demanding an assistant?

[cristy]

well, I've been told that I can demand an assistant for my son. He's going into the 1st grade and he works soooo much better one on one and small groups, not only that, but he doesn't understand what other's say very well at all. He's transitioning from the resource room to the regular class room and the teacher says that he gets personal attention from her in this resource room...

however, I heard that I can (have to push though) get an assistant to help him but just that they don't want to pay the extra money for this so they try to sway you from the idea...

anyone have more information on this topic to share? thanks a bunch!

[Lisa S]

I can tell you my opinion, based on my personal experiences, Cristy.

First, the school district is probably more concerned about their budget needs than the needs of your child. A one-to-one assistant is expensive for them, so be prepared to fight them if your child needs one.

Second, they won't care if your child can learn better with a one-to-one assistant than without one. If your child can learn at all without an assistant, then they will probably say no.

Third, if you can make a health or safety argument why your child needs an assistant, they are more likely to say yes because an issue like this translates to a possible legal liability for them if they say no and something happens.

Fourth, always say, "This is what my child needs." Never say, "I want this for my child." Never, ever say, "This would be best for my child." You will be shooting yourself in the foot if you say that. They will quickly let you know your child is not entitled to the best education money can buy, merely an "appropriate" one.

Fifth, look at the Wrightslaw website to get an idea of your child's legal rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education. Here is the address:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

Hope this helps,
Lisa

[mlwear]

Yep, Lisa hit it.
Chances are MUCH better of getting a one on one IF you can prove that the child is a runner or may injure himself or others.
Seems like the new way of getting around one on one aides these days by admin is that they will say that a one on one teaches learned helplessness. There can be some truth to this. Your answer needs to be, then you need to train your aides so they don't let this happen.
I was able to get a one on one aide for my when he is in the reg. ed. classroom. This was a huge fight. Luckily, as it is very much needed, I had teachers that admitted to problems that we brought up. Often the teachers will be wishy washy and not want to cause problems. During IEP, we asked them questions that required specific nonsubjective answers. I hired a private pyschologist to observe my son in both reg. ed. and self-contained sp. ed. He just took raw data that no one could dispute. My son required redirection in reg. ed. 17 times in one-half hour. He did not work without an adult any further than 18 inches from him, that sort of thing. We also had his private neuropsychologist at IEP (the observing psychologist works for her and she had his report). My son's social worker (through county community services) was very vocal. I could have pressed on for the full time one on one aide, but gave in a bit to get what I needed. I explained that in self-contained I felt that they had adequate staffing and there are less distractions that one on one wouldn't be needed. They have so many aides and with kids in and out, he usually gets one on one anyway. I also conceded to not having one person be his designated aide. This is how I countered the learned helplessness argument. There will be two aides that take turns with him. These same aides will also be in the reg. ed. classroom. They had to do fancy wording to get out of hiring one specific person for him. PM me if you want to knw specifics and I will get out his IEP. But, it is very clear that in reg. ed. there must be one paraprofessional solely designated to helping him. Further, I requested that my son's reg. ed. classroom not contain any other special needs students (sp. ed. teacher advised this). This is really to be sure that his aide doesn't get distracted with another student or if another aide is absent they don't try to make do. I don't know if the school will honor my request or not. I will know in sept.
Here is a link specific to one on one aide advice
http://www.specialchild.com/archives/lf-014.html
Best of luck. As Lisa said ALWAYS say needs, never say wants. Also never say this is what is best for him, but say this is what is appropriate.