Can I request a 1:1 aide for my child?
Your child may benefit from a 1:1 aide for a variety of reasons: behavior management, instructional support, activities of daily living (i.e., toileting), safety (for health or mobility), social skills training, and task redirection, just to name a few. If you believe your child requires a 1:1 aide in order to access a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) and execute certain tasks, you have the right to request one during your IEP meeting. If it is determined that a 1:1 aide is required for your child to access FAPE, the district is required to figure out how to provide that service to you at no cost.
If your child needs 1:1 support, you may want to request an FBA and a TSNA or SCIA depending which format the school uses. You could also ask for a temporary aide to be put in place until the next IEP when the FBA and SCIA are reviewed. The school has 15 days to give an assessment plan and 60 days to do the assessment and hold the meeting. That is 75 days, so you can pull a calendar out and calculate and then the aide will be until that date. (School breaks of more than 5 days pause the timeline.)
For more information about requesting a 1:1 aide, check out our article The 411 on 1:1 Aides.
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