Aide in school?

[Kristine233]

A question some may know the answer for here... what qualifies a child for an aide in school? At what point can a aide be required and the school has to provide one, or is it at the school's choice? That's the one thing I haven't seen outlined clearly anywhere.

I met someone today who has a 7 year old with behavior issues (OCD and ADHD are current DX but they are looking into more?) The school, which my son attended for 4 yrs (its k-3rd) told her they didn't want him at the school this year and sent him to an alternative learning center. This other school is all behavior issues and almost entirely older kids... teenagers. ALL the kids I know that have gone into that school have come out far far far worse than they went in. In fact, one of them has to go to a boarding-type school now over an hour away from home to work on behaviors and get back on track. (this one is the same age as my son, 9 yrs, and has to live at the school, I feel so badly for the parents and child involved!)

I just can't see sending a 7 yr old to a school designed to deal with teenagers with behavior issues. I don't care how "bad" a child is, that can't be a good solution! I LOVE the original school, all my kids went there and my youngest is still there. BUT I'm a very demanding parent and they know I will fight for everything, they just give me what I want now, lol. It bothers me they are giving so much grief to this parent and sent the kids off. We only have one public school in our district for each grade set. Its all open enrollment so there's always other districts but ours has the best special ed team. The local private school doesn't even have special ed.

The child in question does qualify for a PCA at home, but the schools will not allow private PCAs in for liability reasons. They told the mom they wouldn't provide an aide either. It just doesn't add up, can the school do that?

The mom told me they (other school) was going to look at testing/eval for Autism/Asperger's too but that they'd take him off his meds to do it. And I'm thinking... whoaa, no way would I allow that! I'm seriously doubting the ability of this other place to do accurate testing to begin with.

I do know the original school wouldn't do anything for my son until I went out and got a medical diagnosis of PDD-NOS and had her send a letter to the school with that so they couldn't deny it and then I put it in writing that I was demanding they do their own eval (and we had a private one done too to get more specific = Autism DX) which led to the school DX of Asperger's. He has both DX on file (Autism and Asperger's) with the school. But until I got a medical professional to give the general PDD-NOS one they weren't jumping to help. I'm afraid that they are doing the same thing to her. Once we had that all in place they've been awesome for us.

[Linda on the move]

I really don't know where the line is. The kids I know with aids are all extreme cases, they aren't potty trained, they are in self-contained classrooms, etc.

But I know don't know how a parent goes about getting one if it is boarder line, and a full time aid rather than a separate school is more in-line with "the least restrictive environment possible."

In your friend's case, I would recommend checking into hiring an educational advocate. It cost money, but it might be able to make a difference for her child.

My child's initital dx was made by our family doctor, who made it clear to me that wasn't instead of a full eval, but just to get the ball rolling and make things easier at school in the meantime. It's amazing what a letter on letter head signed from an MD can do!

[CarrieMF]

A one-on-one aide? They need to be very specific. At the school I work at there is a full time aide for 1 child with FAS, 2 halftimes(1 full position) with 1 with severe low functioning Autism, 1 full time with a DS, 2 halftimes with a girl with cerebal palsy(that we know of there is probably more). Then there is 1 half time with a boy with high functioning autism. there is another boy who they're trying to hire someone half time. The 2 halftimes NEED full time but there is no funds for FT for them.

All the kids who have aides are pulled out for some classes. The one I work with(low functioning autism) he is pulled out 90% of the day.

This school does not have any general aides that go to specific classes during certain times either to help out a student or 2 or the class as a whole. They sure could use a couple though.

The kids with full time aides are not fully funded by the government. If they were there'd be more money for the other kids who only have half time aides & need full plus for general aides.

My kids school has 2 FT one-on-one aides for very specific kids. They have 1 full time aide in kindergarten plus 4 or 5 full time general aides. They will be in specific classes as a whole class aide or at times one-on-one.

[Kristine233]

Wow, that's so foreign to me! Our school "pairs" kids up. They have one aide in a classroom with 2 kids, and those 2 kids are generally paired up with another like-skilled child whom they think will mesh well. My son has Autism, but its not severe.. its mild-moderate depending on the day. More moderate but near severe on many days, just because of behaviors and he's so LOUD with his verbal stims. But otherwise independent and is verbal. Its really iffy. In the schools you guys are talking about he most likely wouldn't even get an aide? And there are several kids like my son. One on one aides are for very severe and those are generally kids who are full pull-out spec ed. Pairs are for more mainstream integrated with partial pull-out.

I didn't fight for an aide, I fought for services and they just found out themselves he did better with more individualized care. He could manage in mainstream with an aide, where as without he had to be full pullout. Which I thought was the point of the aides, to make it less restrictive on the kids.

Some classes then have general teacher's aides to just help the teachers and if needed assist with kids who may need some redirection but aren't assigned to anyone specifically.

We are a more low income area and get a lot of government funding for our school as a result and the community is pretty supportive when its come to referendums. But the school also manages the money well.

With that said, it surprised me that they still didn't assign even a shared aid to this child. I'm wondering if he needs a specific DX to qualify, if OCD/ADHD weren't enough? Our services kicked in when my DS got the PDD-NOS as a preliminary, I'm wondering if this other mom needs to step it up and perhaps get an accompanying DX from a medical Dr/professional outside the school to get things rolling at the school.

An interesting tid-bit, I'm not sure how it works other places but here the aides bid on the kids at the beginning of the year. The ones with more seniority get first pick of which kids they get to work with. I hadn't heard of it being done like that before and only found out because his aide from last year requested a school change so she could follow him to the secondary elementary school. She lost the bid on him specifically but did get to move so works with him in the spec ed room when he's there. At least 3 aides bid on him that I know of. I'd like to think its based on more than just being more fulltime... he's an awesome kids (I'm biased, lol) and I insist the aides that work with him be involved as part of his care team for IEP planning. I value their input because they ultimately spend the most time with him. Generally aides have no say in that and no one even asks their opinions.

[CarrieMF]

Based on what you've said about your son, in the school I work with he'd have a full or half time aide(depending on how bad the severe behaviours are).

The verbal loudness may get him out of the classroom more. It's a big reason why our low functioning autistic in not in the class more, his loudness(ear piercing screetching) is a distraction to the other kids. the other kids are a distraction to him. If the other kids are loud he gets louder.

I'm wondering if he needs a specific DX to qualify, if OCD/ADHD weren't enough?

here OCD/ADHD would NOT get you an aide. Every special needs kid is coded. Depending on the code you either qualify or don't qualify. Basically the 40 kids are qualified, some half-some full. Outside of the 40's you do not qualify. The highschool in the town I work in has a student in Grade 10 who is at a Grade 3-4 level. She does not qualify for any funding for aides.

In addition to having the DX, if a child has a dx & isn't showing those behaviours at school(or they aren't severe enough) they won't see the need for an aide.

What was this kid actually doing in school? What behaviours was he demonstrating?

I'm not sure how it works other places but here the aides bid on the kids at the beginning of the year. The ones with more seniority get first pick of which kids they get to work with

not really. If you have seniority & want to work with a different child, or want to stay with a child then yeah you can put in that request, but whether it gets honored or not depends on how it'd affect the child. One of our Aides has worked with our DS boy for 3 years. Last year the principal decided he needed a change & not only was going to put a different aide with him, but move it to part time. 3 days before school was out he changed his mind & the aide who has had him for 3 years has him again(and it's full time).

Now because this particular aide is the most senior aide at the school if it had been half time with this boy she would have been placed half time with another student.

The district I work in, to change schools(unless it's the highschool) you'd have to change towns that you work in & some of them are 2 hours away.

The town(really a village) I work in has 2 schools - elementary & highschool.

Now the city I work in sometimes has 10-11 schools in our district. You can put your name in for a request in change of school but you most likely won't get it. If you are a special needs aide it is VERY HARD to get out & get a general aide position as most aides do not want special needs kids. Sometimes you'll get a change of school whether you want it or not. The competition for aides in both divisions I work in is tough. It is more tough in the city as it is only 20 minutes away from the village, yet has a starting wage $3/hour higher.

I insist the aides that work with him be involved as part of his care team for IEP planning. I value their input because they ultimately spend the most time with him. Generally aides have no say in that and no one even asks their opinions.

here you wouldn't have to insist that the aides be involved in IEP planning, they are there whether they want to be or not. Since we are the ones with them all the time(in class or pull out) & we know their strengths/weaknesses better than the teachers our input is required & valued. I work with the low functioning Autistic boy in the village school. Last year at the year end IEP meeting I told them I was changing his entire programming, his room, etc. They didn't really have a say in it

[StephandOwen]

My ds has an aide/para at school. This para works with ds and another child in his class for the whole day. What got my ds the aide? He is/was a runner/wanderer. He has attempted to escape from the school many times over the last 2+ years (he was in this school for preschool, kindergarten and now is in 1st grade). He's had an aide every year. It was an issue of 1 teacher could not keep my ds safe (he would randomly leave a classroom or if they were walking in a line to another room he would just randomly leave the line without being seen). His in class time with the para is minimal this school year (last year he had the para pretty much every minute of the school day because he wasn't functioning well in the classroom setting). This year he can (and does) sit at his desk and do his work most of the time. So now his para is usually just for when they are moving around the school to different rooms, during lunch, during recess and at dismissal (the para is with him until I take him).

[Lollybrat]

My son has ASD and has an aide in school. His primary placement is in a K-2 autism classroom. But he is partially mainstreaming this year and spends about 2 hours a day in the regular 1st grade class. His aide accompanies him to regular 1st grade, specials, lunch, and field trips.

[BookGoddess]

It's interesting how things are different. Here, most of the kids that I know on the spectrum who have 1:1 aides in public elementary schools are high-functioning verbal kids with low behaviors. The kids who are lower functioning end up in the fully self contained classrooms. The 1:1 aides are there to help the HFA function in a mainstream classroom. A lot of the parents of the kids who get aides are very pushy and they advocate well for their kids. I know that's a huge part of it.

I also know parents here who send their kids to private schools and the private schools allow the parents to send private 1:1 aides. These are private schools that aren't catering to SN kids. The kids who attend these private schools with 1:1 aides are very high-functioning with very few behaviors or distracting stims.

[BookGoddess]

Originally Posted by Kristine233

With that said, it surprised me that they still didn't assign even a shared aid to this child. I'm wondering if he needs a specific DX to qualify, if OCD/ADHD weren't enough? Our services kicked in when my DS got the PDD-NOS as a preliminary, I'm wondering if this other mom needs to step it up and perhaps get an accompanying DX from a medical Dr/professional outside the school to get things rolling at the school.

I think that having a DC from a medical doctor/professional will help although no guarantees.

Originally Posted by Kristine233

An interesting tid-bit, I'm not sure how it works other places but here the aides bid on the kids at the beginning of the year. The ones with more seniority get first pick of which kids they get to work with. I hadn't heard of it being done like that before and only found out because his aide from last year requested a school change so she could follow him to the secondary elementary school. She lost the bid on him specifically but did get to move so works with him in the spec ed room when he's there. At least 3 aides bid on him that I know of. I'd like to think its based on more than just being more fulltime... he's an awesome kids (I'm biased, lol) and I insist the aides that work with him be involved as part of his care team for IEP planning. I value their input because they ultimately spend the most time with him. Generally aides have no say in that and no one even asks their opinions.

Bid on the kids? Wow! That's different. Here once the IEP team decides the child should have a full-time 1:1 aide or a part-time 1:1 aide, they send the request to several therapeutic service agencies that have contracts with our school system. The school specifies what kind of training and background the aide should have. We have an aide for our child. I've liked the aides we've had. We had one aide during the summer who while perfectly nice wasn't perky or enthusiastic. The teacher told the agency to send another aide and we got someone who is much more energetic and animated. I like that the teachers seem to look for an aide that's a good fit for the child.

The aides like working with elementary school kids. At least that's what the aides I've talked to have said. After school, some of them work with older adult clients with various health issues, and I think working with elementary kids is preferable. Some aides actually work with one student over a period of years. There are no guarantees. At each IEP, it's possible the school will ask another agency for an aide, but sometimes with a good team and luck on your side, you can have the same good aide for years.