My son's regular teacher was not in class. I hate when she's not there.

You need to talk to the principal again. That b*%#! has a problem. My school would not tolerate anyone being mean to a child.

Hi MJ, That is really rude. Did you discuss this incident with the head teacher to call her attention for singling-out your son? I will not allow that to happen too to my son. Right there i will do something to let her realize that she's not acting as what she's suppose to do as teacher. I just hope she will be enlightened if ever a discussion will happen and she will treat your son right this time. GO MJ!

Mommaj, I am so sorry you have to endure crap like this. No parent or child should have to be concerned about a teacher treating their child fairly. I would be in the principal's office so fast, they would think Nascar had come to town. If you hear about or personally see someone mistreating your child, you have an obligation to do everything in your power to stop it. I have a grandson who has Asperger's Syndrome along with Autism so I fully understand your concerns. When your son does something that is not acceptable, it is up to the teacher to let the parents know and work with them to correct it. People who work with special needs children have to be even more vigilant in doing their job. It sounds like that substitute is being more childish than the children she is responsible for. Do not stand for it. If you suspect that your child is being mistreated (and being ignored is a brutal form of mistreatment for a child) then immediately call for a conference with the principal and the teachers involved. If you are not satisfied with the results, escalate your complaint to the school board. Ask for special permission to sit in on your son's classes. If necessary, call everyday and make a tentative appointment for the next day. Keep them on their toes. I agree with another poster here that the 24 hour rule is bull$#!@. I have sat in my grandson's class any number of times. I simply showed up and asked to audit the class. My son has gone to the school on the spur of moment to observe playtime. When there was a concern, his teachers were open and happy that they had someone that was concerned. When I asked about some action that they took or something they said and it did not sound right when recounted by my grandson, they had no problem explaining what happened and why they did or said what they did. We were able to talk about everything and reach some agreement as to what should be done at home and how they would handle future problems. When we noticed his grades falling behind in spite of everything we were doing at home, we discussed it with the teacher so we could work out a new strategy. The end results were, he received a "Most Improved Student Reward." I firmly believe that the early school years are critical because they set the framework for how they feel about school the rest of their life. If school is painful, they cannot learn and if they do not learn, eventually, they drop out. I saw on CNN that one third of our children here in the US do not graduate from highschool. Children with autism and other special needs must be protected by cruel and incompetent people so they can thrive in the school environment. Don't think your son doesn't understand. He does. Everyone knows the difference when they are not being treated fairly and equally.

It was very rude. Any idea why she might have done that? Even if she had a past problem with your son, that's no excuse.

Actually he does understand and that is probably why he didn't want to be there. I would suggest talking to the teacher and telling her what is going on. The substitute needs to be in tune with ALL the children, not just a select few. I would raise the issue up with the head teacher and even the principal or ask the principal to sit in the class when this substitute is there. There isn't any reason she has to act like that towards your son. No reason at all. If she has personal issues, then she has to be the professional that she is and just deal with it. If this were my child, I'd talk to his head teacher and the prinicpal becuase this substitute needs her attitude checked at the door before she enters the classroom.

Fortunately she's only the substitute teacher, and not a very good substitute teacher. I think it's stupid of her to take offense of whatever she thinks your son did. Kids are kids, they mean no harm. Glad your son doesn't understand rudeness too.

I agree with some of the comments. He probably does understand and that's why he didn't want to go when he saw her. I think with the whole H1N1 thing going around teachers are very edged towards not going to class with the slightest thing of a cold because it could be anything. I think maybe you should have a chat. Be it a substitute or a full-time teacher she needs to understand it's degrading to kids whether she thinks they get it or not, and she can't be ignoring certain kids and favoring others.

Poor child, he is experiencing discrimination and rejection at a young age. Have you ever tried talking to the sub teacher? Maybe she did not intentionally do it or maybe she did but at least you can find out what her reason is. One thing you should do it to take this chance to teach your child how to handle rejection. It's a cruel world out there and the earlier we can teach our kids to handle these things, the better their chances to survive.

I actually think I would set up a meeting with this teacher especially if she is going to be a regular substitute. Maybe she is unaware of the fact that she is ignoring your son. Then again, maybe not. You are the only one that will advocate for your son and I think you should speak up....not in front of him, of course. He may not have said anything but I'm thinking maybe he did pick up on her attitude which may be why he didn't want to go in.

Presumably there is a set time for children to arrive - or is it flexible? Here the teacher should be either at the door or in the room as the children come in. If you arrive before the specified time, then you wait outside the classroom unless invited in. Was your child the first to enter the room? If she spoke to ALL the other children then she was completely out of order to ignore your child. How many children are there in the class? Have you made a complaint about this substitute before? If you have, its no excuse for her to ignore your son but it could be her reason. I have worked as a supply (substitute) teacher and it is not the easiest of jobs because they are often treated as second class citizens by staff, parents and pupils. Here, they have to have qualified teacher status and an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau document. I'm not sure that applies to subs there?? But... this substitute was in the wrong if her actions made you or your son feel less valued than everyone else.

I definitely agree with the others, he does understand and that's the reason why he didn't want to go there. I could say maybe talking to the teacher could help, but most times that doesn't do the trick, and I hate to say it, but probabily the best is to get along with it and one day he'll not have to see that teacher anymore. I hate there are still so rude teachers nowadays-

I went through that with one of my son's teachers, in fact it was so bad that my son was not allowed in the classroom his EA had to teach him outside the class, I got so fed up that the school was working against my son that I had him transferred into another school.

his teacher is unprofessional as a teacher he/she should be a role model to his or her student's. for me that's one of the reason why he is not interested on going to classes.