Children and teens with Asperger’s Disorder do qualify for special education. Asperger’s Disorder is now the sixth most commonly classified disability in special education. In fact, the number of students classified as Asperger’s Disorder has increased six fold since 1994. This increase is due to Asperger’s Disorder being added to the DSM-IV-TR as a new disorder and the change of allowing autism to be diagnosed in people with a normal IQ. Prior to 1994, students with an IQ above 70 were not considered to have autism and would not have qualified for special education under the autism classification.
Two federal laws, Section 504 and IDEA, now guarantee children with Asperger’s Disorder a “free appropriate public education” in the “least restrictive environment.” Free means the education must be of no cost to the parents and appropriate means that it must meet the individual needs of each child. The least restrictive environment means that children with disabilities are not to be segregated from their nondisabled peers simply because of their disability. If they are to be removed from their peers, it is only for the portion of their education that cannot be met in the general or mainstream classroom.
Each law has different procedures and criteria for eligibility and different services available. IDEA states that the child must have a disability that requires special education services. Section 504 has a lower threshold and requires only that the child need modifications and accommodations in order to take part in learning. All public schools across the nation that receive federal funds are required to follow these two federal laws.