I've been meaning to write this for awhile.I can understand the
frustration with government redtape.During my daughter's last IEP we
discussed her reevaluation results.Based on testing, observation &
questionnaires I filled out, I was told that she has Asperger's syndrome.She
is very different from my son who is "classic autistic".Asperger's has its
own set of unique behaviors.There are specific interventions parents &
teachers can use to deal with them..(I will find out in great detail soon but
that's another story..& another email.)

    I was dumbstruck with this barrage of new information & upset by the fact
that she has been misdiagnosed for 10 years.Nothing could have prepared me
for the frustration I felt when the final bomb was dropped though..It seems
the Missouri Department of Education won't allow Asperger's syndrome to be
written as the official educational diagnosis.They don't feel they have
enough criteria on it to warrant giving the syndrome a label of its own.Her
teachers had to write "Autism" as her diagnosis. I already know the stigma
that is attached to that word. I hate the fact that she will be instantly
judged by some people based on one word.

    I expressed my frustration about all this to our neurologist ( who
confirmed the Asperger's diagnosis on a medical level , by the way.) He said,
"It's all politics.If they call it autism, she's eligible for more services."
Asperger's has been around for more than 50 years.I wonder how long it will
take the government to give it the respect & attention it deserves ???

A former federal employee,
Karen