1:1 aide
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| Thu, 10-19-2006 - 1:16pm |
I just wondered how many kids here have their own personal aide at school. I've been asking for one for my DS since kindergarten because they always say that the sped teacher doesn't have the time to meet his needs. They refuse the aide because he does not have a cognitive delay, but he does have learning difficulties.
I had a horrible IEP meeting this morning where I had to reject the placement change the school was proposing. They want to send my son to a day program K-12. He's in the 2nd grade. The program is one hour away and it starts at 7:20 AM. The program is a contained ED program and they were trying to assure me that he would get autism resources there even though it's NOT an autism program.
I think my DS could make it through the day if he had an aide to take him for walks when he needs a break. The ED supervisor said that having an aide following him around would be "unnatural".

My son has a one-on-one. He got the aide last yr (5th grade) part time. This yr the aide is full time except lunch. He is fully mainstreamed. The aide allows him to access the general education setting-the least restrictive environment.
I'm sorry you had a horrible IEP. Have you been to the IEP board for help from Steph? She is wonderful. It sounds like its time to get an advocate on your team.
Samantha
Bobby is in preschool and we just moved him to a class that is higher functioning than he had been in and they expect more from the kids.
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Claire has a 1:1 and is in full inclusion- all day, every day. They tried to pull the same load of *insert bad word* on me, but I assured them that there's no question a mainstream classroom with a 1:1 aide would be providing our daughter with...THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT. Once I threw out that phrase, they knew I wasn't joking. Claire got the 1:1- who I think is fantastic- and we've never considered pulling her out of a mainstream classroom.
It sounds to me like they are denying your child the right to the LRE.
You definitely need to chat with Steph over on the IEP board. She's a TON of help!
Amy
My son is in first grade and shares an aide with another student. Actually, according to his IEP he only has the aide for like two hours a day, she is there for his classmate all day. He shared the aide last year as well. In another classroom, a friend of his who is HFA also has an aide. My son does not have any cognitive delays, the aide is primarily to assist him with transitions, encourage him to interact with others, help him stay in control and on task, stuff like that. The aides I am familiar with in our school are all autistic aides, meaning they work with kids, like my ds, who receive spec ed services under the autism disability category, as far as IEP stuff goes. The reason I bring this up is you mention the "ED" supervisor, and ED, as far as I know, is a separate disability category. I was just trying to think of where she came up with the "unnatural" comment, which seems like a big copout to me. Maybe in your district ED kids don't typically have aides?
Just wanted to share my experience, hope it helps!
Kate
Son has 1:1 all day including recess and lunch. Really it didn't start until 2nd grade that he really needed one but he would have benefited before. He first shared an aide in 2nd, then he had his own aide for 1/2 of the day, then he went to a full time 1:1 aide whether he was in the mainstream class or SDC.
On the other hand, Cait has an aide she shares now in 7th but it hasn't always been that way. She shared an aide in part of Kindie then went without for 1 and 2, needed one in 2 so had a shared one in 3rd. Didn't need one in 4th (fabulous teacher who was able to do it all herself seemlessly), got a 1:1 part time in 5th and has been sharing a nearly full time aide since 6th. I say nearly because the aide typically doesn't monitor lunch or band though I wish she would.
Renee
Yeah, I think our biggest problem is that the ED supervisor has the biggest personality in the room. She sort of takes over the whole IEP meeting. It's less of a team and more like listenning to her take on things. The autism specialists didn't even bother to show up to the last IEP meeting that I had.
I have an appointment with an advocate/attorney this morning. She comes highly recommended and knows my county. I'm hoping she can shed some light on things for me.
Talking to the public school people by yourself is like throwing yourself to the mercy of a used car salesman. They will look you in the face and tell you that's the only deal they can make. You need a 3rd party to call their bluff.