Originally Posted by
egoldber
I know it is pretty unusual for an upper grade classroom to have an aid, even when there are mild special needs. I don't know how this process was started, I was just told a few weeks ago (when older DD was having some pretty severe classroom issues) that her classroom would be getting an aid.
So I am wondering if anyone has any insight into how this process works? I would like to lobby for her class to have an aid again next year.
The aide may be included on another child's IEP. My son has an aide when he is in the typical classroom (he's partially mainstreamed). The aide is listed on my son's IEP as a resource/support for the teacher, so if/when my son reaches the point where he no longer needs the aide 1:1, the aide can remain in the classroom as general support for the teacher.
My DS is still rather young (1st grade), so he does not find his aid or his other supports, accommodations, or services stigmatizing. He has noticed that other kids don't have these things. He is just starting to realize that he is different from other kids. He is curious about these differences, but not upset by them at this point.
Part of it has to do with school culture too. These types of aides are not unusual in our school. Our school has a higher than average special needs population (because only a couple of schools in the district have special education services) and is also a Title I school AND has a gifted program. So all the students kids are used to classrooms with aides, classmates leaving for pull-out therapy or enrichment, and other specialized services. There is a lot of emphasis on students having different needs and abilites.
Gena
DS, age 11 and always amazing
“Autistics are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It's that you're destroying the peg." - Paul Collins, Not Even Wrong