An Administrative Law Judge has ordered the New Jersey Department of Health to reimburse the parent of a child with autism for the cost of services she purchased for her child before he turned three.
The case involves a toddler with disabilities, who was served through New Jersey’s Early Intervention System. The parent alleged that the early childhood intervention system failed to properly address her son’s disabilities by failing to arrange for proper diagnosis; failing to deliver services properly, rendering them ineffective; failing to deliver a list of specific services that are appropriate for children on the autism spectrum; and failing to plan for his transition at age three to special education. She sought compensatory education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
In court documents, the Early Intervention System was described as “a web of internal contradictions, especially with regard to the basis for determining services and the role of a parent in ensuring proper provision of services.”
The judge concluded that for a full year, the child had not received the benefit of any treatment specifically tailored to the needs of a child on the autism spectrum, writing that services “remained generic—unconnected to the actual needs of this particular child.”
She ordered the New Jersey Department of Health to reimburse the parent for the cost of Applied Behavior Analytic ABA services and feeding services that the Early Intervention System should have provided.
To read the decision, click here.
