ACPS Jefferson-Houston Elementary School administrators put on leave after autistic 4-year-old walked away from school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school system requires that classeoom doors remain locked.

From the inside?

PP here. Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school system requires that classeoom doors remain locked.

From the inside?

PP here. Yes

Also, teachers and staff have to use a badge to swipe into the building. Visitors required to come to front door and show ID before office staff admits them. Absolutely no doors can be propped open, ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eloping children are a great danger to themselves. Even when you think you have eyeballs on them all the time... realistically, if the kids outnumber the adults, you've got to put serious measures in place, such as locking all but one door and having that door supervised 100% of the time. It's not what the average public school is used to. More like a prison, really.


My neighbor lost her autistic kid a few times at that age - he ran outside and across a busy street. And she's a very responsible, very attuned person who was doing her very best for her own child.

This. Frequent elopement is one of the behaviors that should fast track a kid into a more restrictive placement. It’s too dangerous and staff shouldn’t be expected to give chase every time it happens or be worried about losing their jobs if they have to physically redirect a student headed toward the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eloping children are a great danger to themselves. Even when you think you have eyeballs on them all the time... realistically, if the kids outnumber the adults, you've got to put serious measures in place, such as locking all but one door and having that door supervised 100% of the time. It's not what the average public school is used to. More like a prison, really.


My neighbor lost her autistic kid a few times at that age - he ran outside and across a busy street. And she's a very responsible, very attuned person who was doing her very best for her own child.

This. Frequent elopement is one of the behaviors that should fast track a kid into a more restrictive placement. It’s too dangerous and staff shouldn’t be expected to give chase every time it happens or be worried about losing their jobs if they have to physically redirect a student headed toward the street.

Yeah. As much as I’m glad to see consequences here, I think punishment when the admins and teachers may not have had access to the right resources is a bad reaction. School districts fail here by making the process to get immediate help for kids with problem behaviors (eloping, aggression) SO hard and lengthy to get. And preschool/kindergarten is a well known age for these problems to appear as SN are in group settings for the first time and their challenges become apparent.
School districts should have resources to immediately provide 1:1s and behavioral supports, not make everyone go through the IEP process.

[Anonymous]

Did the child leave during recess or somehow escape the building?

[Anonymous]

Number one rule when working with children is:

DON’T LOSE THEM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Number one rule when working with children is:

DON’T LOSE THEM

Says someone who has zero clue how autistic students who elope function

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eloping children are a great danger to themselves. Even when you think you have eyeballs on them all the time... realistically, if the kids outnumber the adults, you've got to put serious measures in place, such as locking all but one door and having that door supervised 100% of the time. It's not what the average public school is used to. More like a prison, really.


My neighbor lost her autistic kid a few times at that age - he ran outside and across a busy street. And she's a very responsible, very attuned person who was doing her very best for her own child.

This. Frequent elopement is one of the behaviors that should fast track a kid into a more restrictive placement. It’s too dangerous and staff shouldn’t be expected to give chase every time it happens or be worried about losing their jobs if they have to physically redirect a student headed toward the street.

Yeah. As much as I’m glad to see consequences here, I think punishment when the admins and teachers may not have had access to the right resources is a bad reaction. School districts fail here by making the process to get immediate help for kids with problem behaviors (eloping, aggression) SO hard and lengthy to get. And preschool/kindergarten is a well known age for these problems to appear as SN are in group settings for the first time and their challenges become apparent.
School districts should have resources to immediately provide 1:1s and behavioral supports, not make everyone go through the IEP process.

+1 the classroom teachers and aides in all likelihood knew that this child had a propensity for elopement. But unless the parent is the super squeaky wheel about seeking more evaluations, more accommodations/goals, and a more restrictive environment and revising the IEP accordingly - anything the teacher or the aides say to administration is going to fall on deaf ears. And many parents don’t know about their rights and the ones who do don’t always know the magic words to say to get more accommodations or a different placement. Sad that it had to come to this but I hope the child gets a higher level placement that she clearly needs. This case could have turned out a lot worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Number one rule when working with children is:

DON’T LOSE THEM

Says someone who has zero clue how autistic students who elope function

NP here. Have worked with autism spectrum students K - 8th grade for 20 years. Never take your eye of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Number one rule when working with children is:

DON’T LOSE THEM

Says someone who has zero clue how autistic students who elope function

Ha! I’ve chased more than my share of SN children. I certainly never had anyone wander 4 blocks into traffic without ever knowing they were missing and then picked up by a stranger on the highway. I’d resign immediately if I became that incompetent.

In a school setting like that you need someone leading group head counts every 15 minutes and specific teachers assigned to several individual students that can keep track of them literally every minute. Every transition = another headcount. Teacher switch = another headcount.

Every teacher in that classroom should know how many students should be in that room at any given time, know where every student assigned to that room is at if not there at that time, and look around occasionally and double check to make sure things add up. If something doesn’t add up they initiate a head count. This is like special needs 101 training, it’s sad that I even have to explain this.

If someone does go missing you can lock down the school immediately, if not found in or outside the school in 2 minutes, you arrange an outdoor and indoor search party while someone else calls the police. The time between first discovering a missing child and a 911 call should never exceed 5 minutes.

That’s always been the protocol I follow anyways, does anyone know what protocol ACPS has in place for this?

When you have a child that elopes of course it can still happen but that’s precisely why your priority is always knowing where they are at all times. Also, all the resources in the world won’t keep you from still being accountable for their whereabouts. If you don’t realize the 4 yo non verbal child with ASD might be prone to elopement, even if they’ve never done it before, then you shouldn’t be working with a 4 yo non verbal child with ASD.

So I’ll confidently say it again, the number one rule when working with children is: DON’T LOSE THEM!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eloping children are a great danger to themselves. Even when you think you have eyeballs on them all the time... realistically, if the kids outnumber the adults, you've got to put serious measures in place, such as locking all but one door and having that door supervised 100% of the time. It's not what the average public school is used to. More like a prison, really.


My neighbor lost her autistic kid a few times at that age - he ran outside and across a busy street. And she's a very responsible, very attuned person who was doing her very best for her own child.

This. Frequent elopement is one of the behaviors that should fast track a kid into a more restrictive placement. It’s too dangerous and staff shouldn’t be expected to give chase every time it happens or be worried about losing their jobs if they have to physically redirect a student headed toward the street.

Completely agree. Elopement is very hard to deal with if you have a lot of kids with varying needs. I'm glad the student was found safely. I hope some grace is given to these teachers and administrators.

[Anonymous]

If I were ACPS I would agree to a private placement immediately. This parent knows her daughter is not being served well at the school and wants a move. Saves everyone time and attorney fees. Just do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eloping children are a great danger to themselves. Even when you think you have eyeballs on them all the time... realistically, if the kids outnumber the adults, you've got to put serious measures in place, such as locking all but one door and having that door supervised 100% of the time. It's not what the average public school is used to. More like a prison, really.


My neighbor lost her autistic kid a few times at that age - he ran outside and across a busy street. And she's a very responsible, very attuned person who was doing her very best for her own child.

This. Frequent elopement is one of the behaviors that should fast track a kid into a more restrictive placement. It’s too dangerous and staff shouldn’t be expected to give chase every time it happens or be worried about losing their jobs if they have to physically redirect a student headed toward the street.

You should not be living in fear of losing your job if something extreme happens. Ask your employer about emergency guidelines. This should be part of your initial and ongoing training, if it’s not ask that it be added. Training helps you know what constitutes immediate danger, what paperwork you have to do and how to correctly fill it out, who needs to be contacted, etc. It also helps you know that someone has your back if you have to tackle a kid into the street so they don’t get hit by a truck.

[Anonymous]

Reading this thread does remind me of how exhausting working in a classroom where students eloped was. Even in the most supportive/restrictive setting it was never enough. If one staff member was out we were screwed. Being on such high alert really takes a toll on your mind and body. I loved teaching the population but just couldn’t continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were ACPS I would agree to a private placement immediately. This parent knows her daughter is not being served well at the school and wants a move. Saves everyone time and attorney fees. Just do it.

Unacceptable to just sweep this under the rug. They need an entire rework of training and protocols for the entire school. I hope whoever audits them for this holds them accountable for fixing the big picture.