My name is Lacey. I am blessed to be the mother of a child with autism. My son Christian is eight years old. He is my one and only child and he has autism. Getting him diagnosed was a difficult task. I began noticing some minor changes in him at around six months. My 7 yr. old daughter was diagnosed in August with High Functioning Autism. We have had nothing but horrible situations with the school. She was in Kindergarten for the second time last year and it was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. She had a teacher that would constantly punish her - she was excluded from alot of activities and that teacher called CPS on my family stating "Neglectful supervision of Michelle's educational needs". That was after a couple of meetings and 3 different times she would come to tell me all about how Michelle did that day and I would TRY to respond that we suspect High functioning autism and were scheduled with the first doctor we took her to, the teacher as I tried to speak to her turned and walked away from me so the 3rd time she did that I yelled at her telling her she was going to stop doing my daughter the way she was. She let the other kids be mean to my daughter (she had sand thrown in her face - was scratched all the way down her arm by another kids fingernails alled crazy and freak) the teacher would say it was my daughter's fault because of her behavior. Her behavior was touching someones hair & saying I like your hair or picking a piece of fuzz off of someones shirt. So on the day I yelled at her she called CPS. I was working with the principal to get a teacher change and I did not send my daughter back into that teacher's class ever again so while we were trying to get her teacher changed - her teacher called CPS a second time for me not sending my daughter to school.

So that was several months of dealing with CPS-(everything from CPS was ruled out) I withdrew my daughter and home schooled her. I am not qualified to teach her but I did the best I could and we continued. I finally after 3 doctors took her to a developmental pediatrician & got the diagnosis of High functioning autism. So I was in contact by email with the principal over the summer and she was moved up to first grade solely because of her age and their words "No kid should have to go to Kindergarten 3 times" so now she's in first grade. I took her back to school armed with my diagnosis - well they don't have to accept my doctor's diagnosis now the district wants to do their testing on her. Her 3rd year in the AISD and they wait until I have her diagnosed through a qualified doctor. So they led me to believe we were required by law to let them do their testing so now that they have they say she doesn't have it she only has ADHD. THEY DISPUTE HER AUTISM so they will not acknowledge that she has it for learning purposes or behavior purposes. Now she was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. ADHD, Sensory Integration and lack of motor skills affecting coordination by a developmental pediatrician. So they call in their "autism team" which was made up of a school diagnostician and an INTERN child physiologist and a speech person (i don't know her exact title) and they came up with ADHD and nothing else. That's where we are at now. It is a constant battle just to get basic human decency for my daughter. They had an OT lady in there that said she could see alot of sensory issues and the school diagnostician interrupted her to say it's all an attention problem, but since that OT lady said that she needs OT so they are going to give it to her ONCE A MONTH and the will be charging my daughter's Medicaid for it. She lacks social skills alot and they said they would have the school counselor do social skills therapy which is them waiting for a situation arise and then address it. Oh and charge my daughter's Medicaid for that, too. She's already in OT privately and I am afraid of them charging her Medicaid for a different diagnosis and it messing up what I am doing for her privately. I absolutely hate the school system. I would like to know how they don't have to legally accept the doctor's diagnosis she is alot more qualified than the people they have doing their testing. I mean if it was a kid in a wheelchair - they wouldn't say your doctor is full of sh*t and we want to do our own testing to make sure he can't walk and deny him his wheelchair until they get all the paperwork in. It's just as obvious that there is something "wrong" with my daughter it's just in her brain instead of being physical. I mean spend 5 minutes with her and you can see she's not the same as other 7 yr. olds.

The Federal govt. DESPERATELY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THESE STATES AND SCHOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!! They treat these kids so badly and they already have a hard enough time living with Autism. Their families have enough to deal with day to day without having to fight the state and school every step of the way. My Autistic daughter deserves an eduction just as much as the kids that are "normal" does.

My 7 yr. old daughter was diagnosed in August with High Functioning Autism. We have had nothing but horrible situations with the school. She was in Kindergarten for the second time last year and it was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. She had a teacher that would constantly punish her - she was excluded from alot of activities and that teacher called CPS on my family stating "Neglectful supervision of Michelle's educational needs". That was after a couple of meetings and 3 different times she would come to tell me all about how Michelle did that day and I would TRY to respond that we suspect High functioning autism and were scheduled with the first doctor we took her to, the teacher as I tried to speak to her turned and walked away from me so the 3rd time she did that I yelled at her telling her she was going to stop doing my daughter the way she was. She let the other kids be mean to my daughter (she had sand thrown in her face - was scratched all the way down her arm by another kids fingernails alled crazy and freak) the teacher would say it was my daughter's fault because of her behavior. Her behavior was touching someones hair & saying I like your hair or picking a piece of fuzz off of someones shirt. So on the day I yelled at her she called CPS. I was working with the principal to get a teacher change and I did not send my daughter back into that teacher's class ever again so while we were trying to get her teacher changed - her teacher called CPS a second time for me not sending my daughter to school. So that was several months of dealing with CPS-(everything from CPS was ruled out) I withdrew my daughter and home schooled her. I am not qualified to teach her but I did the best I could and we continued. I finally after 3 doctors took her to a developmental pediatrician & got the diagnosis of High functioning autism. So I was in contact by email with the principal over the summer and she was moved up to first grade solely because of her age and their words "No kid should have to go to Kindergarten 3 times" so now she's in first grade. I took her back to school armed with my diagnosis - well they don't have to accept my doctor's diagnosis now the district wants to do their testing on her. Her 3rd year in the AISD and they wait until I have her diagnosed through a qualified doctor. So they led me to believe we were required by law to let them do their testing so now that they have they say she doesn't have it she only has ADHD. THEY DISPUTE HER AUTISM so they will not acknowledge that she has it for learning purposes or behavior purposes. Now she was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. ADHD, Sensory Integration and lack of motor skills affecting coordination by a developmental pediatrician. So they call in their "autism team" which was made up of a school diagnostician and an INTERN child physiologist and a speech person (i don't know her exact title) and they came up with ADHD and nothing else. That's where we are at now. It is a constant battle just to get basic human decency for my daughter. They had an OT lady in there that said she could see alot of sensory issues and the school diagnostician interrupted her to say it's all an attention problem, but since that OT lady said that she needs OT so they are going to give it to her ONCE A MONTH and the will be charging my daughter's Medicaid for it. She lacks social skills alot and they said they would have the school counselor do social skills therapy which is them waiting for a situation arise and then address it. Oh and charge my daughter's Medicaid for that, too. She's already in OT privately and I am afraid of them charging her Medicaid for a different diagnosis and it messing up what I am doing for her privately. I absolutely hate the school system. I would like to know how they don't have to legally accept the doctor's diagnosis she is alot more qualified than the people they have doing their testing. I mean if it was a kid in a wheelchair - they wouldn't say your doctor is full of sh*t and we want to do our own testing to make sure he can't walk and deny him his wheelchair until they get all the paperwork in. It's just as obvious that there is something "wrong" with my daughter it's just in her brain instead of being physical. I mean spend 5 minutes with her and you can see she's not the same as other 7 yr. olds.

The Federal govt. DESPERATELY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THESE STATES AND SCHOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!! They treat these kids so badly and they already have a hard enough time living with Autism. Their families have enough to deal with day to day without having to fight the state and school every step of the way. My Autistic daughter deserves an eduction just as much as the kids that are "normal" does.

Today, we are blessed to have my son in a fantastic school district. There are still services that he needs but does not receive. In their best practices, The American Academy of Pediatricians advocates for Applied Behavioral Analysis. Most insurance compaines do not cover applied behavior analysis. There are also a limited number of practioners that perform ABA.

This past summer, I took Christian to Richmond, Virginia to meet with a woman who specializes in autism. The appointment was not covered by my insurance. This appointment cost me $921.00. This cost does not include: lab work, gas money, hotel accomodation, and meals. My insurance's stance is that autism is not "organic" therefore, it refuses to cover any cost related to this diagnosis. They have stated that they will only cover my son if he has a cold or related illness. Fortunately, I had the money to see this doctor. Many families do not.

I cannot understand why money cannot be invested in prevention and treatment. Early intervention is essential for these children to become successful. We worry about social security remaining solvent after 2038. We worry about the baby boomer's effect on social security. What effect will it have if these children are never helped to reach their potential? 1 in 150 children are being diagnosed on the spectrum. This could possibly limit the number of people in our workforce. With early intervention and other services, these individuals can lead more productive lifes. These children are so much smarter than they are given credit for. My son inspires and amazes me everyday. It is time that we open our eyes and our hearts and intervene on behalf of these children.