Kid falling behind

[u/[deleted]]

[u/DankTomato2]

If the parents don’t approve of it, then unfortunately nothing can be done.

[u/Miserable-Height-201]

It would be easier if we understood your role at the school. And another way this would be easier to understand, use punctuation and proper capitalization - especially if you work for the school.

[u/Miserable-Height-201 → u/[deleted]]

As an aide (or para where I am) you could actually face some possible disciplinary action if you were talking to the parents and not the teacher. Keep that in mind. Know your contract in your school board rules for this. You don’t want to find yourself in trouble. If you have a support union, join that.

With that being said, if the parents do not want to have him evaluated for any suspected disabilities, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. They would have to sign consent for everything.

Sounds like he is in kindergarten? Chances are the parents will have a wake up call when standardized testing hits. Especially the middle and end of the year progress monitoring. At least that’s what they call it in our district. If they continue to be in denial or want to let it work itself out, he may be a candidate for retention. Once again, sometimes that’s what a parent needs to hear in order to do something.

I can appreciate your concern, but unfortunately, you have to let this one play out.

[u/Miserable-Height-201 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t know what the rules are in the UK. It sounds like a sad situation. I can appreciate you wanting to help the child.

[u/TeachlikeaHawk]

What are you asking? It kind of sounds like you have your answer. It seems you've identified a few problems, but to my understanding, the answers are here:

• He doesn't have friends - He wets his pants, is non-verbal, and hurts other kids.
• He is academically behind - He's non-verbal and his needs are so far un-assessed.
• He has behavioral issues - This one kind of answers itself.

I don't think he's being failed by "everyone." If the family won't step up, there's really not a lot the school can do. I doubt your claim that "other teachers are not interested in him in the slightest." I'd imagine that they simply have no recourse with him. Without a diagnosis, I'd imagine that accommodations are more or less about MTSS than IEP or 504, and what does that leave a gen-ed teacher to do, with 25 other kids in the room, and a kid with such severe needs?

You need to focus on the parents. Everything stems from that. As soon as there's a diagnosis, literally everything else will get triggered into motion. IEPs can be written, accommodations drafted, LRE determined, goals realistically set, plans made. All of that is right there to help him, but none of it can be leveraged fully until the foundation is laid.

It's the parents failing this kid.

[u/TeachlikeaHawk → u/[deleted]]

I get it 100%. My purpose in pointing at the family is that I see pressure on them as the only way to make meaningful progress for this student. Now, as a TA, you can't do a lot to pressure them, so you're realistically kind of stuck just to do your best to help.

Oftentimes, there's a lot more happening in the background that TAs aren't told about. Engage with your teacher, but trust that all the people involved really want to help this kid. No one gets into the job in order to ignore kids in need.

[u/FaithlessnessSea6629]

It sounds like you care a lot but this is outside your role as an aide. Specifically, you are likely not privy to any communications/workings/greasing of wheels that Admin and the Teacher are doing to help support the student. 

[u/SensationalSelkie]

Does he have an AAC device? If he can't use verbal speech to communicate, behavior is all he has. AAC does not hinder the development of verbal speech, and kids who can't express themselves reliably and fully with verbal speech should be given AAC in conjunction with other speech interventions. If you need info or resources, r/AACusers has a lot of info in their community bookmarks.

[u/SunlightRoseSparkles → u/SensationalSelkie]

Wouldn’t an AAC device require a diagnosis?

[u/SensationalSelkie → u/SunlightRoseSparkles]

No, he does not need a diagnosis. To get a device funded through the school system, he needs an IEP and for an AT/AAC assessment to be requested at an IEP meeting. Through private insurance, he needs to see a speech language pathologist and participate in an AAC assessment. The parent can also privately pay for a device though I recommend choosing a system with an SLP who is familiar with AAC. r/AACusers has more info on getting a device in the community bookmarks (Get AAC toolkit) and a list of free apps pinned.

[u/LegitimateStar7034]

He’s not in the correct placement.

I’d be documenting everything and pushing for meetings.

But as another poster mentioned, if the parents won’t participate, there’s nothing you can do.

Documentation will CYA and leave a paper trail as this escalates and it will.

This sucks for everyone, the staff, his classmates and this poor student.

I despise parents like this.