To have an aide, your son will need to qualify for services through special ed and be placed on an IEP. If he is not already on one, the first thing to do is request the evaluation process be started as soon as possilbe. Unfortunately, until that is done the school does not have to provide an aide. However, if the reason is clear and immediate, they can provide one on a temporary IEP until the formal is completed. Aides can be tough to get. Most schools assign them to the children with the greatest needs. You may need to consider getting an aide to work with your son part of the day, during activities that he has the most difiiculties with. If however, you feel he needs full time assitance, be prepared to explain why. Any documentation you have is a good thing..notes from doctors, letters from child care providers explaining the level of care or assitance needed to complete tasks, any prior IEPs, evaluations or 504 plans. Keep in mind that the school does not have to accept these as proof of the need for the aide..they will have to test and observe him to see if he meets the district requirements..but they can help them understand the issue better. In the meeting, stay calm and focused. Getting visably angry or loosing your temper will bring the meeting to an end and make it harder in the long run. The school can not refuse to test your son or re-evaluate him for a change in his IEP if you request it. In all honestly, it is unlikely to have the situation settled in one meeting unless the school has had first hand knowledge of the resons you feel the aide is warranted. Just keep track of time frames, deadlines and do not let the school slide on them. Good luck.

Ask for the school psychologist to be present. Also ask for an IEP. Put it in writing and date everything. Ask for a list of advocates – they have to give it to you. If they say no, tell them you want it put in the IEP that you requested an aid and they refused. Have a list of reasons why you feel he needs one. Also ask that a written behavior plan be completed if one hasn’t been done.