Posted: November 12 2009 at 8:32am | IP Logged

I believe the time has come to look into a one on one classroom aid for my son. He's 13 and as this school year has progressed, he has started refusing to do classroom work because he believes it's too hard. It's not, because once he understands it, he is pretty much able to get  through  it relatively easy. It's just getting him to the point where he actually get's what's being taught. My feeling is that a one on one aid would serve him better in the two classes that this is happening in, rather than just relying upon the aid that helps the class as a whole.

My question is is the school required to provide him with an aid if I request one? I know this school and unless I really push it, they are going to have some excuse as to why one can't be provided for him. My other question is when I request an aid in writing, how would I go about wording my request? They will try to get out of anything they  possibly can.

Thanks

Posted: November 12 2009 at 11:28am | IP Logged

No, the school doesn't have to get one if you request it .    They may if it lines up with what they think or what they think a Hearing could hold them accountable for.  The aide is for the teacher not the student.  The criteria will depend how and what the teacher has to do keep him on task and whether it impedes her functioning in class.. if it does then she's granted an extra pair of hands.  

Some ways you can argue to get an aide. 

You really need to get some type of documentation from the teacher about how much he's not participating or complying in lessons what strategies they're using and how they're working.   If he's getting higher than avg timeouts/reprimands, spending less time tint he classroom or on schoolwork etc that can be used as evidence that the current supports aren't effective.  

If you have professional reports that document issues like attention, organization, receptive listening etc and recommendations: list them out.  The number of needs and recommedations may be enough to justify extra help.  Or scare them.

Basically the aide is the step before a higher ratio classroom (their big gun).  If there's talk of pulling him from the LRE then you have a clear "in" for an aide (your big gun).  As, they're not legally allowed to segregate prior to providing reasonable supports... that includes an aide.

Posted: November 12 2009 at 12:26pm | IP Logged

Thanks Ozzie.

I do have documents pertaining to receptive listening, classroom noise, organization, etc. Some of the documents are copies of their own records. I want to see them try to argue their way out of those. As for the reprimands in class, I have copies of those, also. What really ticks me off is apparently this has been going on for the last month and I'm just now starting to receive reprimand slips and notification that he's been refusing to do work. I check in with these teachers at least once a week and there's been no mention of any of this until this last Tuesday. Now, it's out of hand and we have a meeting tomorrow. If it had been addressed sooner, I probably could have had it taken care of by now. Talk about putting things off.

Posted: November 13 2009 at 6:58pm | IP Logged

If you're unable to get an aide, would it be possible to request from the teacher the lessons or lesson topics in advance? You might be able to review it the night before so that he'll be better able to understand it in class.

Another option might be tutoring. Some schools where I live have grants to pay for after-school tutoring for some students. In this case, it might be more like previewing as described above if possible.

I think it's common for students with Autism to do better with academic material when they're familiar with what will be discussed.

Nicole

Posted: November 16 2009 at 1:31pm | IP Logged

I was able to get an aid for his math class, but not his social studies class. Personally, I think he could use the aid more in social studies but hey, I'm not giving up yet!

I would love for him to be able to attend after school tutoring, but we live 12 miles from the school and I have bno way to get him home after tutoring, since we atre down to one vehicle and my husband works 2nd shift. He works 35 miles away, so taking him and picking him up after work isn't possible. He doesn't get off work until 11:15 pm and there's no way I can drag the kids out to go get him that late on a regular basis.

Thanks for all of your help!