Opinion ID: 1272595
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Natalie H.

Text: Natalie H. was born on August 3, 1992. In 1994, the preschool that Natalie was attending, concerned that she might have a pervasive development disorder, referred her to the Hawaii DOH. The Hawaii DOH performed a psychological evaluation in September 1994 and determined that, at the age of two, Natalie was developmentally at the age of a one-year old overall, but that [she] showed no symptoms of Pervasive Developmental Disorder. In early 1995, Natalie's family doctor observed developmental delays and referred her to Kaiser Permanente for a neurological evaluation. The Kaiser evaluation diagnosed Natalie with autism and recommended that she be provided with appropriate special education. In the spring of 1995, when Natalie was nearly three, the Hawaii DOE academically evaluated her and deemed her eligible for special education services, classifying her disability as an Early Childhood Learning Impairment, not autism. An IEP prepared for Natalie on July 7, 1995 specified that she was to be placed in a fully self-contained special education classroom on a regular school campus for an extended school year, just as Michelle was. Natalie's next IEP assessment, in March 1996, noted that the Kaiser evaluation had concluded in February 1995 that she was autistic. Natalie's IEP was reevaluated on an annual basis through 1998, although, as with Michelle, no mental health representative attended the meetings. In March 1998, the Hawaii DOE changed Natalie's eligibility category from Early Childhood Learning Impairment to Autism.