massachusetts autism?

Question

Should a director in charge of special ed program be calling my child retarted . The program they have is poor. She told me he is retarted, that's the way it is , she said....my son has a mild case of Autism ,and is very is a nice calm boy

Answer 1

I am sorry that the program available in your area is poor. It sounds as if the director of special ed for your district does not have very good skills in working with families.

I am in California, so I can't speak to Massachusetts' policy. In my district, we have recently changed the IEP forms so that one of the criteria in Eligibility for Special Education Services now reads "Mentally Retarded." That's a change from "Developmentally Delayed," and a major reason that this was changed was because many people were interpreting "developmentally delayed" to mean that the child was likely to catch up with other children of the same chronological age. Sadly, the term "mentally retarded" has come to have negative connotations because people use it as an insult. Originally, "mental retardation" replaced terms such as "feeble-minded." (I have been involved with people who have developmental disabilities for more than 40 years, so I am giving you the historical perspective here.) "Retarded" really just means to move or proceed slowly, so mentally retarded means that a person's learning or thought processes are slow. Unfortunately, popular culture has made the term a negative one, as in the hateful phrase, "That's so retarded!" No wonder people take offense to it.

If your son has an IQ measured at 70 or below, he would fit the criteria for mental retardation. If he is diagnosed with autism, that should be another category that makes him eligible for special ed services. Some children with autism have IQs that are average or even genius, and some children with autism have IQs that place them in the range of mentally retarded.

It's unfortunate that this administrator didn't take the time to discuss the eligibility criteria with you and just dismissed you so rudely. It sounds like your son is a great kid, and you are a loving and concerned parent.

Answer 2

Honestly I know it doesn't sound politically correct but in some states the word "retarded" is still used by the elgibility team. I taught special education in a county in Virginia for 4 years and one of the diagnosis they give is "MR" which stands for mentally retarded. So, this special education director may not be intending any harm at all but just following the criteria for his/her state or district. I don't like using that term but that is what I had to write on IEPs for students who were classified as MR. When it said disability type I actually hard to write "mentally retarded."

The definition of MR in the district I worked was very different from autism. I know that the district I worked in had a separate classification for autism. It was called autism in no way shape or form connected with the MR label.

Answer 3

I'm a director of a daycare and if I told a parent that I wouldn't have a job!!! We welcome all high needs children into our programs, in Canada its call inclusion .
Did the director say your child had Autism or a doctor!!!

Answer 4

My Answer is no because its mean for someone to say that also I Can see Why that made you angrey and this offends me because I have Autism and people with autism are not retarded some can be Smart like my cousin.