[blindkid] Do blind kids need personal aides in school?

[Debby B]

Arielle,
Winona did have a "personal aide" while in kindergarten, and early primary 
grades. This person was great! She was there to make sure materials were adapted 
for Winona, new things in the room labeled in Braille, assist with modeling 
motions when doing fingerplays and exercises, etc. The teacher and the aide want 
to be very careful that the aide is assisting the classroom teacher in making 
the class accessible, and yet be willing to step into the background when the 
student is capable of doing on his/her own. Ours was very good at having Winona 
try things first, then she would assist in finding ways for Winona to do those 
things independently.

Our aide was also very good about assisting ALL students in the class, and doing 
other little things the classroom teacher needed assistance with. Granted all 
this came after a fight, and an "offer" to bring in the NFB attorney.

You also want to be careful to wean the child away from needing the aide. By the 
end of middle school, the aide stayed in the Braille room converting and 
adapting materials. She occasionally went into a classroom, usually math or 
science, if things were going to be difficult to process. Winona hated that, and 
did all she could to do without the aide. Winona came out of that math class 
with all As, so you can see she was motivated!

All that to say, I think an aide is great when they are little, and need the 
extra hands on. But the aide needs to encourage and lead the child into 
independence.

 Debby
bwbddl at yahoo.com




________________________________
From: Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com>
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 7:15:55 PM
Subject: [blindkid] Do blind kids need personal aides in school?

Hi all,

I'm on another listserv with primarily parents of blind children (it's
a support list for families of people with Lebers congenital
amaurosis, and not affiliated with NFB or any other consumer group).
Anyway, a bunch of the parents on the list have kids who are just
starting preschool or kindergarten, and they've been talking about
school arrangements and services (how much Braille instruction time to
get, etc.) Some of these parents are saying that their kids have an
"aide", or a paraprofessional who doesn't actually teach skills like
Braille, with them in the classroom for part or all of the school day.
Some other parents are asking whether or not the aide is necessary and
I'd like to offer some advice, but I'm not quite sure what to tell
them. Is it typical for blind kids in public schools (with no
additional disabilities) to have classroom aides? If so, what does the
aide do, and do you feel the aide is beneficial?

My intuition is that aides who don't actually teach alternative
skills, but who simply act as the child's "eyes", are unnecessary and
could promote superfluous dependence. But, I'm not a parent or a
teacher, so perhaps the aide does serve a legitimate purpose that I'm
not aware of?

Thanks for your guidance on this matter.

Arielle

-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org

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