Autism affects approximately 1 in 36 children. This disorder can manifest in a wide variety of ways and varying degrees of severity. This means that providing special education services and accommodations to students with autism can be challenging.
For students with autism, accommodations and support can be a determining factor in their ability to succeed in school. Early diagnosis and intervention can provide major benefits for individuals in both the short- and long-term. Older students can benefit from support that allows them to accomplish their educational goals.
That a student has autism has no correlation to their intelligence. While research does indicate students with autism are more likely to be intellectually gifted, the truth is that autism has no relationship to a student’s intelligence, strengths, interests, or personality. Having autism doesn’t define a student any more than their eye color does.
What this means for supporting students with autism is that accommodations need to be based on the individual student rather than their disability. There’s no one accommodation or service for everyone with autism. What benefits one student may not support their classmate?
Problems with accommodations with autism can occur at any grade level and for several reasons. K-12 schools may not provide sufficiently comprehensive assessments. Colleges or universities may have arbitrary documentation requirements. Schools may provide inadequate accommodations or fail to implement accommodations or other support.
The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with students and families in Alaska and throughout the United States. If you or your child has autism, you have the right to accommodations as part of your education. We can help you navigate problems in accessing these services and help you or your child reach your educational goals. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
K-12 Schools in Alaska
Under federal law, public schools must provide services to children with qualifying disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that protects the rights of K-12 students to accommodations.
How Alaska Defines Autism
That a student has been diagnosed with autism doesn’t mean they automatically qualify for special education services. K-12 schools will still evaluate a student. These evaluations serve two purposes:
- Determine that a child has a disability
- Use the evaluation’s results to determine what services and accommodations a child will receive
That a child doesn’t have a previous diagnosis doesn’t reduce a school’s obligation to assess a child and determine if they have autism. A student isn’t required to have an independent assessment to qualify for services.
In Alaska, a student qualifies as having autism for special education purposes when they exhibit:
- A developmental delay that significantly affects
- Verbal and/or nonverbal communication
- Social interaction
- These delays negatively impact a student’s school performance
Alaska states that these generally manifest before a child turns three. While this is true, individuals can manifest autism at any age, and schools shouldn’t refuse to evaluate a student if they’re otherwise eligible for assessment but are over three.
A student may also be eligible for special education services when they exhibit other common characteristics of autism, such as:
- Repetitive activities
- Stereotyped movements
- Resistance to change, either in their environment or to their daily routine
- Over- or underreaction to sensory experiences, such as being sensitive to loud noises
Again, these characteristics must negatively affect a student’s educational performance in order for a student to qualify for services.
Students may also be eligible when they have a formal autism diagnosis by a psychiatrist, physician, or advanced nurse practitioner. These specialists must be licensed under Alaska law and specialize in pediatrics, family health, or family psychiatric or mental health.
Qualifying for Special Education Support
Students must qualify for special education support. Parents or guardians cannot simply request accommodations because they believe their child has autism.
Schools will evaluate students differently depending upon the reasons they were referred for assessment. Evaluations should differ depending on a child’s age.
The general eligibility process is as follows:
- Referral
- Assessment
- Disability determination
Autism is one of the disabilities that makes a student eligible for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). IEPs are created during meetings between school staff and a student’s parents or guardians.
Assessment Components
As part of its Infant Learning Program, Alaska provides a list of what an assessment should involve. While there’s no one test or evaluation for autism, all assessments should include:
- Development, medical, and three-generation family history
- Physical and neurological exams
- Developmental evaluation
- Assessments of a child’s social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication
- An evaluation of a child’s activities, interests, and play behavior using the DSM IV TR criteria for autism
- Audiological evaluation
- Family assessment, including a family’s strengths, resources, stressors, and emotional and financial support needs
- Chromosome analysis and DNA testing for Fragile X
- Any other targeted medical assessments
The specifics of these evaluations also depend on a child’s age. If and when a school district doesn’t follow these assessment components, families should ask why. IDEA requires that all assessments be sufficiently comprehensive. If a school isn’t evaluating your child or is providing insufficient assessments, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.
Why IEPs Matter
A written document, an IEP, lists what services and accommodations a school will provide to a student. IEPs are legally binding, which means that schools must provide the agreed-upon services and accommodations.
Students are more than their disability, and IEPs should reflect that individuality. They shouldn’t just be about a student’s disability but also a student’s strengths and goals. Students can have the same disability and similar strengths and goals and require different accommodations and modifications. Put another way, IEPs should be tailored to the student, not to the disability.
This is especially true for students with autism. This disorder ranges in terms of severity and how it manifests. There’s no one-size-fits-all accommodation for autism, and IEPS and special education services should reflect how autism affects each student. Accommodations that are effective for one student with autism may not be helpful for another student.
Why Assessments and Revisions Matter
An IEP is only as good as the information used to create it. If an assessment is incomplete or otherwise doesn’t accurately evaluate a student’s disability and how that disability affects their performance in school, it’s unlikely an IEP will be effective for a student.
On a related note, accommodations that were once effective for a student may no longer work as a student reaches educational goals or matures. Services that benefit a six-year-old student may not be useful once that student turns ten.
Families should keep in mind the following requirements for IEPs:
- Schools must schedule an annual meeting to review and revise a student’s IEP
- Parents or guardians may request a meeting at any point during the school year when:
- A student’s IEP is no longer effective
- They have reason to think that a school isn’t implementing a student’s IEP
- IDEA requires that schools reassess students every three years. While schools and parents can agree to waive these reassessments, parents, and guardians should consider if more recent evaluations would better reflect a student’s current needs and strengths.
A student’s first IEP isn’t the end; instead, it is an important first step to providing services and accommodations that are necessary for a student’s education. Accommodations can stop being effective at any point in the year, and adjusting sooner rather than later can help minimize disruption to a student’s education and decrease the risk of falling behind.
Schools may fail to evaluate a student sufficiently. They may believe reassessments or revisions aren’t necessary. They may even try to provide students with ineffective accommodations.
Your student doesn’t get a redo on their education. If a school is refusing to provide reasonable accommodations to your student, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.
Accommodate the Student, Not the Disability
Autism begins to manifest before a child turns three, and autism resources stress the importance of early intervention. Early intervention is crucial, but just because a child isn’t diagnosed by age three doesn’t mean they don’t have autism.
Schools must assess all children who live within their boundaries if they haven’t graduated from high school. A school cannot refuse to evaluate a child or teen for autism because they weren’t diagnosed as a toddler.
Characteristics of autism can appear at any point. Changes to a child or teenager’s routine, such as starting at a new school or a new grade level, may make characteristics more noticeable.
Some individuals with autism are good at masking their symptoms. Masking refers to attempting to blend into a social setting or fit into a group. Girls with autism are more likely to mask their symptoms, which can result in girls not being diagnosed.
Traditional autism assessments are based on how autism manifests in boys rather than girls. This means that girls are underdiagnosed with autism because they require different assessments for the disorder. Autism can affect different parts of the brain, especially in girls versus boys, which means that girls who are assessed under traditional evaluations may not be diagnosed.
That a child or teenager wasn’t diagnosed with autism as a toddler or displays nontraditional characteristics doesn’t mean they don’t have autism. The medical and scientific communities are continuing to learn about the disorder, and students who don’t meet standard criteria may be deprived of much-needed support. That a student doesn’t meet the traditional understanding of autism doesn’t mean they’re less entitled to support in school.
During the evaluation process, families should ask about the type of assessments the school uses. If your student isn’t receiving a sufficiently comprehensive assessment or is being evaluated on overly narrow criteria, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.
District-Specific Programs
All public school districts must provide reasonable accommodations to eligible students who reside within their district. This can include children who are too young to attend school, who are homeschooled, or who attend private schools.
School districts have no specific requirements for the special education services they provide to students. As long as accommodations are reasonable and effective, school districts are fulfilling their responsibilities to students.
This also means that even as many accommodations are similar between school districts, accommodations and support can vary widely. Schools may have programs above and beyond federal and Alaska’s requirements, including specialized support for students with autism.
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has two programs that focus on providing support for students with autism. The first is the Autism & Behavior Educational Liaisons (ABEL) Program. The district also participates in Alaska’s Project SEARCH program, which provides job training and skill development for students with disabilities.
The Juneau School District uses Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Designed for all students, MTSS provides different levels of support to support educational goals better.
Some schools provide specialized preschool programs for students with disabilities. Valdez City Schools, for example, has an early intervention program for children in preschool and kindergarten. These services depend on a child’s age and needs with the goal of preparing students for an inclusive kindergarten.
Early Intervention
For children with autism, early intervention is crucial. Research shows that early intervention can have crucial, long-term benefits for individuals with autism.
Early intervention usually begins between ages two and three, although it can begin earlier or later, up to age five. One reason that early intervention can be so effective is that children’s brains are still forming at ages two and three. This means that treatments can have deeper benefits that, in some cases, may result in a reduction in the severity of autism characteristics or in a child no longer being diagnosed as having autism.
The Alaska Department of Health operates the state’s early intervention program, known as the Infant Learning Program (ILP). ILP works with children from birth until age three.
For babies and toddlers with autism, ILP services focus on individualization. This means the services provided are based on a child’s needs, strengths, and interests. Parents’ concerns, priorities, and resources should also factor into deciding what services would benefit a child.
The ILP program focuses on the whole family, not just the child. Instruction is often home-based, given the benefit of providing support in a familiar environment. Provided services should focus on supporting a child’s learning and development as well as supporting parents and other caregivers.
Transition Planning
At age three, children will transition from ILP to preschool. Alaska provides families with transition resources, which can be especially useful when a child has autism. Preparing a child for a change to their routine or environment can potentially reduce the stress caused by a transition. Transition planning can improve student success and reduce social, emotional, and academic issues.
Transition planning should ideally incorporate training for parents and guardians on how to manage the change and support their students. These transitions also offer an opportunity to build a child’s development and help them learn how to manage change.
Dispute Resolution
Sometimes, no matter how much parents try, schools won’t provide needed assessments or accommodations. Schools may fail to implement a student’s IEP or offer ineffective accommodations. These problems can increase a student’s struggling in school and may negatively affect a student’s progress.
When talking to schools hasn’t improved a situation, parents may need to pursue more formal dispute resolution options. Alaska provides the following special education dispute resolution options:
- Mediation
- IEP Facilitation
- Complaint
- Due process hearing
If you’re considering dispute resolution, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm. We can help you understand the pros and cons of each option and determine which one best fits your situation.
College and Universities in Alaska
For students who have had support through their K-12 years, beginning college can be an adjustment. While college is a change for most people, this is especially true for students with autism.
Common characteristics of autism are a dislike of change and a preference for routine. Switching schools, whether that’s from high school to college or going from an undergraduate program to a graduate program, can be especially difficult. Students lose their familiar support systems and may be moving to new cities or states.
For both undergraduate and graduate students with autism, beginning a new school or program can be stressful in multiple ways. Increased expectations, more independence, new social groups and establishing relationships, and practical, daily considerations: Adjusting to any one of these can be challenging, but taken together, they may seem overwhelming.
Research shows that students with autism can improve this move by having support in place to assist with this transition. The problem is that colleges and universities have no obligation to provide transition services.
Once in college, students assume more responsibilities for their disability. They must request accommodations, obtain the needed documentation, and inform professors of their disability and need for accommodations.
Colleges and universities may have different disability procedures for academic accommodations, housing accommodations, and employment accommodations. They may have different accommodation requirements for different programs or graduate versus undergraduate programs.
This lack of standardized procedures is one reason why students should, when possible, meet with a disability office before enrolling in a college or university.
Application Process
Colleges and universities set their application procedures. The basic requirements are:
- Completing a form
- Providing documentation
- Meeting with the disability services office
Schools may have specific requirements for certain disabilities, but it’s up to each school to set that policy. Colleges and universities may also have deadlines for submitting documents or require students to reapply every year or every semester.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, for example, requires that students submit three forms to request disability support:
- Registration form
- Disability verification form
- Release of information form
Alternatively, students can submit documentation rather than submit the release of information form. Once these application materials are received, UAF Disability Services will arrange a meeting, either online, by phone, or in person.
Following the meeting, students will receive a letter that lists a student’s accommodations. With a student’s permission, the office will email the letter to a student’s professor. UAF requires students to renew their accommodation letter every semester.
While the UAF process for requesting accommodations is relatively standard, students shouldn’t assume their college or university process is identical. Colleges and universities can set their policies, but they must be standard and cannot single out students individually or due to their disability.
Grievance Process and Appeals
If a student disagrees with a college or university’s decision about disability accommodations, most schools have an appeals process. This procedure is often referred to as the grievance process.
The grievance process is different from a school’s disciplinary or misconduct hearing. It can also vary between colleges and universities. Unlike K-12 schools, colleges and universities set their policies for appeals for disability accommodations. If students disagree with a college’s decision, they should consult their school’s policies or student handbook.
The University of Alaska Anchorage states that students can file a formal complaint when:
- The Disability Support Services (DSS) Coordinator or site designee denies a student accommodations or services
- A student is dissatisfied with services or accommodations
- A student believes they’ve been subjected to disability-based discrimination
- UAA requires that students attempt to resolve issues through informal channels. They must have also gone through the accommodations process.
Students file complaints to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. The Chancellor Vice-Chancellor will then notify the student of their decision. UAA requires that decisions conform to the UAA’s Regents’ Policy.
This is just one example of a university grievance process for students with disabilities. If you have autism and your college or university isn’t providing you with needed accommodations, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.
Protect Your Education
Having autism shouldn’t prevent students from the benefits of an education, both inside and outside the classroom. Students with autism have a right to accommodations to allow them to participate in classes and other school activities.
Toddlers can benefit from early intervention services just as graduate students can succeed with effective accommodations. For students with autism, accommodations aren’t a luxury but an important part of their education.
All students have a right to accommodations as part of their education. Having autism shouldn’t limit a student’s goals or access to education. If you have autism or if your child has autism and isn’t receiving needed accommodations, the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm can help. We work with clients in Alaska and throughout the country to protect their access to education. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.