Do you have a one-on-one nurse at school, and on the bus?

This is a follow-up to my question about having a nurse on the school bus. It sounds as if those kids who have a nurse on the bus also have their own personal nurse all day at school. My child has a one-on-one aide at school, but not a nurse. There is just the regular school nurse availalbe at school. I guess my new question is: does your child have a one-on-one nurse at school, and on the bus? I'm curious if some people have one and not the other. If you don't mind revealing it in your reply, I'd also like to know what state you live in. We live in Flagstaff, AZ, and special ed services here leave something to be desired. Thanks!

[McKenna&clan]

One on One nurse at school for my daughter. My daughter is in a "normal" school in a special needs program. She is the only one with a trach. Most of the kids have learning disablities, speech issues, autism, ect. She fits in nicely as she learns as much from the other children as they do from her.

Question: is your child in a special need school program at a regular school or in a school that is specifically for children with special needs...physically and developmentally? How available is the "school" nurse? Is she there during all school hours or does she share her time at other schools in the district as well? Is your aide specifically trained for your child's needs or is considered an assistant to the school nurse?

[cbissell]

My son had a 1:1 nurse at all times. Although the school district would have provided this, I chose to use my own nurses because I was more comfortable with them. I was even his nurse on some days. The school was very flexible. We had a couple of advantages, first my husband and I are both RN's, so we have lots of connections. Most of our nurses where personal friends or nurses we recruited ourselves. We also knew that Aaron's trach was temporary, so we were not worried about a long-term nursing plan. He only had his trach for one year while in public preschool. He was decannulated at age four.

[cariaad]

Allison now has her own nurse at school. Previously, we had an assistant assigned to her and there was a nurse at the school at all times (this was a provision in her IEP). She was retrached in October and in Nov. they got things ironed out to let her ride the bus again with a nurse. At which time the assistant was reassigned and the nurse became her assistant. I hope that makes sense! Anyway, we live in Oklahoma. Allison is in a school that has an attached "learning center" which is devoted to special needs. Her classroom this year is a typical kindergarten and she spends part of each day in a lab class with only a few other kids because being in with 19 other 5 and 6 year olds is too much stimulation for her and she can't concentrate. Deb

My son is at a regular elementary school. There is a school nurse assigned to just his school. He goes into a regular 1st grade classroom as much as he tolerates (we aim for half of the day). The rest of the time he's in a multi-disability classroom. The aides in the multi-disability classroom are trained how to care for Nathanael, and they rotate being his one-on-one aide from day to day. My son gets out of the multi-disability classroom the most, although I would say he has the most severe disabilities of any of the children. One other trached child does not even have her own one-on-one aide. I think I'm comfortable with just having the school nurse available if needed (but maybe I've been conditioned that way, because I know the district would never give him a one-on-one nurse). But I do worry when he's on the bus, where the aide is less familiar with him than the aides at the school.

[JWorthington]

I transport Sam to school myself, it is a very short distance away. But he does have one to one care in school - currently this is for his health needs only, not his educational needs, this is not a nurse, it is a trained health care worker. In September he starts in mainstream education and initially will have the same carers until someone is appointed by the school to attend to his needs.

Juliex

[jenell3@insightbb.com]

We live in Illinois, my son has a nurse that is at school just for him the school nurse is there but,dont know how she would be available to help my son, if shes with another child, I hate to say I wouldnt feel safe having just the school nurse to suction or for emergencies. My son is in Kindergarten, I drop him off at school, I was having trouble with a nurse meeting at the house and getting to school on time. The nurse meets us at school. I would not put my child on a bus without a nurse what if something were to happen, is the bus driver trained on how to change a trach?That is scarry to me my son had 99%occlusion at birth so I was told not travel with him by myself, after 3 surgeries he now has an airway that allows him to vocalize at a whisper and he is 6 so he is more aware of his self. I now travel around town with him by myself, but i have been suctioning and changing trachs for 6 years.
I wish all the best to you.

[WeAdoptKids]

We live in Nevada and it is required by law that a child with a trach has a one on one RN...not LVN or LPN, with them at all times. This includes the bus. Our school district goes one step futher and pays for 30 minutes before the bus ride to access Joseph and make sure all is well with him, then again after school, once home 30 more minutes to make sure he is doing great, catch us up and his stats for the day. This way everyone is on board with his care and no one is left wondering how he did when.

When his school RN is taking a break, he is left with the school nurse foe the 15 minutes. In this case, she is a LPN, but had to be trained to ensure she could handle Joseph in case of an emergency. It was amazing what she did nt know. But all is well now.

Roberta

[Kaylie]

hi,
Kaylie has school at home right now, but the school system has been trying extremely hard to get her into school since she was like one and a half, its crazy...... its got to do with they dont wanna come to the home, anyway if she did go to school she would have her own nurse from our company or the choice of one from school, whichever... when they do a IEP have them make it the way you want it to be...

[Kaylie]

Va here..........from what i read in Va the federal goverment will take their funds away if they dont comply with certain things, and i know that they are at risk right now but im not sure if its every counties fault or only certain ones.....