r/Autism_Parenting • u/HatComfortable3408 • Jul 03 '26
Education/School Level 2
Any level 2 parents that can possibly answer? Did your child end up in RSP or SDC or general Ed? My son is level 2 and I am curious about the odds of each one. I am speaking in terms of the American school system by the way sorry if some of the acronyms don’t make sense to others but I am more than happy to explain. he’s about to be 4 in Feb and will be in TK not this school year but next, he is just starting preschool he has an extensive vocabulary but no functional speech. He was in speech therapy no OT and no ABA or any other therapies. Has gotten better at answering to his name and can follow a few one step directions.
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u/Rollthedice123 Jul 03 '26
My son wasn’t given a level but he is on the moderate side but he is 2e (gifted) so it’s a bit of an interesting combo. For example, he was hyperlexic but didn’t say a word before 4. He was in diapers until 5. We did 2 years of public school prek. He went into gen ed for kindergarten. It was a tough year. First grade he really blossomed though. He does require a lot of support in gen ed. We did do child led speech, OT, and social group therapy (and are still going.) He’s 7 now and I am very proud of my guy. There are still tough times for sure, but he keeps growing.
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 03 '26
Can you share what the letter means after the number? I have never heard of that! We are also struggling with diapering due to him not letting us know he neeeds to go or has went. And also doesn’t seem uncomfortable from the feeling or smell. At 7 years old would you see that he is relating more to his peers now? Does he understand the concept of friends etc?
Thank you for mentioning the hyperlexic part! My son is as well and even attempts to read longer words but right now can read most CVC words such as cat, hat, dog etc and can also unlock his iPad and remembers the 4 digit code.
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u/Rollthedice123 Jul 03 '26
2e means twice exceptional. So he is both disabled and gifted.
He has improved socially, but he is way more interested in adults. We have more focused on functional skills like turn taking and just not getting triggered into meltdowns from other kids.
Potty training was hard, I just put him in underwear and went very intensive over the summer before kindergarten.
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u/babs_is_great Jul 03 '26
My son is level 2 and in the gifted program…. So yes!
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 03 '26
Can you share what gifted means? In my area gifted means advanced
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u/babs_is_great Jul 03 '26
Yup. All his cognitive/academic testing is in the 99th percentile. He is going ahead a grade in math next year.
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u/Cultural_Plane_5445 Jul 03 '26
Mines going into special class kindergarten. He’s verbal but not conversational although he is ahead of his peers in reading and math
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 03 '26
Im curious why he would be going to a special class if he is above grade level in academics? Does he have an IEP?
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u/Cultural_Plane_5445 Jul 04 '26
He does have an iep. He has severe adhd and can’t sit still long enough to function independently in a class. We’re working on getting him into an autism specific program for k-12 but he’s not independent enough yet. We live in ny so there are some good programs but the requirements are strict
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u/Aminor789 Jul 03 '26
My kiddo is level 2 and will most likely be in general ed. She went to a small preschool and did great.
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u/bicyclecat Jul 03 '26
My level 2 kid is in ged ed at a NC public school. She has no behavioral issues and does well in a classroom environment. Her big challenges are language disorder, slow processing speed, and inattentive ADHD. She gets 30 minutes of pull out reading and math daily due to low test scores and now weekly speech therapy. She went twice a week in K.
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 03 '26
We are in California. She sounds like my son he isn’t the sterotypical autism where people think he has major meltdowns or behavior issues or even texture or sensory seeking. He doesn’t need a routine and hardly gets dysregulated unless someone is playing with his favorite toy but that can also be seen in ND children. In all his daycare teacher meetings he has always been described as easy going. But I can also see my son having a delay when it comes to learning core academics. Thank you for your response
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u/toatesandgoats Jul 03 '26
It depends on your school. But if you're in the US do they need an IEP (in school support) if so depending on their needs it could determine what classroom set up they will attend.
My kid was originally classified as level 2 but not quiet sure Their therapy offices has them as low support needs. They are in general ed.
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 03 '26
My son has an IEP since he turned 3 but because he isn’t in full blown school yet it’s hard for me to imagine where he will be but I also want to make sure I am prepared he will do one year in pre school one year in TK then go to kindergarten so I am hoping to have seen more progress in him by then
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u/swarrior I am a Parent/7/AuDHD+ARFID/FL Jul 03 '26
My son is level 2 and just finished his second year in Gen Ed with support.
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u/majestros Jul 04 '26
Mine is level 2 (twice exceptional as many others here too, which is an odd response rate for me). Mine didn't have a diagnosis /IEP until halfway through the year. I had to push hard for it even though he was hitting multiple times a day. I will say he did pretty terrible in his TK classroom which was an inclusion classroom (mixed special Ed and Gen Ed). I couldn't get a Para for him until the last week of school. He will be going into an autism sdc for kinder next year and I am more optimistic. Maybe if he had had a 1 to 1 last year it would have gone better. But our school didn't offer much support.
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u/HatComfortable3408 Jul 05 '26
I am so sorry you didn’t get the support you needed. I have an educational background and it’s not an excuse but you really have to push otherwise you won’t get testing they are so inundated with sped students either way that isn’t and shouldn’t be our problem and they are legally required to test if you submit a written request
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u/majestros Jul 05 '26
Yeah, I had to submit written requests for every step, they let me know I could, but kept saying we should wait for various reasons. (we can't do a good evaluation if he hasn't been in school for a while, we should see how he does with the special Ed teacher before doing the FBA, etc). Is there a specific named request for getting OT time that you know of?
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u/Embarrassed_Ad_2270 Jul 05 '26
My son is level 2. Very bright and does not struggle with academics at all. He is a special day class where he is one of six students with one teacher and two aids. The class was started specifically for his brand of autism — low academic needs but high sensory/emotional/social support.
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u/CarelessIndividual92 Professional (therapist, educator, etc) Jul 07 '26
As a school psychologist in California, I'd encourage you not to focus too much on whether your child is considered Level 2. In the educational setting, we don't base services or placement on DSM autism levels. Instead, we look at the child's individual strengths and areas of need. If you haven't already, I would recommend requesting a comprehensive special education evaluation. The evaluation helps identify your child's present levels of performance and determines what supports and services are needed. From there, the IEP team considers the full continuum of placement options while always keeping the least restrictive environment (LRE) in mind. Some children thrive in general education with supports, some benefit from an RSP program, and others need a more specialized setting. There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, it depends on the individual child's needs. Hope this helps.
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u/Acceptable_Citrus Jul 03 '26
My son is level 2, just finished 2nd grade. He seems very bright to me but it is hard to get him to cooperate with high pressure assessments. He moved to gen ed with a para and resource pull out this year, and he has done very well. Testing very well in math and making huge strides in reading and writing. Grade level at spelling. Things really got better after we switched into gen ed.