IEP is an individualized education plan for your child. It is put into place to help ensure the best possible outcome for your autistic child’s education experience. It is created and uniquely geared towards the individual child to help everyone involved in the child’s education be properly able to determine if progress is being made. No plans are ever the same, every child has their own goals to ensure they are moving forward at their own pace within their education.

It is vital that you as a parent, as your child’s greatest advocacy, fully understand an IEP and what you should ensure is included within it. You can think of the IEP as the time line or goals that your autistic child will strive to meet within the time lines provided. If your child isn’t meeting those goals they should be adjusted. An inability to meet goals should never be seen as a failure on the child’s part, if anything it is a lack of understanding the true needs of the autistic child. Again this is only a guideline there is no pass or fail, just an attempt to help your child get the most out of their education. Each new school year will bring another IEP, as each year your child grows and evolves as a person so to must the plan for their education.

Like every child and individualized education plan is unique. There is no right or wrong, fail or pass. It is our best attempt as parents and educators to assist the autistic child in reaching their full potential.

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With it featuring so heavily in the media (and rightly so) a fear that many parents hold is the possibility that their child or children may be diagnosed with autism. However, before jumping to conclusions should you observe some symptoms or traits of autism in your child, it is important to get a professional diagnosis and to look carefully into that diagnosis to make certain that there isn’t something else causing the autistic behaviors to occur. There are a number of other health problems and disorders that are commonly misinterpreted and misdiagnosed as autism.

Misdiagnoses of autism can occur among the various autism spectrum disorders, or it can be connected to a completely unrelated condition. Parents should make sure to share all observations and considerations with the child’s doctor so that possible alternate diagnoses the appropriate attention.

There are five conditions within the autism spectrum, and each of them can easily be mistaken for another. These are:

1. Rett’s Syndrome - this is a condition found only in girls which was discovered back in 1966. It is currently believed by scientists that this is not an inherited condition, but is the result of a random genetic mutation. Symptoms of Rett’s Syndrome do not become apparent in babies until 6 to 18 months of age. When Rett’s Syndrome starts to become apparent, the development of the baby begins to slow and their heads no longer grow in a normal way. Normal speech does not develop and repetitive hand movements, unusual walking patterns, and torso shaking begin. Children with Rett’s Syndrome also frequently experience seizures, breathing problems, rigid muscles, retarded growth, and other health issues.

2. Childhood Disintegrative Disorder - this disorder almost always occurs in boys, and is extremely rare. Until the age of about 42 months, the child appears to be normal, but a dramatic linguistic and social skill loss then occurs. The child may also start experiencing seizures and lose bladder and bowel control. Typically, these children experience low intellectual development. CDD is the easiest of the autism spectrum disorders for doctors to diagnose.

3. Autism - Autism itself is often referred to as Classic Autism, Kanner’s Autism, or Early Infantile Autism. Until its recognition in the 1940’s, children with autism had been diagnosed as emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded. Autistic children show many different kinds of symptoms that also occur in other physical and mental disorders, making it easy to misdiagnose. Among them are issues with sensory integration and information processing, leading to a series of different kinds of behaviors.

4. Asperger’s Syndrome - Asperger’s Syndrome children are frequently mistaken for children with high-functioning autism. The syndrome does not typically present itself until after three years of age, as these children tend not to show any issues with language acquisition and use. Instead, they commonly form extreme interests in narrow subjects, and are often known for frequent (though not universal) ability to recite full book texts or movie lines, as well as a seemingly endless line of trivial facts. Some autism-like traits may present themselves, such as the desire for a strict routine, a struggle with social interactions and communication, and an inclination toward repetitive behaviors. Some also struggle with vocal control.

5. Pervasive Development Disorder (Not Otherwise Specified) - PDD/NOS symptoms are difficult to classify. This portion of the autism spectrum is essentially used as a “catch-all” diagnosis for children who present symptoms of autism that cannot be contained by the other four autism spectrum disorders.

Beyond the autism spectrum disorder, other disorders and health problems that can often cause children to display autistic traits – though they don’t actually have autism – are:

- Deafness or hearing loss – children who have a difficulty hearing may have impaired social responses, causing them to behave in ways similar to some autistic behaviors.

- Schizophrenia – though some symptoms of this disorder are similar to those of autism, schizophrenia normally presents much later in life than autism.

- Language delay, language disorder, or speech delay – children with linguistic disorders and delays can experience social impairments as a result of their inability to express themselves.

- Developmental delay or mental retardation – behaviors of developmentally delayed or mentally retarded children frequently mimic those of autistic children, but for completely different reasons. Before the discovery of autism as a disorder many autistic children were regarded as mentally retarded.

As there are so many different symptoms of autism and the disorder never presents the same way from person to person, it is easy to misdiagnose disorders both inside and outside the spectrum as being autism. This is especially prevalent among the various autism spectrum disorders.

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The renowned autism expert Tony Atwood is fond of putting it this way: “Autism is anxiety looking for a target.” Autism and anxiety go hand-in-hand. Autism affects a person’s ability to communicate with others or to understand the world around him, and that’s bound to cause anxiety and panic sometimes.

Anxiety becomes even worse when there is a change in the autistic child’s routine. Even positive and “fun” changes, like a school field trip or a visit to the zoo, can increase anxiety and aggressive behaviors.

For parents, the best course of action is to anticipate upcoming changes and help your child prepare for them. Many parents find it helpful to use stories and pictures to prepare children for impending disruptions. If it’s a field trip to the zoo, for example, use pictures to show your child what he’ll see at the zoo, what the zoo will be like, and what sort of things to expect. Do this each day for three or four days prior to the trip. That way, when the trip actually happens, the child won’t be entirely out of his element, but will already understand and appreciate some of what will be happening.

Other changes in the routine are less enjoyable but still necessary. Getting a new teacher can be traumatic, as can moving to a new house. If at all possible, try to spread out the major changes. If you move to a new house, try to do it during the summer, so that your child won’t have to deal with the added anxiety of getting a new school and new teacher mid-year.

You can also introduce your child to the concept of “change” in a positive way by practicing with non-negative things. For example, just for practice, give him a little extra TV time instead of homework time one night, to show that changes in the routine can often be fun and good. Then practice with a neutral change (homework after dinner instead of before dinner), then with a negative one (changing play time into chore time). This process can help your child grow accustomed to the idea of change and learn to adapt without becoming anxious.

For continual, ongoing anxiety, many parents have begun using anti-anxiety medications for their autistic children. Usually, the medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and are also used for obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft and Anafranil are all common for anxiety in autistic children.

For behavioral problems, antipsychotics such as Haldol, fluphenazine and chlorpromazine can be prescribed. These can reduce aggression in autistic kids, but sometimes also cause sedation and muscle stiffness.

All patients are different. You and your doctor should monitor your child’s progress very closely, using the lowest dose of medication possible, to see if what improvements it makes and whether there are any adverse reactions. Medication should be the last resort for autism, not the first one. There are a number of natural remedies available if you don’t want to go down the drug route. But try behavioral and dietary modifications first, to see what improvements can be made naturally.

Rachel Evans writes a Free Autism Newsletter. You can sign up here: Free Autism Newsletter. To find out more about the the autism spectrum and for more information on mild autism symptoms.