How do you get a para for your kid?

FranticFrummie

Thu, Feb 06 2014, 1:12 am

DD is having a hard time in school right now. There is one teacher to 30 students, no aids. Half the class does not speak English well, and the boys are very "spirited". The teacher is not proactive, and tends to only react to the biggest problems. DD is falling through the cracks, falling behind, and is miserable. She's quit trying to do a lot of her work, because she feels like she doesn't matter anymore, and that no one cares.

So, what steps do I need to take, in what order? I do not have the money to hire one on my own. Does DSHS pay for it, the BOE, do I need a medical referral?

It's really important for DD's self esteem that she leaves 5th grade on a positive note, feeling accomplished and proud of herself. She hasn't had many of those experiences in the school setting so far.

This is all new territory for me. HELP! Help

the world's best mom

Thu, Feb 06 2014, 6:49 am

In NY you would get P3, which is tutoring for a few hours a week. They don't give paras for that here. Paras are for kids who are a danger to themselves or others, or kids who have medical needs that require one.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Feb 06 2014, 7:21 am

the world's best mom wrote:

DD has several tutors for pull out during the day, and a small lunch group where she works on social skills. I really think she needs someone to shadow her during her inclusion time in the classroom, because she is having a hard time maintaining herself.

Next week I'm going to have a talk with her special ed coordinator and run it by him. She falls into that terrible gray area, where she's not disabled enough to be in full time special ed, but she's not functional enough to manage herself in an inclusion environment. None of her teachers seem to know what to do with her.

Today, they actually suggested a star chart! The kid has impulse control problems, she can't be motivated by anything she has to wait for. *headdesk*