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Where to Find Supports & Services
In addition to private service providers, there are different identified California state agencies which provide collaborative supports and services for persons with developmental disabilities (intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or other disabling conditions similar to intellectual disabilities) depending on the age of the person with a disability. From birth to age 3, services are provided by one of 21 regional centers located throughout California. From ages 3 to 21, services are provided by the local school district where the person with a disability resides, and sometimes where the parent or guardian of the person with a disability works.
Regional Centers (Birth to Age 3)
San Diego Regional Center - sdrc.org
(includes Imperial Co.) Orange County Regional Center - rcocdd.com Inland Regional Center - inlandrc.org (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties) |
Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center - elarc.org
South Central Los Angeles Regional Center - slarc.org North Los Angeles Regional Center - nlacrc.org Golden Gate Regional Center - ggrc.org (San Francisco) |
Local School District (Ages 3-21)
Contact Your Local School District to request an assessment for Special Education Services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Start early. A proposed assessment plan must be developed and provided to parents with 15 days of the referral for assessment and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Meeting must be held within 60 days of the parent returning signed consent for the assessment. An IEP provides access for students with disabilities, including ASD, with access to a number of school-related assessments. Parents & guardians must be provided with a copy of their legal rights relating to IDEA. Know your rights. Eligibility for special education services is not automatic or guaranteed. Eligibility depends not only on the disability of the child, but on the affect the disability has on the child's educational achievement. Some school districts consider only academic achievement. Advocates for students with ASD should insist that that the IEP team consider the child's achievement in the areas of communication and social skills, as well, and how deficits in these areas affect the child's overall educational achievement.
What is Effective Collaboration?
It is important for families, educators, and service providers to work together to assess and support the needs of learners with ASD. Below are three video journals describing collaboration with a speech and language pathologist and parents in completing a functional behavioral analysis.
Reflection on Interview with Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) and Steps to Conducting a Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA) - EDUU - 675 Video Journal #1
Reflection on Biggest Takeaways From Interview with SLP and Conducting an FBA - 675 Video Journal #3
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Reflection on Interview with Parents and Conducting a Functional Behavioral Analysis - EDUU - 675 Video Journal #2
Reflection on Challenges Collaboration Challenges - 677 Video Journal #3
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