How come there is a special education student who has an aide? Why does she need one?

Question

Is it because the school can’t find a special education program for her? Why are there some special needs children who have aides? The aide walks with the special education student to all of her classes. She doesn't have a physical disability. I don't understand.

Answer 1

It would not be because the school couldn't find a program for her.  Special Education answers special needs in students...whether the need is intellectual, physical, emotional or behavioral.

I know a girl that went to a special school...and many of the other students wondered..why was she there... Straight A student...looked very normal....

Answer - none of their business!!!!

If this girl knows you, and if you have a genuine interest in being some help to HER...you could ask her.... But, try to be content to know that it takes a committee to decide the special education plan for any kid.

Answer 2

Not all disabilities are visible, and this person may have either learning, cognitive or developmental disability, making them eligible for an aide, or they may have a medical condition e.g epilepsy or heart condition which requires them to have an aide.

Occasionally a student may need an aide to keep them on track, because they are easily distracted or disruptive to the entire class room.

What frustrates me is that I have worked with some people who need and aide and been told that they don't me the requirements, yet they met requirements for home support etc go figure.

Answer 3

If you can't tell that she has a learning disability or significant attention problems, I would imagine that her parents have hired a very good attorney.  Many special education programs have been put into the regular education classroom to the dismay of many teachers and parents.  Students who are able to learn similarly to their peers must be in the regular education classroom.  Regular classroom teachers must do the pony dance of trying to meet EVERYONE's needs.... impossible.  No one person can do it all.  

Attorneys and special education advocates are going after these practices for the good of the students and the regular education teachers.  Once they file grievances and/or lawsuits school systems often give the parents whatever they are asking for to protect themselves financially if nothing else. If a court rules in favor of the parent, the school  normally pays for court costs, attorney fees, compensatory education (make-it up to my child)  and damages.  You can imagine that would get very expensive quickly.  The compensatory education and damages are not paid if the school system was providing it since the lawsuit was filed.  :)  

If the court rules in favor of the school system, the school system is just out the court costs and the cost of providing the extra assistant, etc.

Answer 4

Some disabilities cause students to need an aide. It is against education privacy laws for other students to be informed about the student's disability. There could be a behavioral component to the disability, a memory component, or any number of other reasons for an aide.

Answer 5

For every student in the special ed department, they determine how much help a student needs in order to be successful in school. Some students require their own classroom and some can function in a regular classroom with a little assistance.

Answer 6

Depending upon her diagnosis, in her IEP it will state that she is able to have access to an aide or a one on one aide at all times.  There are many diagnosis' that allow for aides, not just physical.  The school more than likely has a special education program in place for her that fits her special needs.  There are laws about Least Restrictive Environment, if the student is able to learn in a regular education setting, that legally has to be her placement.  Without knowing the student and having read her IEP, there would be no way of telling you her specific information, even if you were allowed to know.  Unfortunately, unless she discloses this information to you, school officials are not legally able to tell you anymore than you already know.  Hope this helps!  Merry Christmas!!

Answer 7

emotional, mental disabilities maybe.  anger issues, autisim

Answer 8

More than likely, this is a case that has involved, active parents who have been able to wrangle a personal assistant from an IEP team. I say that because most students who have severe disabilities are often place in ESE classes and mildly involved students are included in regular ed classes with help from a co-teacher, who will have a number of students on her caseload. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but it probably the case.

Some students have behavioral difficulties regardless of their disability and often need assistance to be maintained in the regular classroom. They also may need assistance to find their way to class. Other students need extensive help with their assignments in order to get decent grades. This could include being able to give dictation to an assistant for writing assignments or helping the student stay on track by assisting with materials.

Some disorders that require an assistant are people with severe learning disabilities, autism, traumatic brain Injury, emotional disturbance or mild mental retardation.  

I am currently working with a student who has TBI. He has a personal assistant in regular ed because his parent refused to have him in a special class. He is intelligent, but his social behaviors aren't very good so without his assistant he would not be able to stay in regular ed. His injury involved the frontal lobes of his brain and so it has wiped out his understanding of social cues and appropriate responses.

In order to maintain his behavior, he has to have the assistant to do a star sheet all day long or he will act out disruptively. She also takes dictation. Personally, I don't see the reasoning for this because if they are doing this for socialization purposes, it obviously isn't working. He would be better off in a class in which social skills are part of the curriculum.