This topic appears on every forum I’m a part of. Parents that are frustrated with either their child’s placement or progress and everyone who wants to support that parent, starts chanting in unison, “FIGHT FOR A 1:1 AIDE!”. Not the most clever chant, but it’s there, loudly in the parent’s ears. The parent, who just wants to help their child be successful, hears the rally cry and joins, not knowing the downside of asking for an aide. Then, inevitably, people pipe in with all of the reasons they will be denied so that the parent can be armed. Before we get to those “reasons”, let's talk about LRE. LRE or Least Restrictive Environment means that your child should be educated in the LRE possible. sometimes it’s a therapeutic day school. Sometimes a 1:1 aide in a general education environment is actually more restrictive than a self contained classroom. Think about it...in a self contained classroom, you may have 13 kids and a few adults, let’s say a student: adult ratio
Intentional Synergy: Creating a World of Intentional and Synergistic Inclusion
This blog will focus on the benefits, challenges and necessities of including children and adults with disabilities and their families into family and friendship circles and communities.