The public school system provides many services for its students. Some of these services are academic related and some are not. Some services provided by the public school system are home related. Others are health related.
The public schools can provide free lunch for students, hearing and vision exams, and in some cases even medication.
In addition to having different services in the public school system, there are also different levels of students. Some students are in a regular classroom and receive a regular education. Other students receive what we normally call “special services”.
In most cases, people think of special services only going to children who are falling behind academically. They remember how the children were once pulled from the classroom to attend another class where special help was given. However, these are not the only children who receive services.
One service that is occasionally provided to children is the aide of a personal assistant. Some children have a staff member that stay with them all day long. These assistants sit with them in the classroom, attend special activities with the students, and even eat lunch with them.
I feel that personal assistants for students are becoming much more common now than they were in the past. Schools are now using personal assistants to meet IEP requirements and goals. Parents are now aware that an assistant is a possibility and they are more commonly asking for one for their children.
I know of several schools in which two or even three staff members were hired as personal assistants for children. The assistants may begin with children as young as kindergarten and can possibility continue through high school. Each year the need of the assistant is revaluated for the child. In some cases, it is decided that the child no longer needs an assistant.