Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 581 - OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Division 15 - SPECIAL EDUCATION › Section 581-015-2130 - Autism Spectrum Disorder

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1)
			 Definition of "Autism Spectrum Disorder": For early intervention, early
			 childhood special education, and school age special education, "Autism Spectrum
			 Disorder" means a developmental disability that includes persistent deficits in
			 social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts; and
			 restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
			 Characteristics are generally evident before age three but may not become fully
			 evident until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by
			 learned strategies. Characteristics cause educationally and developmentally
			 significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of
			 current functioning. The term does not apply if a child's educational
			 performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional
			 behavior disability. However, a child who qualifies for special education under
			 autism spectrum disorder may also have an emotional behavior disability as a
			 secondary disability if the child meets the criteria under emotional behavior
			 disability. The term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" is equivalent to the term
			 "autism" used in 34 CFR
			 §
									300.8.
(2) Comprehensive Evaluation: If a child is
			 suspected of having autism spectrum disorder, a comprehensive evaluation must
			 be conducted for early intervention, early childhood special education or
			 school age special education services, including the following:
(a) Developmental history as defined in OAR
			 581-015-2000.
(b) Information from
			 parents and other knowledgeable individuals regarding the child's historical
			 and current characteristics that are associated with an autism spectrum
			 disorder, including:
(A) Deficits in social
			 communication and social interaction across multiple contexts as manifested by
			 deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors
			 used for social interaction, and developing, maintaining, and understanding
			 relationships; and
(B) Restricted,
			 repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by
			 stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech;
			 insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized
			 patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior; highly restricted, fixated interests
			 that are abnormal in intensity or focus; hyper-or hypo-reactivity to sensory
			 input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment.
(c) Observations. Three
			 observations of the child's behavior; at least one of which involves direct
			 interactions with the child, and at least one of which involves direct
			 observation or video of the child's interactions with one or more peers in an
			 unstructured environment when possible, or with a familiar adult. The
			 observations must occur in multiple environments, on at least two different
			 days, and be completed by one or more licensed professionals knowledgeable
			 about the behavioral characteristics of autism spectrum disorder.
(d) Social Communication Assessment.
			 Assessments conducted by a speech and language pathologist licensed by the
			 State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology or the
			 Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, in reference to developmental
			 expectations and that address the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder
			 to develop a profile of:
(A) Functional
			 receptive and expressive communication, encompassing both verbal (level of
			 spoken language) and nonverbal skills;
(B) Pragmatics across natural contexts;
			 and
(C) Social understanding and
			 behavior, including social-emotional reciprocity.
(e) Standardized Autism Identification Tool.
			 One or more valid and reliable standardized rating scales, observation
			 schedules, or other assessments that identify core characteristics of autism
			 spectrum disorder.
(f) Medical
			 Examination. Documentation of a medical examination shall be completed for
			 children age birth to five for initial eligibility determinations, and may be
			 completed for children age five and above, as determined necessary by the team.
			 The purpose of a medical examination is to ensure consideration of other health
			 and/or physical factors that, for a child age birth to 5, may impact the
			 child's developmental performance or, for a child age 5 to 21, may impact the
			 child's educational performance. A medical diagnosis of autism spectrum
			 disorder is not required to determine eligibility.
(g) Vision and Hearing Screening. Review
			 existing screening or, if none, conduct a new screening.
(h) Other.
(A) Any additional assessments that may
			 include, measures of cognitive, adaptive, academic, behavioral-emotional,
			 executive function/self-regulation, or sensory processing necessary to
			 determine the impact of the suspected disability:
(i) On the child's developmental progress for
			 a child age birth to 5; or
(ii) On
			 the child's educational performance for a child age 5 to 21.
(B) Any additional evaluations or
			 assessments necessary to identify the child's educational needs.