Full time aid in school......

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This is my second post here. I really got some good feed back from you guys, so I have something else I'd like some feedback on. My son is 9 and he is in the 3rd grade. His grades are c's and above. He is getting occupational therapy for handwriting,and he can retake tests that he does poorly on with the special education teacher. The problem is that he doesn't understands things have the time. He won't ask the teacher for help. He scribbles all over his papers, and erases so much he rips his papers. He leaves questions bank.....and comes for with imcomplete work all the time. At the last IEP meeting they had done a behavoir Analaze, and came up with some implements to do in the classroom. Like leaving notes on his desk to help him remember things, helping him organize his notebook,highlighting directions, having someone read him the directions and make sure he understands them. But the teacher told me that this was alot of work they her and the special education teacher were doing. She wasn't being ugly about it she just said it was alot of time involved. My mom has been with me to every IEP meeting, and we have already consulted with the BEST special education lawyer in our area. My mom and I think he needs and aid in the classroom. The IEP team wanted to wait and see if the implements work. Also when my mother said something about a full time aid they said.....Well he's making C's. His behavoir is not bad at school either. But the problem is if he doesn't understand something and does bad on a test and then goes and retakes it with the special ed. teacher is he really learning the information? Wouldn't he benefit more by someone always being in there to explain things to him,to read directions,ect..... what does everone think? Thanks!! !!

I think its important to realize that a lot of kids have trouble understanding things teachers say. There are a lot of kids making worse grades than your son and the school is probably not going to even consider giving an aide to a kid who's passing everything when they have so many kids failing even the simplest standardized tests.

Its probably worth a try if you think it will help him. However, he's not always going to have someone to explain things and kids will probably tease him for having an aide. on the other hand, I wish I had a personal assistant.

My five year old son was diagnosed at the age of four with AS. He has had a personal teaching assistant since starting school, with additional help at playtimes and mealtimes. Without this help it would be impossible for him to be at school at all. This is not because he has a learning difficulty, but he is very prone to tantrums.

Unfortunately it is impossible for me to compare the UK and US education systems, I wouldn't know where to start. We did have to look for a school which had systems in place to deal with his problems, and it quickly became obvious to me and my wife that not all state schools are equal in this.

One of the things that really help my son to understand what is going on is a visual timetable. He always needs to know what is happening now and next. He responds very well to 'Widget' symbols

http://www.widgit.com/

although I don't know how appropriate that would be for a nine year old, and there is the question of teasing, I wouldn't want to set him up for that. Perhaps you could make use of them at home and see how he responds.

By the way, with the problems he has and the fact that he is still making 'c' grades, there is a possibility that he could be very bright indeed. Lots of AS children have problems focusing, are easily distracted by noise in a busy classroom, may be sensitive to light etc. Even the direction that his desk is facing might make a difference, eg. try to get him working facing a wall away from the other children when he is working alone.

Hope this is some help.

ultimately, even in a purely special ed setting ( i teach at a special ed high school), the goal of teachers should be to have the student be as independent as possible.most of my students do not have aides. i know it stinks that your son is getting c's, but at least he's passing....his regular ed teacher should be talked to about her attitude, i think...i mean, after all, interventions do take time but the results are definitely worth it.besides, she doesn't have a choice~if it's in the iep she has to follow through whether she likes it or not.
instead of demanding an aide, i'd focus on ensuring that the teachers ( special ed and regular ed) implement the interventions that the team determined at the last meeting. if these don't work, try others. as far as re-taking the tests goes, i wouldn't worry so much...some individuals learn better when there is a repitition of the information. heck, the only way i passed algebra was because i had a math teacher who would let her students re-take tests if their grade was below a 60!

I'm going to take a different tack.

If you think an aide would help, go for it. The teacher as much as admitted he needed one.

The fact that he is getting Cs is not a legal reason for the school to say no (if I understand the law correctly it can't compare him to his peers, only to his potential.)

Hopefully the aide could teach him to be more independent, to get organized, to be able to ask questions if confused. In that sense the aide is a tempory bridge for him, to help him get where he can be.

On the downside, the aide, if its not a good one, could become a cruth instead of a tool. If the aide does his work, rather than explain the work to him, not only does he never learn to be independent, he goes backwards. Other kids might tease. My son was automatically assigned an aide when he was accepted into our school's aspie program...he doesn't need one and didn't want one. I had a heck of a time getting rid of the aide but thats another story for another time. My point is he didn't want the aide because he said he would be teased. But then, your son is younger than mine.

I think its important to teach your son how to get organized and ask questions before he hits middle school. If that means an aide for a few years, so be it.

BeeBee

I agree with BeeBee on this one.

While you and the school district can argue all day about what is meant by a FAPE, if your child's grades don't honestly reflect his *ability*, or if he isn't getting the kind of instruction he needs, then the school district is required to provide whatever services it takes to get him there.

This may mean a one on one aide to keep him focused, perhaps only for awhile until he gets down into it. However it seems clear from your post that as it stands your son isn't able to access the education that's being provided and so the district is required to provide it in such a way that he can access it. (This goes back to the old days that started all this, when kids got tested before going into kindie to see if they could hop on one foot or cut in a straight line - all done to 'weed out' disabled children from the public educational system).

Check out www.wrightslaw.com if you haven't already, it may be clearer than how the attorney explained things.

You are your child's best advocate.

Interesting, the teachers have all but said they need an extra person and the team says that one is not needed. Hrmmm, sound like the district is hoping the problem goes away without putting money towards it.

In any case, I have mixed feelings about aides. They can bridge the gap (as long as they are not doing the work) of skills and teach the child to be more independent. However, there is a social stigma attached to the aide.

One solution may be to see if there are others in the class who need similar assistance and could us an aide and maybe get it set up so that the aide is available for more that one student. That would take out some of the social issues surrounding an aide and would be cheaper than paying one aide for one student.

Alex, you are right about schools needing to assist students who are not failing, however that is not how IDEA works. If the team determines that an aide is needed, then the district is required to supply an aide.

I would however wait to see if the other options work.

BTW, could the seating arrangement of the class be changed. Maybe if your child was say in the front row and maybe to the left or right side, that could help the situation alot more than an aide.

My 8 year old has had a full-tim Para since kindergarten. I don't know how he could manage with out them. They keep him on task organized and help him make the right choices. They undersand him so well that they can tell when he is ready to meltdown and take him to his quiet room before it happens.

He had a hard time in school until this year, and now he is also in the gifted program.

I would recommend a para. Jacob has come so far, and I know they have truly helped him along.

A couple of points that are important to keep in mind:

Most of our kiddoes have executive functioning deficits. They cannot plan, organize or make decisions well, unless it is in reference to their "preferred activity". School rarely makes that list.

I worked for a brilliant attorney in the past who came to work wearing blue suits, black socks and brown shoes. He needed a personal assistant (me) just to get him through the day and make sure he didn't lose his briefcase. Why shouldn't our kids have that if it's what they need?

The school cannot decide that because your child will pass his grade and makes little or no trouble that he doesn't need help. My son was getting C's, with the occassional D and the rare trip to the principal's office. With an IQ of about 135, that was unacceptable.

Teachers (many, certainly not all) hate IEP's. In the school where I used to teach (I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!) they were referred to by teachers as the "I'm Extraspecial Plans". They didn't know I had a kid in another district *with* an IEP. You need to be sure they know you know that full compliance is mandatory. Then, if possible, do something nice. Help out on a special day at school, or just ask if there's something you can help out with.

Keep in mind that come graduation day, you want your child prepared to meet the work just like every other student, whether they are going on to more education, or heading out to work. They need to use this time to develop the coping skills and abilities they will need to function in the workplace and in society.

Wow, this is an interesting debate (right term?). I have been fortunate with my 10 yo AS son b/c even though I work, my mom has basically been volunteering in my son's classes since 1st grade being his aide. She helps the other kids in the class too, but she has been able to watch him, see how he digests the instructions, etc and has been my eyes/ears for how he's doing in class and where he needs help.

We are moving at the end of this school year to another state and my son won't have that wonderful resource next year in 5th grade. I worry because my mom helps out so much with him at school. For instance - one of his modifications is that he takes his tests orally - but that in itself really doesn't help him b/c he has trouble understanding words. He had a word problem once that talked about stories in a building and floors...and he missed the problem....but when they went back over it and discovered that he didn't know that a story was also a floor, after he knew that he knew exactly what to do and got the problem right.....I know an aide can't help them do problems, but when I asked if he could at least take tests w/a dictionary (so he could look up a word, if he didn't understand it) the school said no....it's so frusterating sometimes......He too does not catch most of what the teacher is trying to teach, won't ask questions, daydreams, etc.

But, on the other hand.....I notice that my son (and my mom acknowledges this) will get to the point sometimes where he depends on her way too much - almost like a crutch- at which time she has to step back and remind him she's not there to do work for him but only to help him grasp the concepts he needs so HE can do the work. So there's a part of me who is thinking maybe my son not having that "crutch" next year might not be such a bad thing.

I truly think there are pros and cons.....the school district that my son is in now says they don't have the funding for a personal aid (which is why my mom stepped in)....the one we'll be moving to says they will have to evaluate him to see if it's necessary. ...guess there's no real easy answer...

It's so great that your son has his grandmom so close by and able to be there with him at school.

Maybe part of his reliance is because it is grandma? My son has never had an aide of any kind, so I don't know. I know if I thought he needed one I'd do what I could to get it for him, regardless of the "social" cost. Let's face it, he's not heading for homecoming king anyway.

My son has that same problem with words. Kids were telling jokes at school (i.e. what do you get when you cross a cow with a cat) and he wasn't getting it. He came home wanting to know why you'd want to make a cow cross (mad). LOL He just did the same thing with interest rates the other night. We were watching tv and he asked how interest is charged on vehicles. I tried a brief explanation (he's in 5th grade). Turns out, he thought you paid extra based on how "interested" you were in the vehicle!! I think part of the problem is just the english language and how it is laid out/used!

They won't provide an aide because they lack the money?

Do you have that on tape? A good lawyer would love it as money can not be the deciding factor per law...

BeeBee

BeeBee,

That was my suggestion, not the truth. Besides, they probably would not say that. In the case of the initial poster, they said that they should let the changes made recently have a chance to pass or fail on their own merit (even though the teachers have admitted that they cannot implement them by themselves).

Actually my mom told them we wanted an aid, and to let us know within a week what the decision was in writing. Then as a team we decided to see how the implements worked. We are afraid they will do them for a while and then slake off. My son is also going to a new school next year,and we know he is going to clam back up again. He has been at this school a couple of years,and it only goes to 3rd grade. Also at the last meeting my mom got so tired of the behavoir specialist interuping her, she told her in a strong voice to let her finish talking. You know it is so hard because most people don't know what our children need. Heck, most people don't know much about AS at all. My pediatrician told me I was crazy when I went to her and told her he had AS. Needless to say we have a new one and he is now diagosed. Anyway......He has an I.Q. of 120. I just don't think he should be making C's. I am also looking into a private evaluation for him. Thats what the Wright's Law book says that to do. I want to have all my duckies in a row!! !! My mom also told the team she was going to hire Jim Sears(the S.E. lawyer in our area the school system is scared of). My moms best friend is a homebound teacher, and she also has quite a few connections. Thanks everyone for posting!! !!

Here are some links from SEAC:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~seachsv/ptilinks.html

This link from SEAC, information about a one-to-one aide, may be particularly interesting:

http://www.specialchild.com/archives/lf-014.html

When I read your first post in the thread, I thought your son needs at least a part-time one-to-one aide but I will be very impressed if you manage to get one for him in Alabama. I am glad to see you have contacted the best special education attorney in your area, Jim Sears, to help you. I am sure he would have recommended an independent evaluation as well. Did he have any other ideas? I have retained the services of the best special education attorney in our area to help us deal with our daughter's school district and I think it was money well-spent. He persuaded the school district to pay for an independent evaluation for our daughter. I am also glad you have your mom come to the meetings with you. Nobody is going to bully her!

Just so you know, there is a message board for the Autism Society of Alabama, but it does not get as much traffic as WP.

http://www.autism-alabama.com/mypages/w ... /index.php

Aspen, I really appreciate the information!! I noticed Jim Sears is on that list. My moms friend knows him, we have not actually contacted him yet,but we will not hesitate if need be. My mom requested all work, and information at the next IEP meeting next week, to see if the implements are working. She also asked tfor them to show proof of everything they are doing. We will see what happens! Any one's things true, my mom won't take anything from them. She knows to many people!! !! !