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

Carol Castellano blindchildren at verizon.net
Wed Apr 6 21:27:01 UTC 2011


Congratulations to your daughter, Penny, and to you, her teachers, 
and her aide   Being able to read is a HUGE thing!

A couple of thoughts about having an aide:

You are right to think about the aide as a teacher's aide and not 
your daughter's aide.  There are some down sides to having an 
aide--especially "learned dependence."  Make sure all are on guard 
against that.  A good rule of thumb is that when you/the school/the 
aide are thinking that they need to make some kind of accommodation, 
chances are you could teach your daughter a skill instead.

Hopefully the aide is thinking in terms of being proud of how 
INdependent your daughter will become under her watch.

Maybe think in terms of having the aide move into the background to 
create materials by 4th grade.

You might want to read the chapter called "The Role of the Teacher's 
Aide" in Making It Work.

Best wishes,
Carol

Carol Castellano
Director of Programs
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.nopbc.org

At 10:39 AM 4/6/2011, you wrote:
>With my daughter the school district just gave her one.  She suffered a
>vision loss last summer (she is in first grade right now)  and they felt it
>was required to give her what she needed.  She has just learned to read (in
>braille) which is a huge deal.  The aide was necessary since the TVI is only
>there an hour a day. The aid adapts the materials for her and some times on
>the fly so she is able to be an active part of her classroom.
>
>I dont' thinks she will need a 1 on 1 aide when she gets older (middle
>school or high school) because she will need less 1 on 1 help. The key is to
>make her independent and go to college but she really needs one right now.
>
>Her aide i see as a teacher's aide for the TVI not the classroom teacher.
>She does a lot of modifications for the my daughter and the TVI directs it.
>
>I really can't express how excited I am that my daughter is a reader now.
>  The aid has a lot do with it.  Its been a hard year for my daughter but i
>am so greatful to her amazing TVI and her 1 on 1 aid.
>--
>--Penny
>----------
>Adventures with Abby - visionfora.blogspot.com
><http://visionfora.blogspot.com/>
>
> > : "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <
> > blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> > Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 9:20 AM
> >
> > I was responding with my phone when I started and got cut off.  Yes you can
> > request one.  If you have a valid reason they should provide one.  My
> > daughter has a 1 on 1 in the morning.  Its just very important that its in
> > your child's IEP so they can't cut the position.
> >
> > On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 9:48 AM, Penny Duffy <pennyduffy at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > You always have the right to request an aide.  If that means they will
> > > prdovide one.......
> > >
> > > Write up why you feel his educational experiance will. Be better with
> > one.
> > > On Apr 6, 2011 8:36 AM, "Tina Egle" <tegle at oakton.edu> wrote:
> > > > 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
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > blindkid mailing list
> > > > blindkid at nfbnet.org
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> > 
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> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > --Penny
> > ----------
> > Adventures with Abby - visionfora.blogspot.com
> > _______________________________________________
> > blindkid mailing list
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