Special Needs

? for those whose kiddos have a 1/1 aide at school...

What kind of background, education and/or training does your childs aide have? If any?

My friend was just offered a job working as a 1/1 aide for a non verbal boy with Autism at school. She has NO experience working with special needs kids at ALL. She has been a part time para (teachers assistant) in a regular Kinder classroom for the past year and that is the extent of her experience working with kids in an educational environment, though she is a (great!) mom of 2 herself.

Honestly, I was kind of shocked to hear that her school district offered her this job. I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that aides assigned to special needs kids would have SOME kind of experience, education, background something - working with this population.

Can it really be true that school districts can just hire some Joe of the street, background not withstanding, and assign them as 1/1's to our kids?

Somebody school me.

Re: ? for those whose kiddos have a 1/1 aide at school...

  • Thanks Auntie, your post has allowed me a deep breath.  This has been kind of bothering me all day.  Though it sounds like her disctrict is more of the "anyone with a pluse is qualified" kind.

    #4 - yes, that is true, inlcuding my own ch

  • We've gone through a few. It depends. We had to fire one idiot, but the others have been great. Bachelor degrees in either psychology or related fields. One was in masters program for speech pathology.
  • Loading the player....
  • Some states like mine (MN) have a law of 2yrs of para training. Others don't. Usually they work in fairly close watch of the sp Ed teacher at first anyway and they wouldn't give a newbie to a very difficult child. I used to be a para. 
    Mom of 5
    Boy 7-11-2007 (has Autism),
    Boy 2-26-2009 to 11-2-11 (had cancer at 4mo),
    Boy 3-28-2011 (has Autism)
    Girl 9-3-2013
    Baby due 2-22-2016
  • probably not very reassuring, but in my experience, a bad para doesn't last long. They have a hard job and are paid next to nothing for it.  My school's paras have varying levels of education and experience.  We are lucky that we often get ce

    BabyFruit Ticker
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