LAC 28:CI.701. Autism

A. Definition. Autism is a developmental disability that impacts the development of social-emotional skills, communication, and relating to others and their environment, generally evident before age three, but may not fully manifest until after age three depending on the environmental and social demands placed upon the child during their early development, and results in adverse impact on educational performance. B. Criteria for Eligibility. The multidisciplinary team may determine that the student displays autism if disturbances identified in all three of the categories below exist and adversely affect a student's educational performance. These disturbances may be characterized by delays, deviancies, arrests, and/or regressions in typical skill development, and/or precocious skill acquisition. While autism is behaviorally defined, manifestation of behavioral characteristics may vary along a continuum ranging from mild to severe. 1. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested currently or by history through all of the following; a. deficits in social-emotional reciprocity including, but not limited to, abnormal social approach, failure of normal back-and-forth conversation, reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect, and failure to initiate or respond to social interactions; b. deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction including but not limited to poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication, abnormalities in eye contact and body language, deficits in understanding and use of gestures, total lack of facial expressions, and nonverbal communication; c. deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships including but not limited to difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts, difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends, and absence of interest in peers. 2. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities as manifested by at least two of the following: a. stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech including but not limited to simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys, flipping objects, echolalia, and idiosyncratic phrases. b. insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior including but not limited to extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take the same route, or eat the same food every day; c. highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus including but not limited to strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed, or perseverative interest; d. hyper- or hypoactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of the environment including but not limited to apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement. 3. Impaired environmental functioning significantly interferes with educational performance. C. Procedures for Evaluation. Conduct all procedures in accordance with §513 of this Part. D. Additional procedures for evaluation: 1. a comprehensive assessment conducted by a certified school psychologist, licensed specialist in school psychology, licensed psychologist with school specialty, physician, or other qualified examiner trained or experienced in the evaluation of students with developmental disabilities; 2. systematic observations of the student in interaction with others such as parents, teachers, and peers across settings in the student's customary environments, including structured and non-structured times; 3. if the results of hearing screening are not definitive, the student shall be referred to an audiologist; 4. a speech and language assessment conducted by a speech/language pathologist trained and experienced in the evaluation of children with developmental disabilities. For non-verbal communicators, an augmentative/alternative communication assessment should be conducted to determine needs and modes of communication; 5. the educational assessment shall include the review and analysis of the student's response to scientifically research-based academic interventions documented by progress monitoring data, when needed; 6. if sensory motor screening and intervention data indicate at-risk, an occupational therapy assessment to address sensory processing and motor difficulties limiting access and participation in the educational program. All observed symptoms should be clearly documented. At a minimum, sensory processing assessment should address the following: a. visual symptoms; b. auditory symptoms; c. tactile symptoms; d. vestibular (balance) symptoms; e. olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) symptoms; f. proprioceptive (movement) symptoms; g. motor planning difficulties; and h. attention/arousal difficulties; 7. an assessment of adaptive behavior to assist in determining severity levels and impact of characteristics on everyday functioning in the school setting; 8. other assessments as determined to be appropriate and necessary by the evaluation coordinators and the multidisciplinary team to explore the impact of comorbid disorders and inform intervention planning within the educational setting.