Parents of Churchill HS Student with Autism Sue After Child is Restrained, Put in Handcuffs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if the kid was actually going to hurt the supervising and driving adults - what should they do? Just because he has autism does not mean he was not also acting in a dangerous or threatening manner.

+1.

OP is a loonie.

It's spelled looney, you ignoramus. Sorry you don't feel children with special needs have the right to be treated with dignity and served by trained professionals. Perhaps you should take your highly educated comment to Bethesda Magazine which reported on this concerning incident.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mother-says-autistic-son-was-restrained-put-in-handcuffs-after-episode-on-school-bus/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if the kid was actually going to hurt the supervising and driving adults - what should they do? Just because he has autism does not mean he was not also acting in a dangerous or threatening manner.

+1.

OP is a loonie.

It's spelled looney, you ignoramus. Sorry you don't feel children with special needs have the right to be treated with dignity and served by trained professionals. Perhaps you should take your highly educated comment to Bethesda Magazine which reported on this concerning incident.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mother-says-autistic-son-was-restrained-put-in-handcuffs-after-episode-on-school-bus/

+1 PP can catastrophize about "what ifs" for which there are no evidence all they want, but the fact remains that a disabled kid was cuffed and restrained because of his disability. That should concern anyone concerned about vulnerable kids.

[Anonymous]

He was not restrained because of his disability. He was restrained because of his actions on the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was not restrained because of his disability. He was restrained because of his actions on the bus.

His disabilities caused his actions on the bus. A neurotypical kid wouldn't react that way because of noise. If he shouldn't have been on the bus, that's the fault of Churchill for putting him in a situation that he couldn't handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was not restrained because of his disability. He was restrained because of his actions on the bus.

The child is autistic. His actions were consistent with the type of disability he has.

Anyone trained in Special Education would know that yelling at a child having a meltdown would make the child’s behavior worse. There should have been 2 professionals on the bus - the bus driver and a paraeducator. The paraeducator is there to meet the child’s needs while the driver drives the bus. The paraeducator should have been the one figuring out what the child was trying to communicate.

[Anonymous]

I have worked with younger students who have Autism and who are non-verbal. Unless you have seen the tantrums that children with that combination can have, you may not understand what an intense, scary situation it presents. It is much, much different than a typical child having a tantrum! I cannot imagine trying to deal with a high school age child, on a bus, who is raging; it would pose a safety issue for everyone on that bus!

Every special ed teacher or paraeducator I know (and I know dozens) has been bitten, kicked, punched, hit, slapped, or knocked down by a student. Often, they end up having to have physical therapy for injuries -- and I am talking about injuries caused by elementary-age students! The ones who have worked with middle and high school students always have scars and can tell you stories that will make you wonder how they can continue going to work every day. Dealing with special ed students is not an easy job! It is dangerous! And despite any training one can be given, it will always be dangerous!


I think before you all make judgements, you should wait for the facts of the case to come out and not be so quick to assume wrongdoing. Unless you have been in a similar situation, you have NO IDEA of how you would react!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He was not restrained because of his disability. He was restrained because of his actions on the bus.

The child is autistic. His actions were consistent with the type of disability he has.

Anyone trained in Special Education would know that yelling at a child having a meltdown would make the child’s behavior worse. There should have been 2 professionals on the bus - the bus driver and a paraeducator. The paraeducator is there to meet the child’s needs while the driver drives the bus. The paraeducator should have been the one figuring out what the child was trying to communicate.

There is an aide on special ed buses, to help with the students, and they usually do have some understanding of the students who ride with them. Having a paraeducator on the bus vs. an aide would not necessarily have prevented this issue, because unless the para was in the classroom with the student on a regular basis, they may not understand why the student was upset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have worked with younger students who have Autism and who are non-verbal. Unless you have seen the tantrums that children with that combination can have, you may not understand what an intense, scary situation it presents. It is much, much different than a typical child having a tantrum! I cannot imagine trying to deal with a high school age child, on a bus, who is raging; it would pose a safety issue for everyone on that bus!

Every special ed teacher or paraeducator I know (and I know dozens) has been bitten, kicked, punched, hit, slapped, or knocked down by a student. Often, they end up having to have physical therapy for injuries -- and I am talking about injuries caused by elementary-age students! The ones who have worked with middle and high school students always have scars and can tell you stories that will make you wonder how they can continue going to work every day. Dealing with special ed students is not an easy job! It is dangerous! And despite any training one can be given, it will always be dangerous!


I think before you all make judgements, you should wait for the facts of the case to come out and not be so quick to assume wrongdoing. Unless you have been in a similar situation, you have NO IDEA of how you would react!!

+100

[Anonymous]

I agree let's wait for more details. We have no idea of the size and weight of this kid versus the para or aide who could have been a tiny woman. Let's be honest kids are no longer "regular" size anymore. You have more than half of the American population overweight....throw in height and it could be a nightmare situation for all involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He was not restrained because of his disability. He was restrained because of his actions on the bus.

The child is autistic. His actions were consistent with the type of disability he has.

Anyone trained in Special Education would know that yelling at a child having a meltdown would make the child’s behavior worse. There should have been 2 professionals on the bus - the bus driver and a paraeducator. The paraeducator is there to meet the child’s needs while the driver drives the bus. The paraeducator should have been the one figuring out what the child was trying to communicate.

+1 This. The paraeducator was clearly not qualified. The school is bearing the ramification of not having properly trained staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree let's wait for more details. We have no idea of the size and weight of this kid versus the para or aide who could have been a tiny woman. Let's be honest kids are no longer "regular" size anymore. You have more than half of the American population overweight....throw in height and it could be a nightmare situation for all involved.

Or maybe the kid was an amateur award winning boxer... Or maybe the bus driver was in a wheelchair...

Stop trying to invent excuses and blame the victim and recognize that MCPS has room to improve how it supports kids with special needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree let's wait for more details. We have no idea of the size and weight of this kid versus the para or aide who could have been a tiny woman. Let's be honest kids are no longer "regular" size anymore. You have more than half of the American population overweight....throw in height and it could be a nightmare situation for all involved.

Or maybe the kid was an amateur award winning boxer... Or maybe the bus driver was in a wheelchair...

Stop trying to invent excuses and blame the victim and recognize that MCPS has room to improve how it supports kids with special needs.

Did you even read the article?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree let's wait for more details. We have no idea of the size and weight of this kid versus the para or aide who could have been a tiny woman. Let's be honest kids are no longer "regular" size anymore. You have more than half of the American population overweight....throw in height and it could be a nightmare situation for all involved.

This

[Anonymous]

Well what are they supposed to do? Just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they get to be a danger to themselves and others. They clearly thought it was a legitimate safety concern or they wouldn't have immediately called the police.

They ALSO have a right to protect themselves and an obligation to do whatever they can to protect the other students. They are also special needs students who might react in different ways to an out of control situation on the bus.

It's different if they were hitting him or if they had immediately restrained him due to his disability when he first entered the bus. But just restraining him until police get there after he started to have a physical outburst? Clearly very reasonable and appropriate behavior.

[Anonymous]

Why did she put him on the bus when he was "stressed and uneasy" seems like setting the kid up for failure.