School had my 11 yr old special needs son arrested

[Liberty Belle]

I am a teacher and I DO NOT support the school district. This child is special needs and should have a behavior plan. I have worked extensively with students (both with and without special needs) and have seen even those without special needs escalated into a frenzy by people who didn't know how to handle a situation.

Think for a minute--as an adult haven't you gotten angry and lashed out (even with words) at someone? Imagine yourself as a child whose comprehension isn't as developed as yours and who doesn't have the words to use. Imagine that you are feeling attacked by others. What would your instincts be?

BINGO!

From working in the schools as a special ed para and having a son with ADHD, SID, Anxiety, and Depression, this has been my experience. Close to 100% of the time situations could have been avoided if only the adult - the person who is supposed to know how to deal with children - knew what they were doing.

 

[Liberty Belle]

And where does throwing a fit and assaulting staff not fall into "imminent danger"?

I understand how people are upset about a child being locked up for 3 hours in jail - that is very extreme. But give one minute of thought to the other side! How many of you go to work each day and are assaulted? And if you are, how can that possibly be acceptable to you?

I have filed charges against a special needs student who punched me. He was twice my size, and I was fearful for my life. I should not have to work under those circumstances.

Obviously there does need to be a new IEP, and perhaps a new placement.

While I was a para, I was spit on, groped in both private areas REPEATEDLY and DAILY, scratched more times than I can count, hit, kicked, you name it. I would never ever consider calling the police on these children. I cared about them and wanted to help de-escalate things.

I also cannot count how many times I saw teachers and other paras PURPOSEFULLY try to escalate situations instead of de-escalate them. You could always tell which teachers would and which wouldn't. I am not speaking out against teachers - I worked with several loving, caring, wonderful teachers. However, there are definitely bad teachers out there who should not be around children, especially children with special needs.

 

[Schmeck]

I'm curious about something. You mentioned in another post that your daughter
learned nothing the year she was in a class with many kids with behavior issues.
Can I ask why do you work with special needs kids if it seems tough for you?
Perhaps I have misunderstood something but it seems like a conflict for you.
I apologize if I got something wrong. I'm from Canada were all kids are in the
same classroom regardless of abilities.

I work with special needs kids because:

1) I can help them, I'm very good at it, actually.

2) I want to make sure all children are educated, kept safe, and are given an appropriate education.

As some others have stated, they allow violence to occur in their classrooms. They allow themselves to be put at risk. That is setting a horrible precedent in the classroom. Other kids witness the behavior. The child doing the assaulting is not getting the proper feedback to lessen the violent behavior. When the preschooler gets to high school you are now talking about a young adolescent with violent tendencies - and it's a lot harder to keep others safe when the out of control student is taller and heavier than most of the staff.

I stay in special education because my daughter had that year of non-learning. No one learned in that classroom, and administration did not care. I was not working in the special ed department that year, as my younger daughter was in kindergarten, and got out early. If I had been more aware of the classroom dynamics, I would have dealt with it accordingly.

I will say that I have seen an improvement in our school district over the past two years - we now have a very low tolerance to violence, and have appropriate support and physical space to handle most situations. We do outplace some of the students with more severe issues, but have found that enforcing safety for all has been met with a new respect from students and parents.

I still flinch when someone knocks over a chair at school though - the sound it makes gives me a PTSD flashback to the flying chairs scenario of the past. I notice 2 of the students who witnessed the violence also jump when they hear that same sound.

 

[mad madam mim78]

I'm curious. Is the boy in a special needs class or is he in a regular room with normal students?

 

[HARVEYSGIRL]

I am happy to report that the charges were dismissed by the court. My son cannot speak well and has such a low IQ they deemed him unfit to stand trial. I am soooo relieved. I do not thinnk it is acceptable to be violent but having him arrested tought him nothing and accomplished nothing.

He is in a new school this year in a new special ed room. So fingers crossed!

 

[LadyBeBop]

I am happy to report that the charges were dismissed by the court. My son cannot speak well and has such a low IQ they deemed him unfit to stand trial. I am soooo relieved. I do not thinnk it is acceptable to be violent but having him arrested tought him nothing and accomplished nothing.

He is in a new school this year in a new special ed room. So fingers crossed!

Thanks for the update. Here's hoping for a much better year.

 

[jas792]

gee why wasnt i surprised that this happened in texas ---
they have to be the most backward state inthe country whenit comesto special needs students -- so sorry for you and your son

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I was giving examples of situations that could evolve from a 'flailing fit', and that getting deliberately kicked was one of them. Also, once a child is on the floor, throwing a fit, all learning has stopped in that room, so the other students need to be removed so their learning can continue, somehow, somewhere. One needs to remember that there is more than one child in the classroom. Some people tend to forget that quite quickly.

My daughter was placed in a class that had a significant number of children with behavioral issues. She was not one of them. She learned nothing that year, (except some cool new swear words,) and spent a lot of time being evacuated from her classroom.

Did the OP state that the child had no ability to understand intent? If this 11 year old child has no ability to understand cause and reaction, then a more restrictive environment needs to be found immediately. The other kids need to be kept safe. The other kids do not need to worry about being hurt, stabbed with a compass point or a pair of scissors, ducking flying chairs (which has happened to students in our district, until I put my foot down and refused to let it continue - by filing assault charges). They also have a right to FAPE.

All this can be fixed without the hyperbole of an overreaction. No need for a lawyer, a court case, or a news story. Just some common sense on both sides, parents and school system, to find the appropriate, safe placement.

and having worked in ESE at the elementary level, I agree with you here. No parent of a child in that room wants their child to be in harms way. I have seen all sides of this. The first thing to do when it gets to this point is to evac others from the room (and sadly there is no learning going on). While he may only be on the floor at this time, I have seen them get up off the floor and fling desks, chairs and computers. Were they arrested, no never and they should not be either, but they do not need to be in a room where there is no other violence going on. There are others in the room that need to be protected as well. Your post sums it up perfect.
on a side note, I am happy to see charges were dropped.