My child has the same diagnosis. They are entitled to an IEP. If you have to hire an outside advocate, do it. You are your child's best advocate. School districts will try to beat you down and try to make you feel 'less than'. Don't buy it. Your child is not 'less than' and the law entitles him to certain protections. Both ADD and Autism are protected under the law. Say firm and on the path.

Put every request in writing. know your rights. Keep good notes on what they say and when. Some call it ammunition, I call it good parenting.

I don't know about the 504 plan, but my first thought after reading the post was: "Are you able to submit a video recording of what you see at home?" I know my son acts more 'normal' around strangers. When he becomes comfortable with a person or environment, he relaxes and that's when we see more behaviors emerge. Good luck :)

I too have a child with epilepsy ,add and autism . I fought for years on just the epilepsy and add I had asked her doctor on many occasions is she could be autistic I was told no because much like another child written about above she was good at hiding it around strangers(they just thought she was spoiled and undisiplined) . when i threaten the school this year with an attorney and an advocate the caved after 4 years of my begging for a 504 and an iep. they began testing her and came nack asked me not to get mad upset or excited and said we think she has a sensory disorder i said you think she is autistic they said yes we do . It was a huge relief and they finished her testing concluded what i had said for years that she has aspergers. the school system put her iep in place for this comming school year . we are praying for a better year than the last 4 !! but the moral to my story is tell them you are getting an atty and an advocate ! if they dont test then do it . an advocate can be obtained free of charge and will help you ! most school systems do not want to test as it costs them money but your child deserves an iep and a 504!

To Jbordel. Point well taken. In CA, I was told that until my child fell 2 years below grade level, they did not need to address her special issues.

She tested at the genius level, while at the same time 'extremely learning impaired.' It took years and a very brave teacher to take a stand in order to get the help we needed, but staying vigilant and on the case did help.

The teacher who advocated for our daughter was threatened with her job on at least 2 occasions. She assured me that she would never stick her neck out there for another child. Sad reality in today's society.

I believe that we initially got IEP status because the school psychologist had said and written - that our child would be better served in a private setting. Having put that in writing meant that the school district would have had to pay, should I have chosen special / private schooling. Of course, that would have also meant a lawsuit. This is what my advocate told me.

I brought in to that initial meeting both a private neuroppsychologist, and an advocate. I wrote a letter outlining my expected outcomes from the meeting. In the end they gave me a lot of what I requested.

Once a child has an IEP, it is not easy for the school to dismiss it or make you go away. This is not the case with a 504 which does not have legally binding qualities to it.

In my experience, as my son has gotten older and the social demands, organizational demands, and other executive function demand increase his ability to cope and perform in school decreases. I would request a Full Evaluation from the school district in writing to see if your son will now qualify for either an IEP or 504 backed up with the new testing information. Usually, if your child does not need iEPs to master content the district will want to go with a 504. However, a 504 has not given my son enough support. The accommodations the school was willing to provide were no more than what ANY good teacher would do. In middle school, his counselor enlisted the help of the resource teacher to help support him with organization but it was NOT part of his 504. They just really cared about him. HS has been a whole different ball game. While you you don't want supports in place that he doesn't need up you have to make sure what they do provide will actually help,your son be successful. Does he need some open to check and make sure he has what he needs before he goes home every day? Some to check his agenda? Someone to check that he is turning in work? Extended due dates for assignments? Someone (adult) to be his "go to" person that will seek him out (bc let's face it, our kids arent going to seek out social interaction) and make sure things are ok or has an office where he can go when he feels overwhelmed? These are things that were denied my son last year. Needless to say, we are changing schools. Your son's new dx will give more "meat" to your request for services.