RE: [SPAM]Re: Aides in school

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My son is 12 yrs old and is in his first year of middle school. He has a

full-time aide this year for the first time. The school psychologist of the

elementary school that he attended was actually the one who suggested this

arrangement due to his lack of ability to participate in class-wide

instruction and verbal outbursts. It would be important to know why the

district is so against giving him a full-time aide? Especially with his

history – unless her son’s adventures are not being documented by the school

so the district admin/board is not aware of the scope of the problem.

Whatever the reason though, I would suggest that the mom bring in a

documented accounting of her son’s run away escapades (date, location,

supervision at the time, time taken to retrieve, and any injuries he may

have sustained) over the last year. The point here is to provide a visual

and demonstrate that what the school district is currently providing for her

son would not be considered a ‘safe environment’ and that a law suit would

be much more expensive (though she doesn’t need to say that, the document

will speak for itself).

Another idea: In elementary school, my son had a ‘shadow’ – an aide who is

with him during any non-classroom activity, including lunch, recess,

assemblies, PE, etc. In reality, she was also worked with him in the

classroom and could take him out for a ‘walk’ if the classroom became too

overwhelming for hm. This shadow was shared with another student in another

class, so the cost factor was more palatable to the district. This

arrangement worked well for him in elementary and may be a way for the mom

to start if the district’s wall for an aide is too high or thick.

Patti

_____

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

Caroline Glover

Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2008 6:42 AM

Subject: [sPAM]Re: Aides in school

Help everybody!

I need some advice...

I know a mom who is about to go into a school conference next week and

request a full time aid for her son. He is about 14, runs away a lot... the

principal has been seen in a panic running down the hall screaming ³Has

anyone seen him?². Not exactly in control. This child is in danger.

This child runs away often, was hit by a car last year (had a double

compound facture in his leg) when he escaped from a babysitter... he is non

verbal and pretty severely affected but I see the things clicking inside of

his head and think that if he had the right teacher he might make some

amazing progress.

What advice can I give this mom about asking for an aide? She has asked

before and the school staff just says ³No.²

Is there a website I should look at? There are no ³educational consultants²

around here that I know of. I searched ³www.educationalconsulting.org² and

found none in our state (Indiana).

How does she argue for this?

To me if there was ever a child who needed an aide desperately, this is the

one, but I worry that if she does get an aid for him it will just be someone

who is not trained.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated ... the conference is next week (I

think Tuesday) so I¹m kind of in a rush to find something to help her.

Caroline