Having Aides

Post Reply New Topic

I had an aid in High School. I went to high school in a well-to-do community. If someone asked me about my aid in the mainstream class I would say she is my Personal Assistant who helps me take notes as sometimes I get overwhelmed. No one teased me(:

This "Personal Assistant" took notes, worked on assignments with me as well as helped me to write my homework due to my dysgraphia.

At first there was a student taking notes and she was crappy and I mean she did not show up, did not take the notes and it was bloody hard to read.

I used my laptop but the aid filled in where I could not get it. Sometimes I would just not take notes and listen to the lecture.

In Resource all the TA's were Personal Assistants. We would work on homework together during Study Skills. I had the most coolest teacher for Study Skills who would let us listen to music, eat snacks and if we had no work to do he said I could go online on my laptop.

For the most part I was in Resource but got my assignments done well before time.

You have to learn how to use your aids to your advantage. Don't call them aids call them Personal Assistants(:

Oh and the Resource Room I loved it and enjoyed going there. It was like going to a room filled with love, and help. The aids were so nice and I of course made conversation with them. They really helped me to become the person that I am today.

I consider the Resource Room like a Library(:

I never had an aide before. I really didn't need one. Besides, I wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until I was 14.

Yeah, kids can be jerks. People used to call me annoying, lame, etc. They also used to call me a genius. LOL.

As the mom of an Aspie, I am loving this info. My son is in fifth grade and has an aide. (I like the personal assistant idea.) The aide is supposed to hang back as much as possible, maybe even helping other students and grading papers, so it isn't too obvious that she is there just for Trey, but the kids do catch on when Trey is having a rough time and needs to get out of class for a cooling off period.

For those who don't have aides, how do you handle it when you need to get some peace and quiet?

I think the aid did not help me even through high school. I actually needed to less when I did not have an aide.

I have never had an aide in school. I'm actually really happy about this. I'm already seen as weird and have been bullied for it. An aide would only make it worse.

I used to have aids all through school. They would help me out during certain classes that I needed help with and make sure I learned and did my homework to succeed. They weren't just there for me though. They were there for other kids in my classes too because the special ed teachers would work with the regular ed teachers for certain classes. Usually, in elementary school math, science, and writing. The TA's also handle specialists sometimes (PE, art and sometimes library). In middle and high school some classes the teacher would go with me to, some the TA would go with me to, and others I did by myself. Middle School was usually math, english, social studies, and woodshop. High school was usually math, history, science, and digital literacy. I never had a problem with them. I was always very respectful and I always did my best. I always loved getting the attention.

Now, I am an instructional aid at an elementary school and I completely agree with your statement. I don't just work with special ed children. At my school, the aids are in charge of supervising lunches and recess as well as dealing with behaviors when needed. I do currently service a boy with ADHD and depression who does not have an IEP but a 504 with extensive accommodations. However, currently his plan does not include an aid for academic support because everyone says he doesn't need it since he is very smart and capable. Therefore, my time with him was cut in half so I could go deal with kindergarteners who have behaviors. (They have I'm a major brat disorder lol!) I was a little annoyed when this happened and still try and fight for this boy. I tell people that he needs help which he does because when he feels depressed, he stops his work and sits in a peaceful corner to cry until I come over to him to calmly talk to him in a soothing voice to see if I can get him to come back to his seat and work on his assignment with me. Everyone thinks he's being ridiculous because he's in 4th grade going into middle school next year but I am one of the very few people in the entire school that will actually sit on the floor with this child and try to figure out a solution to his problems. He tells me to go away and leave him alone which other people just walk away but I tell him that I will go away but first I wanna know what's bothering him and then he tells me and we have a productive conversation about it. He's like most kids, when you tell them they have to do something they don't want to and you nag them about it when they're already frustrated, they yell at you to go away and give you a snarky attitude but when the sh*t hits the fan and they're falling apart inside, whether or not they want to admit it, they need you, an adult they secretly love and trust that's always there for them. Also keep in mind that some students have a better repore with certain adults. I have worked with students who do not respond to me at all. Don't take it personally if this happens to you, just grab an adult who works really well with your particular student to step in. I happen to have the best repore of anyone with the student described above. Translation (if I can't get him out of his mood, nobody except possibly the teacher can).

Also, I really like the personal assistant idea. I might start telling my student to think of me as his personal assistant rather than just a really annoying mean lady who makes him do his math work. Lol!