Rachel's classroom aide

[mpalmer118]

First, I hope that no one minds posting questions like this here, I know Rachel's issues are minor compared to many. I feel so comfortable with everyone here, and I really value your opinions. :) Sorry this is long...Keep in mind that Rachel’s functional vision fluctuates from 20/70-20/300, but is typically somewhere around 20/100 and she has fine motor delays as well as her movement disorder (pretty well controlled now).

As you may remember, the school placed an aide in the classroom for her this year, which is wonderful and was definitely needed. The problem is I think the aide is not making Rachel do as much work on her own as Rachel is capable of doing. The aide works with 3 other students who are in the classroom only part of the day, so her main focus is Rachel. Rachel does have vision tools in place at school. Her papers are enlarged, she has a cctv, dome magnifier, slant board, modified tests, etc.

Many of Rachel’s papers come home with the aide having scribed for Rachel instead of Rachel writing for herself. I scribe for Rachel sometimes also, but only if absolutely necessary. Same thing with reading, I expect Rachel to read as much of her worksheets as possible with support from me only when necessary. But it is apparent that Rachel has become dependant on someone else reading it to her. It seems a large portion of her work is being done verbally. I am also worried that she (the aide) maybe prompting Rachel's answers some.

The aide was placed because Rachel was falling behind the class and the teacher was unable to take the time to assist her. The school had not fully implemented all the vision accommodations at the time. The desks in the classroom are impossible for a low vision person to easily find what is needed. So by the time Rachel had found whatever book or paper was necessary the class was already pretty far into the task. I was told the aide would assist Rachel with transition from task to task and with using the equipment, all of
which is fine with me right now. As she adapts to her lower vision I would like to see her "weaned" from the aide. Instead what I am seeing is her adapting to and expecting the constant support.

When the aide was out for vacation, Rachel colored during some of the classroom activities because she didn't have help. The teacher is doesn't have the time to help Rachel with prep. My feeling is that the aide should be helping Rachel learn to use the available tools towards the goal of working completely independently. Am I wrong to expect this? Am I expecting too much from Rachel? Should I speak with the aide directly? the teacher? the VI?

I would like your honest opinions on this. Thanks, Mary

[RathyKay]

My feeling is that the aide should be helping Rachel learn to use the available tools towards the goal of working completely independently. Am I wrong to expect this? Am I expecting too much from Rachel? Should I speak with the aide directly? the teacher? the VI?
Tom's preschool vision teacher... back when he was in the county program because his vision was bad enough... used to teach high school students. She said her HS students that were successful finding jobs were not the A students, but the B and C students that did cheerleading, or were active other ways outside of school. These were the kids that employers could see hanging out with at the office party or after work. She decided it was too late to try to change those kids then (high school), so she went into teaching preschoolers. She always had regular field trips and if we could take public transportation, we did. She had the kids pull the string for stopping the bus, and got them to interact as much as possible with the "real world." She strongly encouraged having kids ride the bus to school, versus Mom driving them. (I didn't say I agreed with everything she had to say.:o) Anyway, her big push was independence and learning to interact with the realworld. I think it is very easy for these kids to "disappear" into their little world.

We had Tom's IEP today, and our VI specialist led it. She is also very much "get him to do it," "get him to try." She mentioned a low-vision youth group in our area that meets once a month? Parents are welcome, but after a bit, they try to discourage the parents so that the kids become more independent and socialize more with the other kids. I need to look into it.:o

So... my few thoughts... I agree Rachel should be learning to do this stuff independently. *You* are not wrong to expect it.

Are you expecting too much from her? That's hard to tell. I kind of wonder if she's wanting more and more reading done for her, if that's a sign you need to start Braille? Earlier in the school year, our VI specialist told me about one boy and the difficulties he had reading as his vision was getting worse and he struggled to learn Braille. By the end of the school year, his Brailling was much better and things were improving for him (well, not his vision, but his attitude and his reading skills).

I guess I'd talk to both the aide and the VI specialist. Heck, I'd probably talk to the teacher, too.

Does that help? I'll have to wait and see what CJ posts.

[momster]

I totally agree with you. the ultimate goal of having an aide is to not need an aide. you don't want Rachel to learn to be dependent. Sometimes it is easier to just do the work for someone instead of teaching them the skills they need. Perhaps you need some special ed time involving specific instruction with these tools? Perhaps the aide needs training? you should also have an iep requiring an aide - if you already do, then the school can't use vacations and absences as an excuse - they need to have a sub come in to help her.

[GinaMarie]

I think you are on track. If you want to talk to them I think it would be good to meet with ALL 3 of them together so everyone is on track and knows what the expectations are AND maybe bring Rachel in on it so SHE knows what is expected. Then no one can say they didnt know.

I think learning braille would be a good thing also.. It couldnt hurt and might help on those days when her vision isnt as good.

GM

[Daisy]

I don't know what training and experience your aide has had but many of them don't have as much background and training as they really should have and get thrown into situations in which they pretty much sink or swim. As a former classroom teacher it was often one of my frustrations because while an aide was supposed to provide additional assistance in the classroom, without appropriate training from the SPED staff that was supposed to supervise them, I was often left trying to help them be "helpful" and it could be more work than having nobody at times.

Since your daughter requires specific training in using certain assisted devices she should likely be seeing someone with more specific training than a classroom aide. In addition to an aide she should be getting some training provided by a trained professional in using the aides that are going to be life long tools for her. That is something it doesn't sound like this aide is remotely trained or expected to do. It isn't the aides fault, if you read her job description I doubt you'll find she has the training or experience to provide the services your daughter truly needs. The fault lies with the school system in cutting corners and trying to spend less than what needs to be done.

What you need to do is request a meeting with the SPED staff and address the fact that your daughter's needs are not being met and to look at the current goals on her IEP to determine if those goals are directed at helping her to become as independent as possible, learning to use the appropriate accomadation tools, etc. If the goals and services aren't appropriate you are going to have to push them to make them correct.

I worked in a system that felt that it was more important to make the kids feel sucessful by doing the work for them, then by teaching them how to do the work themselves. It is insulting to the students who are capable of so much more if given the appropriate tools and taught how to use them.

[langansmom]

The knock on aides that I hear most often is exactly what you are talking about- they do for the child instead of making the child learn and do. We almost passed on an aide for Langan for that exact reason- Langan has a definite princess mentality. She is more than willing to let you do whatever you will for her, and she'll only work if it is required. In fact, she often pretends she can't do things for that exact reason (for most of this year, she would walk around her classroom and then drop to the floor as soon as her PT entered the room, and refuse to walk. A month into the semester, the PT actually said to me "She DOES walk, right?- that's my girl!). Anyway, we have been blessed with an aide who makes Langan do the work but knows her limits and will help her on things that are truly a challenge. She has been Langan's aide for over two years now, so it helps that she knows her. When she was out and another aide was working with Langan, it was very frustrating to watch her feed my child (who will then quickly pretend she has no idea what a spoon is), carry her to the potty, etc. I suggest that you talk with the aide about your goals for your child and encourage her to push her.

[peglem]

I have a problem with the teacher's attitude- I understand that she has the whole rest of the class- but its a bad example to the rest of the class to just ignore Rachel. The other kids learn alot from teacher attitude and if she won't slow down or take a moment to make sure Rachel is ready, the class is likely to get the impression that Rachel is not important enough to be bothered with. Or maybe I'm reading this wrong. My impression is that the aide is trying to help Rachel keep up with the reat of the class- so If she doesn't read or write fast enough- the aide hurries things along by doing for her.

[mpalmer118]

Thanks everyone. Wendy, Rachel has that Princess mentality down pat. :D

I have a problem with the teacher's attitude- I understand that she has the whole rest of the class- but its a bad example to the rest of the class to just ignore Rachel. The other kids learn alot from teacher attitude and if she won't slow down or take a moment to make sure Rachel is ready, the class is likely to get the impression that Rachel is not important enough to be bothered with. Or maybe I'm reading this wrong. My impression is that the aide is trying to help Rachel keep up with the reat of the class- so If she doesn't read or write fast enough- the aide hurries things along by doing for her.

Peglem- I haven't been able to piece together all the things that are bothering me about this year. Rachel is getting more help than she ever has, so I should be happy, but something just hasn't felt right. But I think you just hit it perfectly.

I do think the teacher is uncomfortable having a special needs child in her room. She is an older teacher and I don't think she is adapting the full inclusion changes. She requested the aide without talking to me first. (Not that I would have argued it) I have tried speaking with her at various times but she is not receptive. I think that she is the type of person that has is very organized and has everything planned out a certain way, and is not comfortable deviating from that plan. Which isn't all bad, but not the best if working with a child whose needs are constantly changing.

Kathy, about the braille, Rachel's VI and I have talked about it, and she doesn't feel that Rachel would do well with braille. She feels Rachel's sense of touch may not be sensitive enough.

In Rachels IEP my main goal for her is: "That Rachel work indepentantly at grade level, with the use of assistive tools." How more direct can a statement be? :rolleyes: I got some book titles from someone on a different board that I am going to read and pass on to the aide and the teacher. And I am going to talk with Rachel's VI, as I don't think the aide has been trained to work with a VI student and then go from there. I'll keep you posted.

[peglem]

[QUOTE=mpalmer118;185214]Thanks everyone. Wendy, Rachel has that Princess mentality down pat. :D



Peglem- I haven't been able to piece together all the things that are bothering me about this year. Rachel is getting more help than she ever has, so I should be happy, but something just hasn't felt right. But I think you just hit it perfectly.

I do think the teacher is uncomfortable having a special needs child in her room. She is an older teacher and I don't think she is adapting the full inclusion changes. She requested the aide without talking to me first. (Not that I would have argued it) I have tried speaking with her at various times but she is not receptive. I think that she is the type of person that has is very organized and has everything planned out a certain way, and is not comfortable deviating from that plan. Which isn't all bad, but not the best if working with a child whose needs are constantly changing.

QUOTE]

If that's her attitude, I don't see how things will work for your daughter this year at all- unless she has an excellent and well trained aide...the teacher requested the aid and abdicated her responsibility for Rachel. Grrr- some teachers are like that. Worse: I'd be willing to bet that she resents that the school expects her to deal with this at all. There's a difference between administering the curriculum and actually teaching it. I'd also be willing to bet that there are other kids in the class struggling and not getting the help they need. It comes down to respecting individual differences and teaching that respect by example.

[Daisy]

In fairness to the teacher I don't know what else she also is dealing with during the day. Your daughter is likely not the only child with special needs she has and it is the job of the school to educate her using the SPED staff on how to accomadate your daughter in the classroom. Her certificate is likely a general elementary ed certificate which means she's had limited course work in SPED. Most of it probably centered on the high incidence children she'd encounter in the areas of learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. I doubt she's had considerable training on visual impairments. It is the job of the school to insure she's had proper training before expecting her to be able to teach your daughter. The special ed staff should be involved in insuring that mainstreaming is occuring not just by placing your child in a regular ed classroom but by insuring the classroom, teacher, and curriculum are prepared for her as well. If they aren't doing their job you should be on the principal to do so.

The school should be providing this teacher with training on visually impaired children and how to modify her classroom to make it accomadating to her student. It is one of my biggest beefs with inclusion is that they put children in classrooms with teachers who have had maybe one or two semesters of general special ed training and somehow they are miraculously supposed to know how to make inclusion work smoothly. That is why they have SPED teachers assigned to these students. They are supposed to work with the regular ed staff to train them on the areas they aren't familiar with so they can be comfortable in working with special needs they haven't encountered before and fully including these students into their lessons and classroom activities. I used to insist that the SPED staff and guidence staff be fully involved in implimintation because while I had general knowledge I didn't have the specifics to make it work in the best interests of the child. They will often skimp hoping parents won't complain and will "make do" with what they offer.

The fact the teacher asked for help is a sign she was likely looking for someone to help her deal with a situation she doesn't have the appropriate training and background to handle. Most regular ed teachers don't, it isn't what they are hired to do. The fact all she got was an aide is a sign that the school isn't meeting your daughter's needs, they just want to keep the teacher and the family quiet. The teacher has probably reached the limit of what she can advocate for your daughter getting the type of assistance she truly requires. The rest is up to you.

[Denae]

I haven't a clue about any visual stuff-

But wanted to offer you support. I would be upset if the aide was doing stuff for Riley- especially stuff she can do.

Riley is just like Langan and Rachel- complete princess mentality...


((again, just hugs))

[RathyKay]

I know. I'm bumping an older thread. For some reason, I had another thought pop in my head. Not sure why I didn't think of it sooner? Anyway, under the take it or leave it advice column....

I know you've considered going gluten-free. Someone over on GlutenFreeAndBeyond started a thread about being thankful for the little changes since going GF. She said her cursive writing had gone and the doctor said it was age. About a year after going GF, her cursive is improving again. The interesting thing (to me), is that (slightly less than) a year after going GF, Tom's writing began to emerge! Two anecdotes about fine motor / writing improving around the one year mark of going GF. (Here's the link: http://www.glutenfreeandbeyond.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1264)

I also know that some people with peripheral neuropathy have had improvement in their symptoms (including feeling returning to their feet) from going GF. Anne (annelb) has talked about her feet and PN. She feels the damage done was too severe and went on too long (she's in her 60s) for GF to ever completely heal them. But, she has definite improvement and things aren't getting worse. Anyway, your comment about Rachel's sense of touch not being sensitive enough made me wonder if GF would help. (I wasn't sure if there were coordination issues involved, either, which is why I have the part about writing.)

Like I said, take it or leave it. Just wanted to give you something else to think about over the Christmas break.