Substitute 1:1's

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2003
Substitute 1:1's
1
Thu, 01-25-2007 - 8:56am

This was mentioned in one of Renee's recent threads and I thought the issue deserved more attention.

We've had an issue with substitute 1:1's for our daughter. We adore her regular 1:1 (who happens to have small children of her own that get sick from time to time), but in this district, it's nearly impossible to find a substitute. So if there's a last minute thing that happens and her 1:1 can't be at school, the 1:1 calls me and typically I keep Claire home with me. To be honest, it's a safety issue because Claire has no sense of danger.

However, last week when Claire's 1:1 knew she wasn't going to be there, they miraculously found a substitute. But it was a man! Oiy! Not that I have anything against men being 1:1's, but our daughter has toileting issues, and I was a tad uncomfortable with the situation. Luckily the classroom teacher was as well, so she pretty much kept Claire with her and let the substitute 1:1 help the other kids in the class.

What do other districts do? If your child has a 1:1, how do you feel about them bringing in a stranger who is essentially untrained and at least somewhat unfamiliar with your child?

Amy

Meez 3D avatar avatars games

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 01-25-2007 - 10:42am

Well, typically mine are really good about this.

Mike main room is a day class where there is a special ed teacher and 2 aides (aside from his 1:1). When his aide is out either the teacher or one of the aides covers for her and they rearrange thier groups in the day class. There are some times that Mike can do ok in his mainstream class alone this year so he may have a small bit of time without the 1:1, but the teacher or aide will keep checking in on him and keep in contact with the mainstream teacher. It is good for raising his independence and self esteem that he can do it.

What happened this week is Kelly was out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (so far).

On Monday the SDC teacher went with him for the entire day. I feel special, we occasionally get a fully credentialed teacher for his aide and it helps her see how he is really doing. On Tuesday she went in and out all day and stayed when she needed too but couldn't devote a whole day away from her other kids.

On Wednesday SDC teacher was in an all day teachers conference for the district. There was a new sub in the class and the 2 aides. It was a busy day in there with some of the other kids so they couldn't devote one too Mike. But they didn't want him to miss out on his mainstreaming because that would have been worse for him. The mainstream teacher was OK with him coming for his usual time and would call the SDC class if there were issues.

Mike held it together and did REALLY well. I am very proud of him. However, you can definitely see where this would fall apart if it was a usual thing. He came home stressed, without his homework and I hear that he was having a bit of a time of it in the SDC for his math work. I only know because his regional center social worker was there to observe for IFSP.

Renee

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