I signed out only because if this is read by any of my coworkers, they will know my username immediately!! I am a regular poster/senior member -- one of you all.
Anyways, I was assaulted today by a student! Not just me, but 2 other adult staff members as well!!!
We have this child is diagnosed with high-functioning autism. Anyone who has ever worked with this child says it's just a case of lack of discipline; however, since I have never had too close contact, I can't say for sure. I do know some of the family members have mentioned that the mother "shopped" around until she found a doctor that would diagnose her child with autsim -- of course that is hearsay and who am I to say since I'm not a doctor and the realm of autism is vast.
I can say that I know this child knows his actions and what he is doing as last year he pulled about 3 different boys in to the bathroom and cornered them in a stall and told them to drop their pants and not to tell anyone. Thankfully the boys escaped under the partitions and did tell; but, he had the sense to know what he was doing was wrong!
Well, today I leave my room to go to a pull-out and here is this boy with one of the instruction aides. I see she is frustrated and trying to defuse the situation. I then see him kick her, not once, but twice. I then asked if I could help. She couldn't get anyone from the office to answer so I stayed to watch him as she went to the office to find some help. As I was standing he threw a backpack up and it hit my head. I then told him we needed to walk over to a tree so he didn't have access to backpacks. He decided to plug his ears and refuse to move. A previous teacher of his saw this and came over the take charge as they had a good raport when he was in her room ~ he kicked her 3 times!!!! Finally she placed him at the tree and took her class in. Of course as she moved him, he kicked the backpack up and hit me again with it while kicking me in the groin. While standing at the tree, he threw several rocks at me and hit me with about 3 or 4 in the gut.
As a staff, we are appalled that this is happening. The poor aide was taken away by ambulance and has just been released from ER with a herniated disk. Now, I get to go to the admin and seek out what help is going to be put in place in order to protect the staff and kids from future outbursts (they are a regular occurance.) And, I get to call board members tonight to make sure they are aware -- of fun. The joys of being union president!!
Police reports, contact the parents, and the child should be suspended at least. 3 people assaulted in one day ??? This kid needs major help, not a placement in a public school. What happens when he beats the heck out of a kid or kids????
Have a dr check you out. Get your injuries documented. This cannot go on.
The sheiff's deparment came out. They said there was nothing they could do because of his age (3rd grader) and his condition. They said it was the school's problem. In fact, I hear they didn't even fill out a situation report.
That is just awful, and unfortunately becoming more and more common in schools. We've had students with severe outbursts like that, but nothing was ever done. The police pretty much said the same thing, and since the students were autistic they could not be suspended for more than a day or two. I really think this is an issue that needs to be addressed. There has to be more we can do to have a safe environment for ourselves and our students. I do agree that a lawsuit may be a good idea. Something has to be done.
As the mom of a severely autistic, aggressive child I truly feel your pain.
I would never wish this upon anyone. Please keep the child's family in your thoughts and prayers because my guess is whatever you experienced at school, they experience repeatedly. I am physically scarred from my child and he is only 9 years old. It isn't always a lack of discipline--autism is a really horrific disorder.
If the child truly ISN'T autistic, then that makes things ten times worse. Again, I am very sorry this has happened.
I am so sorry this happened to all of you. It is horrible when stuff like this happens. But please realize this child is ill and needs help. Punishment isn't going to fix the problem. He is going to need a lot of assistance to get past this situation, as are the staff. Forgiveness can be difficult but it is important.
I disagree with the other posters about filing a police report though. If he was older I would agree that would be appropriate but he is too young and the police truly aren't going to help the situation. This child (and his family) need some assistance. Jail doesn't fix medical issues.
Whatever the staff may feel (he is just lacking discipline) is irrelevant as he has a medical diagnosis. It is hard with kids with invisible disabilities, we don't know what's going on in his brain and/or why. It's hard when there is no specific test or visible way to see the disability but it doesn't make it any less of a disability. Sadly we hurt the kid if we assume it's just a lack of discipline or poor parenting. If we assume he has a medical diagnosis and make the appropriate adaptations and accommodations he is far more likely to be successful.
Obviously his current placement and level of service is not working. He may need a different placement or different services. No child wants to be violent, it is a reaction usually out of fear that these types of behaviors occur. Often with autistic students it's a sign of being over stimulated and there are too many directives being given and the child's ability to think clearly shuts down and they react out of fear. He may need a different program that is able to better meet his needs and teach him some strategies for coping when he becomes overwhelmed. There are some great programs for autistic students. Although some are able to cope just fine in mainstreamed classes other students with autism need to be in specialized placements at least until they learn the skills they need to cope in a regular classroom.
A safety plan should be developed for him, to help protect the student but also to help protect the staff and students so that these situations aren't occurring.
Has an FBA been done? Is there a BIP in place? Was it followed? If these things aren't done it is definitely time to get them done ASAP for everyone's sake.
I hope everyone heals quickly from this incident and that it precipitates this child getting the services he needs.
If your school won't protect you, ask your union to advise you. As well, consider if this child assaulted any adult outside of school. What would be protocol then? There is always recourse and you need to learn more. Good luck and be well.
This probably won't be a popular sentiment, but I get really frustrated when I see, yet again, a student getting away with behavior no other kid would get away with simply because he has "special needs." As far as I'm concerned, if this kid can't handle being in a regular elementary school, then he should be sent to a special school were the teachers are better equiped to deal with such behavior. This is where thoughtless integration becomes a bad idea. I don't care what a child's special needs are, the minute they start posing a risk to others I believe the school board has a moral, not to mention legal, obligation to prevent the child from hurting the rest of the population. All students (and teachers) have the right to learn in a safe environment. Of course, I'm refering to the violent students who are integrated, not those who are generally well bahaved.
I agree with Jeff101. In addition to that, I would like to add another thought. The school has knowledge that he is violent. If/when he attacks a student they are opening themselves up to a HUGE lawsuit because the parents of the student aren't going to be nearly as understanding. They WILL call the police, they WILL have him arrested, they WILL sue the school for every penny they can get and they WILL win because the school knew he was a danger to himself and others and did nothing to protect the other students. I think you need to fill out a police report to protect yourself because the (hypothetical) parents can and WILL come after YOU! Filing the report protects you. Additionally, you have a right to work in a safe enviornment (as Jeff101 said). I don't know when teachers decided it was ok to work someplace unsafe. Good luck!
First off, I really hope that everyone that was hurt will heal quickly!
Second, I am wondering what kind of behavior plan (BIP) or Least Restrictive Environment this child has. Does he have a 1-1 aide? I would be re-evaluating his BIP and perhaps placement. Sometimes being in an inclusive situation is not always the best way for every child. While I am a sped teacher, I wouldn't want to run the risk of this child hurting another if he were over stimulated again (I believe he may have been over stimulated and unable to properly address his feelings). What did the parents have to say about the behavior?
Keep us updated on how everyone is healing and what is being done to help this child.
I am very sorry this happened to you. Your offer to help was a good one, but next time don't stay with the child while the original person involved goes to get help. Next time be the one to go to the office for help. Next time ask 'would you like me to get some help for you'.
I realize that you said the police were called, but in addition to police, schools here have what are called incident reports. If you were here, you would write what happened on this and it would be either acted upon and/or filed for future reference. Here unless it is in writing it never happened. Does your school have something similar?
Have you spoken to this child's teacher? She could use this incident to go back to the team and have his placement reviewed. Does this child need a more restrictive setting? Should he have a one on one? Should this child's program be changed?
You could ask the teacher if/what documentation you would need to give her for the meeting?
Thanks to everyone for posting. I must admit, I agree greatly with Jeff101 & Greyhound Girl but I do appreciate the view point and input from luv2teach and teabreak. It did not go unread or unheard!!
The frustrating part is this has been an ongoing thing since Kindergarten and due to large turn overs in our admin, we have had no consistency. Each new person wants to come in and save this child. I agree that whether we believe he is autistic or not is a mute point as he is diagnosed with autism and we must act along those capacities and move forward from there. I also agree a trip to jail wouldn't do him any good; however, I do believe consequences need to be taken and followed through.
I do not believe this boy was overstimulated. Although I was not in the room, I know it doesn't take much to make this boy go over the edge. I've known him to go overboard in a quiet room where students are reading and he snaps. I believe there is more going on that no one is aware of.
I also agree he needs more help than we can provide him. We are a very small school district and this boy isn't even in our district lines. We have overcrowding in our upper grades due to staff lay-offs last year; however, we are going to be spending a lot of money providing this 1 child a behavior modification specialist. It is frustrating as a teacher to see so much of our resources being devoted on one child who is terrorizing so many others and doesn't even live in our district. I know it's not the "PC" view; however, it's my true feelings.
I have spoken with admin and the board. According to admin, when this boy returns to school there will be a 1-on-1 specialist working with him and his behaviors. Hopefully that will help the situation. The board is now aware and they are going to be discussing this situation. I have been advised to make sure all events are documented.
The fear is what is going to happen as he gets older?? I know he needs more than we are equipped with and I am not trying to write him off, I just believe he needs to be reassigned to another location where he can get the resources he needs without depleting the resources from our general population.
Once again, thanks for ALL the responses!! It's nice to hear views of many others.
Assaulted... I did not mean to imply that you were the one that didn't read the response. I meant no one else did.
"The frustrating part is this has been an ongoing thing since Kindergarten and due to large turn overs in our admin, we have had no consistency"
Here is the problem... the school has ignored this childs needs, which is illegial. Does he have an IEP?
"I do not believe this boy was overstimulated. Although I was not in the room, I know it doesn't take much to make this boy go over the edge. I've known him to go overboard in a quiet room where students are reading and he snaps. I believe there is more going on that no one is aware of."
Tell me what you know about Autism? Do you think they act a certain way, or can determine when they will go off? I know of a student that would go off in a quiet room because the sound (yes the sound) of the flourescent lights would drive him crazy. I know of another that would loose it because of the sound of crickets in a cage. And I know of another who would flip out everytime the overhead projector started because the sound hurts his ears. And then another that would fall to the ground when the rustle of a winter coat rubbed or there was movement.
"I also agree he needs more help than we can provide him. We are a very small school district and this boy isn't even in our district lines. We have overcrowding in our upper grades due to staff lay-offs last year; however, we are going to be spending a lot of money providing this 1 child a behavior modification specialist. It is frustrating as a teacher to see so much of our resources being devoted on one child who is terrorizing so many others and doesn't even live in our district. I know it's not the "PC" view; however, it's my true feelings."
EVERY CHILD deserves an education! You can't just teach the easy ones.
"The fear is what is going to happen as he gets older?? I know he needs more than we are equipped with and I am not trying to write him off, I just believe he needs to be reassigned to another location where he can get the resources he needs without depleting the resources from our general population."
If he gets the help he needs now, you shouldn't worry about the future. And what happened to LRE? He should get the services of an aide, a behaviorist and tons of help before the placement is decided.
And doncha know.... he will not deplete from the general ed money. His needs are paid for by the federal goverment, which is separate from gen ed. He will not dip into your precious Neuro-Typical kids, which you think are more important.
As a former special ed teacher, I must say I agree with Jeff to some point. Many of our inclusive students would be better off at a school staffed with professionals that can meet all the needs of the child.
There are several children at our school with autism. Only one of them appears to handle the academic and social environment. Others are socially inappropriate and constantly interrupt the regular classroom to the point that the teacher can hardly teach. These children also have a 1-to-1.
I'm not saying that all special needs kids should stay away from public schools. But there are some who would benefit from a better and more fully equipped environment. And I do think that in some cases we must try to meet the needs of these special children to the detriment of the regular ed population. JMO
Yes, this student has an IEP and he has been serviced in accordance to it. In fact, he has been serviced over and above what his IEP calls for as our district is so small and close-knit that our staff has worked with eachother and the parents of this student. We are in complete compliance of the law. His needs are not being ignored, they are actually being catered too.
As for what I know about Autism, as I told my admin, my experience remains within the realm of an older student on site with autism and the movie Rain Man. I completely acknowledge my ignorance on the topic of autism and all that the diagnosis entails. I am not ashamed to state that I have little to no knowledge or experience. What I do understand is that most autistic children won't make eye contact and cannot control their behavior. This student stared me down as he threw rocks at me and was able to divert his rock throwing from a little girl when I pointed out he would hurt her if he threw them at the parent observing the situation. He was able to process that information in his rage. Maybe I am wrong in understanding some things and I can admit that freely.
I believe I NEVER said he didn't deserve an education! I believe I stated he needed an environment that better suited his needs. I am not in the habit of teaching only "easy" kids and if you knew me, you would know I often am given the behaviorally challenged kids because I work so well with them. My statement was that the other children deserve an educational setting where they feel safe and maybe this child needs to be placed in a different setting that can better suit HIS needs as well as the other students.
This child is getting a 1-on-1 person and I hope it does help; however, the expense is coming from our school budget. Our admin even stated that she hopes the teachers don't get upset with they realize how much money we will be spending on this student even in the light of our cutbacks. Maybe no all the money will be going there, but some will. I am not opposed to this as I hope it does help him; however, I stand by my statement that I don't feel our school is equipped to handle these issues being the small country school we are.
Obviously I am not alone in my feelings. Thank you HBteach for your input as I appreciate hearing from another special ed teacher that sometimes students are better placed in a situation filled with people equipped and trained to handle the unique situations they pose.
Why is he attending your school if he is out of district? Typically that is something that is difficult to arrange and a few things can easily terminate that arrangement in our district. For example, chronic absences, tardiness, or check-outs and behavior problems.
Not advocating one way or another here. Just curious about the reason for his attendance at your school in the first place.
We are a charter school and his older sibling attends our school as well. When he started with us, I don't think the admin realized the extent of his outbursts and needs. Now that he is on our campus, it is extremely difficult to revoke his interdistrict transfer. We have to show that we have exhausted all of our resources in order to accommodate his needs or we can be sued for lacking in meeting his needs.
The concept of a one-on-one aide comes under the jurisdiction of IDEA (individuals with disabilities education act). that is a federally mandated act, and even if teachers are upset with the cost being spent on the child...it is really not the fault of the school or school district. They must by law provide a education and related services that meets the needs of the child. THis all falls under FAPE (Free and appropriate education).
I know it is hard to see that much money going towards one student, but for the grace of God, I truly try to remember that I am grateful that it is not my own child needing those services. I have seen one-on-ones not only for autistic children (one memorable one is a parent that I knew that was extremely angry and outspoken on the matter -- how could we spend all that money on those students...it was unfair to others, etc etc....until her youngest was determined to be autistic and she needed those services herself). I have seen students who developed brain tumors and needed the services. No family really enjoys needing those services and would probably give a lot not to need them.
I try to remember, as I tell my students and my own children, that fair is not everyone getting the same thing/money....it is everyone getting what they need.
I'm sorry you are having a tough day with your son. I remember those days with my own dd. Fortunately they are in the fairly distant past. For all those people that don't understand, I know it's difficult when you don't live with these kids to truly understand what they go through each day, but please try to at least recognize your own inability to understand. Our kids look like everyone else's kids but their brains don't work the same way, hence the term invisible disabilities. Whenever I do workshops for teachers I always show slides of my own kids as young girls. You see these beautiful smiling faces and could never possibly imagine the turmoil inside them. Sadly what happens at school also has a HUGE impact on home, just as we know what happens at home effects school. When my dd has had a difficult situation at school, usually involving a teacher that didn't understand her special needs, we always had huge repercussions at home as the stress from school would all come home.
As a pp stated, these kids are entitled to these services by law. I'm sure every parent of a special need child would happily give up the extra funding for their child to no longer have special needs. Sadly that isn't a choice we can make.
I am sorry you are having a rough day...I can't tell you how much my heart goes out to you. I wish you peace, or at least a peaceful day or two coming soon! {{{{{{{{}}}}}}
I have two kids with it and I went thru years of being attacked at home. One would do great at school and let it all out at home (which made it really hard to get an IEP, because they said his medical dx wasn't affecting his education....). The other one lost it at school AND home and he was just perceived as a brat and I wasn't a good enough parent.
Yesterday my younger one lost it so bad he had to be restrained for 25 min's. I was there when it happened and I started crying watching it.
This is a subject thats near and dear to my heart. The only ones who seem to "get it" are the ones that work with our kids or are parents themselves.
Pls know OP, I have let go of my anger that I felt in the beginning. It was just a parents reaction to someone not understanding what my kids and my dh and myself go thru on a daily basis. I took it personally, and I apologize for that.
But please, read up on Autism/Aspergers. They do look like everyone else but their brains are wired differently. They look like brats, very smart brats. And the eye contact, thats a myth. Some do have problems, but alot don't. And as for throwing the rocks at people.... they can look like their behavior is deliberate, but really it's because it's a lack of empathy they have and they can't see how another person would feel in a situation. They can only see their own and when they go off due to stress, anxiety, sensory ect, they have a fight or flight response just to survive.
The trick is, to find the trigger. And thank god this child is getting a behaviorist/aide to help. This will do wonders for the child.
{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}} for you too. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that I no longer watch a child having a tantrum in public and automatically assume that the child is a 'brat' or the parent is 'bad'.
It's funny, I read something a few years ago that fits in with my train of thought here...I don't remember where, but it basically asked the question...when you see a child flipping out in public...do you judge and walk away, or do you at least try to give the parent a smile?
I agree with you totally. Integration into the regular classroom (or even an EC class) is only appropriate if it provides a safe learning environment. If it places other students, staff or even that child at risk, it's not the most appropriate setting. There can be isolated incidents with any child, but it sounds as if this type situation is the norm for this child.
I've had a student like this in the past where admin refused to address behaviors, even ones putting that child or other children at risk. The solution presented to me was "you need to get inside his head" and "remove the other students from the room--send them outside with the para next door". OK, so not only does that prevent every other child in my room from learning, but it also prevents children that para would have normally been working with from their instruction. It disrupts two entire classrooms because one child's behavior is out of control and he's violent. THAT is not a solution and only reinforces the child that he controls situations with bad behavior.
That is one of the fallacies...that student is not thinking about controlling situations at all. The student quite probably doesn't even realize that is what they are doing. You are ascribing a normal thought pattern to a student who doesn't have one. It's like telling someone wtih depression to just get over it.
The student in the midst of the 'bad behavior' is in full panic mode by that point. THey are doing what they feel they need to in order to get themselves out of what they perceive is a threatening situation.
Others with more expertise/experience, please correct me if I am wrong.
I know it is hard to see that much money going towards one student, but for the grace of God, I truly try to remember that I am grateful that it is not my own child needing those services.
Thank you for putting that into perspective. As the mom of a child with bipolar disorder (another of those invisible disabilities) who does have an aide with him all day, I can tell you that without it, he would be out of school. With it, he is making honor roll, taking gifted classes, and participating in band. The reason a child has an IEP is because the child has something going on that requires special accomodations to made for them so they can perform like their peers. It sounds as if in this situation, the child's IEP needs to be reviewed. If he is this violent and aggressive, he may need a higher level of structured provided by a teacher with training in autism.
Assaulted, please don't listen to other teachers who talk about getting the police involved, etc. Too many people have a hard time believing that something other than bad parenting can cause a child to act in a way that is less than ideal. I understand your frustration in being attacked. I have been attacked by my own son several times. He has even been placed in a facility for his actions. I have been there. This child needs an alternative placement of some kind...whether it be in a self-contained class for autism or something else. The law will NOT provide the kind of assistance the school and the child need in this situation.
That is one of the fallacies...that student is not thinking about controlling situations at all. The student quite probably doesn't even realize that is what they are doing. You are ascribing a normal thought pattern to a student who doesn't have one. It's like telling someone wtih depression to just get over it.
The student in the midst of the 'bad behavior' is in full panic mode by that point. THey are doing what they feel they need to in order to get themselves out of what they perceive is a threatening situation.
Others with more expertise/experience, please correct me if I am wrong.
You are so correct. When a child is in that "mode", they are not reacting rationally. Brain research has shown that children like these have different brain patterns than those of typical children. I speak from bipolar b/c that is what I know, but in a bp child, the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex fires differently. This is the area of the brain that controls emotion and impulse control. When it isn't working correctly, neither is the child.
This behavior is what I refer to as "fight or flight". With my own child, he will get a certain look in his eye...almost as if a switch has gone off. When he feels he is being threatened or he feels as if he is being overwhelmed, he will either lash out or run (usually away from the classroom or school).
In the not too distant past, kids like these would be either expelled or sent to special schools so the reg. ed. teacher didn't have experience with these kinds of children. But as times and laws have changed, the need for better training and understanding is obviously a serious need.
I agree with you to a degree. The particular child I mentioned, the behaviors were an avoidance behavior of his. He'd learned over the years that behaving this way gained him an out to completing any work requested. I blame the system and it taking too many years to get him services so that, yes, he was frustrated beyond belief. Those behaviors could not be corrected overnight. He had learned over five years in school to that point that if he behaved this way, he had a whole slew of staff all at his beck and call. Lo and behold, he no longer had to do the work asked of him. Over the course of the following year, he began to change once he had expectations in place and the assistance he had needed all along.
Other children I've worked with could quickly and without warning lose it and were beyond making rational decisions about their behavior and were just reacting. That sounds more like what you're talking about.
The important thing is to look at each individual child and go from there. I know not everyone agrees, but even with 1:1 assistance, while it is costly, sometimes it is exactly what the child needs. I've taught students with 1:1 paras. Some scaled down and eventually no longer needed that level of assistance. Others still require it. I'd much rather the child have that level of assistance than to repeatedly have meltdowns, especially ones which could endanger someone. If they are successful with that level of assistance and unsuccessful without it, then it's needed.
10-26-2009, 01:46 PM
You and the students are in an unsafe environment and it needs to be documented.
Simple View
