Sec. 1.
(a) Autism
spectrum disorder is a lifelong developmental disability that includes autistic
disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and other pervasive developmental disorders, as
described in the current version of the American Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The disability is generally
evident before three (3) years of age and significantly affects verbal,
nonverbal, or pragmatic communication and social interaction skills and results
in an adverse effect on the student's educational performance. Other
characteristics often associated include the following:
(1) Engagement in:
(A) repetitive activities; and
(B) stereotyped movements.
(2) Resistance to:
(A) environmental change; or
(B) change in daily routines.
(3) Unusual responses to sensory
experiences.
(b) Autism
spectrum disorder does not apply if a student's educational performance is
adversely affected primarily by:
(1) an
emotional disability;
(2) blindness
or low vision;
(3) deaf-blindness;
or
(4) an intellectual disability;
unless the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder are demonstrated to a
greater degree than is normally attributed to these disabilities.
(c) Eligibility for special
education as a student with autism spectrum disorder shall be determined by the
student's CCC. This determination shall be based on the multidisciplinary
team's educational evaluation report described in
511 IAC
7-40-5(e) and
511 IAC
7-40-5(f), which includes the
following:
(1) An assessment of the following:
(A) Current academic achievement as defined
at
511 IAC
7-32-2.
(B) Functional skills or adaptive behavior
across various environments from multiple sources.
(C) The student's receptive, expressive,
pragmatic, and social communication skills that must include at least one (1)
of the following:
(i) An individually
administered norm-referenced assessment when appropriate for the
student.
(ii) If adequate
information cannot be obtained via an individually administered norm-referenced
assessment, a criterion-referenced assessment that:
(AA) has been designed or may be adapted or
modified for use with students who have autism spectrum disorder; and
(BB) is administered by a professional or
professionals with knowledge of assessment strategies appropriate for the
student.
(D)
An assessment of motor skills and sensory responses.
(2) A social and developmental history that
may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Communication skills.
(B) Social interaction skills.
(C) Motor skills.
(D) Responses to sensory
experiences.
(E) Relevant family
and environmental information.
(F)
Patterns of emotional adjustment.
(G) Unusual or atypical behaviors.
(3) A systematic observation of
the student across various environments.
(4) Any other assessments and information,
collected prior to referral or during the educational evaluation, necessary to:
(A) exclude the disabilities listed in
subsection (b);
(B) determine
eligibility for special education and related services; and
(C) inform the student's CCC of the student's
special education and related services needs.
