Schools abuse special needs kids

My experience with this is very small because I got lucky and DUncan has been in a great school for the past few years. His pre-school year was bad though because the teachers didn't want to deal with him and he was cating out alot. One day I came into the school to pick him up from after-school and I could hear him screaming as soon as I walked into the building. Some idiot had locked him in an isolation room and walked away. He was hysterical. I will admit to putting Duncan in his room and walking away but I always leave the door open. All I can say is that I pitched a fit and the next school year transferred him to another school.

This really touches home since I have a nonverbal child that has multiple disabilities. I can see why they say that you cannot take the right to restrain. Can you imagine what would happen with some of these children that need that. I don't mean it to be cruel. It is the only thing that works sometimes. I do feel for the family of the boy that the teacher took it to extremes. There needs to be a plan of action and the parents need to be involved in the decision of how things should be handled. Our children are a puzzle and lots of things don't work that would work for normal children, but there is definitely a difference of restraining and the abuse that some of these children are enduring. As a parent, I show up unannounced and report anything I see going on that I am not comfortable with, with anyone in the classroom. I had a teacher that threw a fit about me coming in unannounced, and I basically told her that I had every right and she could not stop me. My son no longer liked school and had always been ready to go and excited about it. It ended with him being pulled from the class and he now has a great teacher and aides, and they totally let me know about things and include me in their classroom if I just show up. My son cannot speak up and tell things, and I am not about to just sit back and do nothing to check.

Quite a horrible story actually, and once again, what I'm seeing is a basic and also complex in these cases, lack of training. I'm sure these teachers are just as frustrated as they can be and don't have the answers. Once you are in a job it's hard to let go and perhaps these people should not be teaching special needs children. Are these special schools they are talking about or mainstream schools I wonder It shows that awareness of the problems associated here need to be brought to the fore. These special children need to be taught special skills. You need special people to teach these kids and the parents need to be taught and heavily involved too. I don't believe it's solely up to the teacher. I also think every parent needs to make themselves aware of their child's progress and behaviour at school. But if the teachers are there to reach, who is developing the special programs for them to teach? Who is writing the reports on the daily progress or behaviour of the child. The teacher chose that job to teach...yes? How can they teach if they are having to write reports and have meetings to deal with all the issues and then have contact with the parents to pass the information on....where is the line drawn about how much teaching is actually done? Is there special training available for special needs kids? I seem to think that more people are required but who will pay for that?

Hi TLChimes, I didn't get the article itself, just some comments. I agree that the situation is very sad and has probably being going on for time. I was shocked to learn that only 5 states keep track of the incidents. I am very concerned for special needs children everywhere and feel like you, that those we feel we can trust the most are those that often fail us. I guess everyone has a special teacher that they remember and mine was a young lady who taught me in grade 3. She was kind and compassionate and I cannot forget her smile. That was many years ago and I'm sure she had no idea that she left such an impression on me. I didn't have a teacher who I thought abused children but some of my siblings could tell such stories. Some thirty or more years ago there was a lot of abuse in Indian Residential schools in Canada and the sad thing is that it happened when the schools were being run by the churches. Blessings.

Hi TLChimes, In this country, it is a law against hitting a child because that is abusing, teachers, parents, anyone in authority, no doubt there are some cases where there are abuse but if anyone is found out, it will be jail for them, in this country, children comes first. Tamara

Hello my friend TLChimes Ji, It is due to the fact taht un-due lienency is being shown towards children. Student-life has to be very much tough. It is not a bed of roses. We are all requesting to study. Concept requires sea-change. Children must understand taht they have to go to school for learning and not teaching. May God bless You and have a great time.

hiTLChimes hatley here. thats a very good, very'informative Article and tells it likeit is. If a teacher chooses to teach speciAl needs kids she should do her very best and know' what to expect,after all they are just kids yet. I had a teacher in the fourth grade whose name was Miss Thornton. Im 82 and still remember her. she taught penmanship among other subjuects. she 'taught it with a vengenAnce. She would hold a metal edged ruler in her hand as she walked up and down the aisles checking on the way we made our ms for example. She evidently didnt quite like the way I was doing mine so wap Across my knuckles.the metal edge cut all of my fingers And I cried out in pain.then I just ran out of the classroom And downtown to my dads office. He was the town doctor. he saw myhands and heard what I had to say. He fixed my cuts then we hurried back to the school. he walked inside holding my hand and said to miss Thornton: if you ever strike my daughter on the hands again with a metal edged ruler, I will come And hit your knuckles until they bleed. then he took me home. she never did that again and I never forgot that either.