A student must be assessed under the IDEA in all areas of suspected disability. Autism or AU is one of the areas of eligible disabilities under the IDEA.
Autism (AU) is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, which may adversely affect the student’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism include engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. While the characteristics of autism are generally evident before age 3, age 3 is not a cut-off point for IDEA eligibility. A student who manifests these characteristics after age 3 could be identified as having autism if the student meets the other eligibility criteria. Students with pervasive developmental disorders are included under the disability category of autism. A student does not meet the eligibility criteria for autism if the student’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the student has an emotional disability. See [EMOTIONAL DISABILITY].
To assess for AU, the District or Campus Assessment Personnel will comply with the general evaluation procedures. See [EVALUATION PROCEDURES]. In addition, for AU, the written report of the evaluation by this group of qualified professionals must include specific recommendations for communication, social interaction, and positive behavioral interventions and strategies.
A medical diagnosis of autism will not in itself entitle a student to receive special education and related services, and the District cannot require the student to meet the requirements for a medical/psychological diagnosis of autism. Further, the absence of other characteristics often associated with autism does not exclude the student from eligibility as a student with autism. Instead, to meet the IDEA's definition of autism, the student's disability must meet the criteria set out in state and federal law and have an adverse effect on the student’s educational performance.
A referral for an autism evaluation may be indicated when the District or Campus Personnel working with the student and/or the parent of the student suspects the student is exhibiting social and behavioral characteristics of autism.
An evaluation for a student suspected of being a student with autism often includes the following areas: academic achievement, adaptive behavior, autism screening, cognition, developmental, emotional and behavioral, functional behavioral, motor, sensory, social relationships, speech language, and transition/vocational. A multi-disciplinary team will complete the evaluation for AU, which may include, as appropriate an educational diagnostician, a School Psychologist/LSSP, a Speech/Language Pathologist, and/or an Occupational Therapist. The multi-disciplinary team should collaborate to create an evaluation plan to identify the procedures/assessments to be used in each area of the evaluation, to identify the person(s) responsible for collecting the data, to set a date for a follow-up discussion to review the data, and to make recommendations as to how the report will be integrated into one report. The resulting FIE should present a coherent rationale to either support or negate a recommendation for special education eligibility as a student with AU and rule out alternative educational disorders and environmental explanations for the student’s observed behavioral and/or academic difficulties. The written report will include specific recommendations for communication, social interaction, and positive behavioral interventions and strategies.
In addition to the general evaluation procedures, as part of an AU assessment, the Campus and District Assessment Personnel should consider some or all of the following:
Emphasis on pragmatic/social language skills and assessments
Emotional, behavioral or social functioning should be assessed across a variety of times or settings and should include both structured and unstructured observations
Student interviews should be exploration or play-based as appropriate
Include assessment and recommendations to address all areas contained in the AU Supplement/Section of the IEP, including extended educational programming, daily schedules, in-home and community-based training, parent/family training, futures training, positive behavior support strategies, suitable staff-to-student ratios, communication, and social skills. See [FAPE – SPECIAL FACTORS – Students With Autism]
In addition, If the student’s behavior is impeding the student’s learning or that of others, the District Assessment Personnel should consider conducing a Functional Behavioral Assessment as part of the evaluation. An FBA is a process for collecting data to determine the possible cause of problem behaviors and to identify strategies to address the behaviors. An FBA is generally understood to be an individualized evaluation of a student to assist in determining eligibility and/or the nature and extent of the special education and related services that the student needs, including the need for a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). As such, in most cases, parental consent is required for an FBA. See [EVALUATION PROCEDURES], [CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION] and [CONSENT FOR REEVALUATION]. T
he scope and nature of the FBA will depend on the nature and severity of the student’s behaviors. The District or Campus Assessment Personnel will observe the student in various school settings and collect input from staff and members of the ARD Committee, including the parent. The District or Campus Assessment Personnel will consider the data, including interviews conducted with the student and/or parents that provides information about how the student’s environment contributes to positive and problem behaviors, including the antecedents to the behavior. This information will be used to develop a hypothesis about why problem behaviors occur (the function of the behaviors) and will identify replacement behaviors that can be taught and that serve the same purpose for the student.
The FBA will provide the ARD Committee with information regarding the function of the student’s behavior, factors that may trigger certain behavior, and interventions identified to decrease negative behaviors and increase appropriate behaviors. This information will be reviewed by the ARD Committee when developing a BIP and or behavior goals or accommodations for the student. A BIP is a written plan developed as part of the IEP to address behavioral concerns affecting the student’s educational progress. A BIP is based on the problem behaviors identified in the FBA, identifies events that predict these behaviors from the FBA, and includes positive interventions to change behaviors and methods of evaluation. If the ARD Committee develops a BIP, a copy of the BIP will be provided to each of the student’s teachers. The purpose of a BIP is to redirect the student’s targeted behaviors to ensure the student can make appropriate progress in light of the student’s unique circumstances.
Additionally, Campus or District Assessment Personnel will consider the presence of any cultural and/or linguistic differences when evaluating a student for autism and whether the differences may impact the evaluation results. For students with AU, specific strategies must be considered by the ARD Committee, based on peer-reviewed, research-based educational programming practices to the extent practicable and, when needed, such practices must be addressed in the IEP: See [FAPE – SPECIAL FACTORS – Students With Autism]
Upon completion of the AU evaluation, each member of the evaluation team should sign the FIE. If the student is eligible for special education as a student with Autism, a Disability Report in this area will be completed.
A medical diagnosis of autism will not in itself entitle a student to receive special education and related services and the District cannot require the student to meet the requirements for a medical/psychological diagnosis of autism. Further, the absence of other characteristics often associated with autism does not exclude the student from eligibility as a student with autism. Instead, to meet the IDEA's definition of autism, the student's disability must meet the criteria set out in state and federal law, and have an adverse effect on the student’s educational performance. If the student does not meet the eligibility criteria for AU, or any other eligibility criteria under the IDEA, or does not need special education or related services due to his/her disability, Campus Personnel should refer the student to the Campus or District Personnel responsible for compliance with Section 504 to determine whether the student is eligible for accommodations or services as a student with a disability under Section 504.
The District will conduct all necessary initial evaluations and reevaluations to identify this disability condition in accordance with state and federal laws. See [EVALUATION PROCEDURES].
The District will maintain documentation requirements of compliance associated with Texas Student Data System (TSDS), Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), and State Performance Plan (SPP). District staff will provide training, with follow up, to ensure the documentation required is in place and compliant.
Notice of Evaluation
Consent for Evaluation
Referral Information
Autism Supplement
FIE
ARD/IEP
Disability Report: Autism
Consent for Functional Behavioral Assessment
Functional Behavioral Assessment
Behavior Intervention Plan
Documentation for the state in TSDS, PEIMS, and SPP
[DISTRICT FORMS]
The Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Special Education Process: Autism Framework - Region 18
Autism Resources -Texas Education Agency
Texas Autism Resource Guide for Effective Teaching (TARGET) - Region 13
Board Policy EHBAB; 34 CFR. 300.8(c), 300.304; 19 TAC 89.1040(b)–(c), 89.1050(a)(5); 89.1055