few classifications that entitles you to intensive related services. for example, increased speech services over other classifications.

A diagnosis doesn't mean you get services. But, it helps. My kid has ADHD but, we are controlling it, for now with meds and behavioral therapies outside of the home. So for now there is no need for classification in the district. They are aware of the diagnosis in the school. However, if I decide to push for services like a 1:1 aide the diagnosis will be helpful.

Good luck with the process!

ETA: I remembered what was missing in the classification list. Speech and Language Impaired. And I am an SLP! DUH!

Message edited 8/16/2015 9:57:02 AM.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

I don't know all the ins and outs, but here was my experience. I pretty ,much knew it all along, but after ds 1st grade and then 2nd grade teachers alluded to it, I had ds tested and he got an ADD Inattentive diagnosis. In 2nd grade I tried to get ds a 504 for some classroom accommodations and extra test time. His teacher, who had complained to me about his "attention issues", told the school psychologist that he didn't need accommodations and that he was on par accademically. I was denied the 504 and that was that. The diagnosis wasn't enough in and if itself.
In 3rd grade his teacher saw everything I see and made lots of accommodations for him within the classroom and was totally on my side. She confirmed to the psychologist that he would benefit from certain accommodations. I was able to get him a 504 the week before state testing. He does get time and a half for testing and does it in a more private setting to help eliminate distractions. As far as classroom accommodations, he gets preferential seating- which is not necessarily front row, it's more so removed from distraction. So no window seats because he may zone out on a bird or airplane. He is also allowed to have water and gum in the classroom because he looks for oral stimulation and will otherwise chew his clothes, pens, pencils, etc... He is allowed to ask for breaks as needed- he usually just needs to get up and walk around the classroom and then he can sit back down and get on task.
Fortunately he does very well academically. These small things will just help him be more successful in the classroom. The idea is to help teach him coping skills so that hopefully we can eliminate the 504 at some point. We will meet yearly to update the 504 and make any changes as needed.

Message edited 8/16/2015 11:15:13 PM.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Message edited 8/16/2015 8:19:02 PM.

Re: If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

Sorry, I know I've posted a bunch of times already on this, but I keep forgetting to mention that the school's focus will be the EDUCATIONAL IMPACT. How does your child function in school? How do these diagnoses and results play out in the classroom? Just be ready with those answers when speaking with the school.

If a Physician says that your child needs an IEP/504,

ChristinaM128 is exactly right. They WILL focus on the educational impact. My son went through testing at school for ADHD and came back borderline. He was young, maybe 7. We pursued through our own doctors and got an official diagnosis. By this time, his ADHD was very clear and pronounced and there was no question.

We requested a 504 plan based on our doctors recommendation, and we were denied. At the meeting, they brought in the prior years State Assessments, and his report cards. Their claim: "He's not failing, therefore his disability is not affecting his ability to learn".

We appealed, and they did further testing. During this time, his grades dropped significantly to the point of failing, and they had no choice but to approve us finally. Which is ridiculous because failing is what we were trying to avoid in the first place.