Reprinted from Wrightslaw.

When parents request a “one-to-one” aide or paraprofessional for their child with a disability, they are often frustrated by the school district’s response. Even when the district agrees to their request, parents may be dissatisfied with the results.

Parents need to know what they want, how to get it, and the outcomes they expect.

What is a One to One Aide?

As an old saying goes, “It is never safe to assume.” This warning also applies to assumptions about one-to-one aides.

Does the child need one individual who is assigned to work with the child during the entire day? Can the child be successful if several individuals rotate during the day? If the child’s IEP does not specify that one individual will be assigned to work with the child, the result can be unsatisfactory.

You need to clarify the settings in which the child needs the aide. That is, does the child need the aide throughout the entire school day? Does the child need the aide in specific classes or at specific times during the day? It is important that the classroom teacher know about the aide’s assignment so teacher does not “pull” the aide away to work with another child or group or children.

Does the child only need an aide for transitions (class changes, etc.). It is unlikely that the school will hire an aide only for transitions. In these cases, the school is likely to rely on existing school personnel to provide this service. However, these personnel are likely to have other duties that will interfere with their ability to provide timely transitions for the child.

If the child needs an aide for transitions, it is important that the child does not miss class time waiting for the aide to arrive. According to the United States Department of Education, allowing a child leave class early or arrive late to the next class, even if this is identified as an accommodation in the child’s IEP, is not acceptable.

Because misunderstandings are common, parents and school personnel must have a clear understanding about the child’s need for a one to one aide.

What is the Role of the One-to-One Aide?

Never make assumptions about the role of the one-to-one aide.

Schools assign one-to-one-aides to children for various reasons: behavior management, instructional support, activities of daily living (i.e. toileting, dressing, hygiene, etc.), social skills training, task redirection, discreet trial training, etc. If the child needs the support of a one-to-one-aide to receive a free appropriate public education, the aide should be assigned to the child, no matter what the task.

What are the Qualifications of the One-to-One Aide?

One of the thorniest issues involves the aide’s qualifications. A word of caution – “Be careful what you wish for.”

Not surprisingly, parents want an aide who is highly skilled and qualified. Although cost should not be the deciding factor, the reality is that school districts accept significant expenses when they hire an aide.

In Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garrett F., the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that a small school district could not refuse to provide a one-to-one nurse to a quadriplegic child because of cost. Notwithstanding Garrett F., cost is a factor (albeit an unmentioned one). Some schools districts pay the minimum wage during the school year, pay nothing during breaks, and provide no benefits. It is difficult or impossible to find a well-qualified individual to work under these conditions.

In general, hiring decisions do not fall within the purview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Hearing officers and courts are reluctant to consider a challenge to an aide’s qualifications unless it is clear that an aide must have specific knowledge and skills for the child to receive a free appropriate public education. (Wrightslaw Note: The No Child Left Behind Act includes new requirements about the education, training and duties of paraprofessionals – learn more about these requirements at the end of this article)

An aide who will implement an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) program to an autistic child requires specific training and ongoing supervision. Similarly, an aide who will provide instructional support needs knowledge and skills in the methodologies employed by the classroom teacher(s).

The parents’ success in obtaining a qualified aide will turn on how specifically the IEP defines the child’s needs and how specifically the IEP defines the aide’s role in addressing these needs.

How Can Parents Make a Case for a One-to-One Aide?

Remember that the school district is only required to provide the services, program, or placement that the child needs to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

The IEP is the vehicle by which the school delivers a FAPE. The child’s IEP must identify the special education, related services, and supplementary aids and services the child needs to receive a FAPE.

How does the IEP team make the decision to include a one-to-one aide in the child’s IEP? In general, this decision is based on the child’s needs. The child’s needs are identified by an evaluation of the child. An evaluation includes standardized tests or assessments, parent input, classroom observations, teacher input, etc.

Comprehensive Evaluations Are Essential

The evaluation is the foundation on which the IEP is developed. If the evaluation is not thorough and comprehensive, it is unlikely that the IEP will meet the child’s unique needs. Since the evaluation describes the child’s needs, the evaluation also defines the services, program and placement that the child needs.

Because standardized assessments carry such weight, you need to review these assessments carefully. Request clarification if you do not understand any part of the evaluation report. Because you cannot adequately review an assessment during an IEP meeting, you should request the report(s) in advance of the meeting. (The same is true of any draft IEP.)

Private Evaluations

If you believe the school evaluation is inaccurate or insufficient, you may obtain a private evaluation. The school is required to “consider” any private evaluations you provide. However, “consider” does not mean “accept” or “embrace.” However, if the school rejects the recommendations in a privately obtained evaluation, the school must state the reasons. 20 U.S.C. §1415(c)

Classroom Observations

It is impossible to overstate the importance of a classroom observation in the private evaluation. Classroom observations can be performed by the individual who conducts the evaluation or by an educational consultant.

I strongly recommend more than one observation and consultation with the classroom teacher. More observations provide more information and give greater weight to the recommendations that flow from the evaluation.

Independent Educational Evaluations

Parents may also request an independent educational evaluation (IEE) at the school district’s expense. If you request an independent educational evaluation, the school district must agree to your request or request a Due Process Hearing to defend the accuracy of their assessment(s).

In Summation

In general, the decision about whether the school will provide your child with a one-to-one aide will be determined by an evaluation of your child. This evaluation may be conducted by school district personnel or by an evaluator in the private sector. Be sure the evaluation provides a complete description of the child’s unique educational needs and makes it clear that the child requires an aide to receive a free appropriate public education.

About the Author

Wayne Steedman is a partner in the law firm of Callegary & Steedman, P.A. His practice is devoted primarily to the representation of children with disabilities. He has represented his clients in administrative due process hearings and state and federal courts.

Mr. Steedman has written many articles about special education law and advocacy, including:

10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Education for Children with Disabilities
How to Request a One-to-One Paraprofessional for Your Child

Poodle 175 and Poodle 2

Sometimes you need to laugh to keep from crying. And we can’t think of a better way to start laughing! These glasses are sure to put a smile on any face.

What are you waiting for? Break the ice and start the conversation with a little laughter.

$10.00

One size seems to fit all the women we know!!

Two Fab Colors –

Green with Green Lenses

or

Pink with Pink Lenses.

Poodles 177 and 190

Colors

Green Pink

That's me in the middle.

Heading back to school . . . oh, the memories I have of those painful first days of school. Fast forward to sending my own kids off to their first days of school and I finally realized something. What we want for our children who learn differently is exactly the same thing we want for all of our children – to love learning.

For me the beginning of school was torture. I had a big knot in my stomach hoping against hope that I could keep my secret for one more year.  I would say to myself, “Why me? Please don’t let my friends find out that I can’t read. I’m sure it will kick in soon, and they’ll finally see that I’m as smart as they are.  In the meantime I’ll figure it out.”

Middle school was the most traumatic.  There were so many signs, like the time I broke out in hives before my Latin exam in 8th grade.  And the time I was hit across the face by a substitute teacher in Biology class for acting out (my strategy to avoid reading out loud).  So I kept repeating the mantra, “The love of learning will truly come to me.”  It didn’t – not until I was in college. Thank god those experiences are days gone by.

As strange as it seems it was those difficult times I now draw on for strength.  How we get through the hard times helps us understand so much about living life and navigating around its road blocks.  Those of us with learning differences are a special group, the underdogs, the ones who were told that we wouldn’t be going to college.  “No dreams of a future for you . . . .” But I did it, in spite of the shame and embarrassment, in spite of the lack of support from the education system.

No child should have to go through what I went through. Our children should not feel ashamed because they learn differently.  Our children should be able to look forward with glee to their first day of school. This is the reason I am so passionate about why I am doing what I am doing. I believe we can shift the way the educational system approaches children who learn differently. When the institutions they learn in change to embrace all learners, and change they must . . . then I will finally have hope for all children who learn differently.

We can’t do this alone.

Poodles in their aprons

We need your help to break the silence. It’s really very simple . . . just start talking about it.

Please know that we’re not going away and we will continue to fight the fight with humor and heart, because that’s what parents do!!

Mary – Poodle 1
Sally – Poodle 2

Thomas Armstrong | April/May 2010 issue – Ode Magazine

Imagine for a moment that our society has been transformed into a culture of flowers. Now let’s say for the sake of argument that the psychiatrists are the roses. Visualize a gigantic sunflower coming into the rose psychiatrist’s office. The psychiatrist pulls out his diagnostic tools and in a matter of a half an hour or so has come up with a diagnosis: “You suffer from hugism. It’s a treatable condition if caught early enough, but alas, there’s not too much we can do for you at this point in your development. We do, however, have some strategies that can help you learn to cope with your disorder.” The sunflower receives the suggestions and leaves the doctor’s consulting room with its brilliant yellow and brown head hanging low on its stem.

Next on the doctor’s schedule is a tiny bluet. The rose psychiatrist gives the bluet a few diagnostic tests and a full physical examination. Then it renders its judgment: “Sorry, bluet, but you have GD, or growing disability. We think it’s genetic. However, you needn’t worry. With appropriate treatment, you can learn to live a productive and successful life in a plot of well-drained sandy loam somewhere.”

The bluet leaves the doctor’s office feeling even smaller than when it came in. Finally, a calla lily enters the consulting room and the psychiatrist needs only five minutes to determine the problem: “You have PDD, or petal deficit disorder. This can be controlled, though not cured, with a specially designed formula. In fact, my local herbicide representative has left me with some free samples if you’d like to give them a try.”

These scenarios sound silly, but they serve as a metaphor for how our culture treats neurological differences in human beings these days. Instead of celebrating the natural diversity inherent in human brains, too often we medicalize and pathologize those differences by saying, “Johnny has autism. Susie has a learning disability. Pete suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”

Imagine if we did this with cultural distinctions (“People from Holland suffer from altitude deprivation syndrome”) or racial differences (“Eduardo has a pigmentation disorder because his skin isn’t white”). We’d be regarded as racists and nationalists. Yet, with respect to the human brain, this sort of thinking goes on all the time under the aegis of “objective” science.

The lessons we have learned about biodiversity and cultural and racial diversity need to be applied to the human brain. We need a new field of neurodiversity that regards human brains as the biological entities they are, and appreciates the vast natural differences that exist from one brain to another regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other important mental functions.

Instead of pretending that hidden away in a vault somewhere is a perfectly “normal” brain, to which all other brains must be compared (e.g., the rose psychiatrist’s brain), we need to admit that there is no standard brain, just as there is no standard flower, or standard cultural or racial group, and that, in fact, diversity among brains is just as wonderfully enriching as biodiversity and the diversity among cultures and races. Read more . . .

Original Sketch by Sherryl, Poodle 333

This is Life’s a Poodle’s first original piece of artwork sketched by Poodle 333 during the 2nd Annual Choochokum/Poodletini Party in Langley, WA on July 10th.

Check out the Whidbey Island Sketchers Website and you’ll see some amazing work by some amazing women artists on Whidbey Island.  Each month these artists choose a theme to sketch and post as a group on their website.

Thank you, Sherryl, for this masterpiece of our Life’s a Poodle hat.

These wacky green glasses were this year's best selling item!

in Langley, WA  this past weekend. Nothing like sunny weather in the Northwest to bring out our poodle supporters from last year and new ones this year.

We are always asked, “Poodles and learning differences?”  Poodle 2 loves to use the word ‘segue’ to explain how we connected the two; I like to use the word, “Help!” -  help for me processing all the words circling in my head that can often get stuck.  My biggest fear is that nothing at all comes out that makes any sense.   I’m over it. . . we had great conversations once again.

Our best dressed customer!

The stories keep coming so now I’m referring to these heartfelt conversations . . . as just LD stories with a pink poodle twist!

Here’s one story I’d like to share.  One woman told me the story about her dyslexic husband.  They own a building in town that is being painted and her husband and the painter went to the local coffee shop for a break. It was over coffee that they discovered they were both dyslexic.  She told me she overheard the conversation between the two of them and has never in all the years they have been married heard him speak about his learning challenges to anyone, not even her.  It overwhelmed  her to hear him open up and share some of his struggles that come with the big D. . .

Poodle 333 sporting her new poodle gear!

One more dyslexic adult who has kept the secret hidden for years.  Why is it so hard to talk about dyslexia?  It really does help to open up and share with others. . . . after all dyslexia affects 1 in 5.

Mary – Poodle 1

Poodle 2 with her new friend

There were quite a few memorable moments . . . like poodleizing this mini-horse!

And of course the Conversations . . . the couple visiting from New York who completely embraced our mission and promised to spread the word in the great state of New York; the Harvard professor who told us about a fascinating research project involving dyslexic students and science as a major; the young woman who shared how Landmark College changed her life (and her father said it was the best money he ever spent!) She gave us valuable contact information for the Learning Disability Association of WA.

We sold 26 Life’s a Poodle Lapel Pins and gave many more away . . . . .

Poodle Pin!

Now there are many more advocates for children who learn differently! Thank you!

The community of Bainbridge Island gives us hope that communities can come together and embrace children who learn differently.  We have always felt that it truly Takes a Village to raise our children – and in this case we now know it also Takes a Poodle to have the courage to change the institutions we learn in.

We’ll see you next year – thanks for your support!

Mary and Sally
Poodles 1 and 2

Custom design by Poodle 175

We want to send a great big “Thank you” to Susannah (Poodle 175) for hosting our very first official Life’s a Poodle “Poodletini Party” in Sammamish, WA last month. We met some fabulous women, shared delicious food and had some wonderful heartfelt conversations.

Poodle 175 and Poodle 2

Poodletini Parties are the new support group model for parents with children who learn differently. If you would like to host one in your home give us a call at 206-659-LAP1. If you are in the Seattle area we would be happy to facilitate but if you are out of the area – even out of state – we’ll get you started with our Poodletini Party Packet.

Mary and Sally
The Poodle Gals

Poodles 177 and 190

Taking the Poodle Pledge

-Jonathan Mooney

I had an ‘Ah Ha’ moment with a friend I have known for years, 25 to be exact.  He has been in the educational field his entire career first as an elementary school teacher, then as a junior high principle, and now as an alternative high school principle.

Poodle 1 and Mike

He’s been a well-deserving recipient of many educational awards.  We were recently sipping wine and reminiscing when he talked about his passion for his work and the unbelievable disappointment in his profession.

He told me a story about one of his students who wasn’t going to graduate.  This is a kid who was falling through the cracks.  This boy had reached 18 barely able to read and write because of a learning disability.  As the mother, father and student sat in his office a sense of sadness came over him thinking about what could have been.  ”It’s the feeling that we are all failing so many of our children in public schools today”, he said.  “Who has the power to change it?”, I asked.  He thought for a moment and said, “I never thought I would believe this, but we have to break the teacher union.  The conflict with teacher unions must stop.  We have to stop protecting the bad teachers.  It is parents and educators who need to organize if we are to achieve the changes in the institutions our children learn in.  We have somehow forgotten the real reason we teach . . . our kids. Each and every one deserves a chance to learn.”

My ‘Ah Ha’ moment was this: it is the teachers who must change the way our educational policies and practices are defined. It’s not about the money – it’s about raising the level of excellence in our schools for teachers and students alike.  There are simple changes that can only happen from the inside out. The babyboomer teachers are retiring soon. This coalition of  teachers is the group who has to start the process of change in our schools.  They are the ones who care enough to let their voices be heard. They can no longer worry about swimming upstream to fight a school system that is so terribly broken.

One more thought-provoking comment from my friend I need to share: ”The parenting of our children has deteriorated over the last 25 years.  Kids are not getting the support they need from their parents to help them succeed.”  More on this in time.

Mary

Poodle 1

We first heard this story at the WA State PTA Convention from Elizabeth’s husband. The name of her company is EnviroVogue™ and here’s one of our bags from Elizabeth’s company. This is another good example how learning differences touches so many lives. She’s a parent who refused to take no for an answer and was open to trying alternative therapies.

Here’s my story. My son had severe ADHD and also was diagnosed with Asperger’s. This all was triggered at age 4 1/2. Before that he was a happy, normal child.

We tried everything. Then for a couple of years we saw every specialist and tried every drug. As well as a slew of psychologists, speech therapists for his social skills issues, and others. Nothing was good enough to help my son function in a traditional classroom.

I knew that my son’s issues were vaccine related. He was poisoned with mercury and other toxins. I finally met someone who said she could help my son and rid him of these toxins that were in his brain and had crossed the blood brain barrier. She also needed to get his intestinal track in order which was compromised due to toxicity (that’s where diet changes came into the picture).

We saw results immediately. Within 8 months my son was completely cured of ADHD and Asperger’s. He went completely off medication and he is a “normal” kid in school. The original psychologist who diagnosed him said he no longer had ADHD or Asperger’s. He was taken out of special ed and he gets straight “A’s.” He has friends and is as “normal” as any other kid. People that meet him today can’t conceive of the child he was before. The last three years have been great as I got back the son I had the first 4 years of his life.

The product that rid him of these horrible toxins is called NCD, by Waiora. It is truly an amazing product that I have my whole family using. You can read up on Zeolite. If anyone is interested I can provide white papers written by an M.D.

We live in a toxic world, all of us and I believe that toxins are causing much of the disease we see today. Including, cancer, autism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, and Fibromyalgia.

I hope this information is useful and that it can help others.

Thanks,
Elizabeth
EnviroVogue™