[blindkid] questions in regards to acquiring an aid in classroom

[Tina Egle]

Hi all,


My son has Epilepsy which was diagnosed since he was 4 years old. 
Eventhough his seizures are under control via medications, we never know
when the sudden onset of seizures could occur when the efficacy of
medication could happen anytime. Plus his seizures are not noticeable,
sometimes he could just stand there in the middle of the hallway and be
dazed of like he was confused and did not seem to know where he was or
what he was doing.  He usually do not have grand mal type but rather petit
mal type of seizure with slight tremors or mild muscle twitches which
could go unnotice if all teachers and aides in the classroom are tied up
and busy with other blind or special need students, then he could
eventually fall down.  That is my main concern.  John Travolta's son died
while going to the bathroom alone in the middle of the night and his aid
was no where near him, and he died hitting his head to the tub while he
had seizure.


My question is that by Law, Can a parent ask for an individual aid who is
just for my son who does not have any other responsibility of other
students but just for him, 1:1 aid?  I have been requesting 1:1 aide since
he has been in school around 3 years of age and now he is 15 and we have
moved 3 times becuase all other school distracts had failed to provide an
appropriate education and finally we were able to prove to our recent
district that he needs to be in a vision school and he has been in that
program for 2 years and we have seen major improvement. But the district
is still unclear about 1:1 aid in the room.  I am undert  the impression
that a classroom aide is shared by many other students and 1:1 aid is what
my son needs just based upon his medical history.

Please let me know if by Law, Can I request 1:1 aid and have that written
in IEP?

Tina