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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

The article didn't specify if the child was riding the bus to school or riding the bus home from school.

The mother put him on the bus if she was able to notice her child was “stressed and uneasy.”

She didn't say she was the one who noticed the behavior. Reread the article.

Then how is she making that claim? He’s nonverbal. It didn’t say someone told her that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the parents should consider homeschooling for a while.

Maybe you should learn something about the mandate to provide children with a Free and Appropriate public education before writing stupid posts.

Maybe you should learn something about the rights of all children in that bus and that school to be safe before writing stupid posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Agree.

What do you suggest, that they return the kid home?

If you had actually read the article, then you would know the mother said her child was already “stressed and uneasy.” She should’ve kept him home instead of sending her child to school in that mindset.

I have students who are "stressed and uneasy" on the bus or at school 3-5 days per week. Their parents send them because they have to work. I leave at my contract hours because I have to care for my family. It's a difficult situation for everyone and they often isn't an easy solution or good backup plans (because their are days when several kids are needing extra assistance and there is not enough staff)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the parents should consider homeschooling for a while.

Maybe you should learn something about the mandate to provide children with a Free and Appropriate public education before writing stupid posts.

Maybe you should learn something about the rights of all children in that bus and that school to be safe before writing stupid posts.

If the school thinks the child is a danger they can make arrangements for a different transportation arrangement or a different school altogether. But they didn't. If they made the wrong determination, that's the fault of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!!

I messed up the formatting

I absolutely agree with this. It seems like every year we get more and more intense behavioral issues, with larger class sizes/ case loads and no increase in staffing. It's a difficult, dangerous job and I don't feel like the school districts care much about my safety or the children's. over half of the people I started with have left special education in less than a decade. I don't even know if more money and training would keep good people in the profession. It's just so exhausting.

I have a pal who taught in the Churchill bridge program for years. It was both dangerous and exhausting. Teachers are trained in CPI restraint. Of course, you move from least to most, which means you move up the methods ladder as the behavior escalates. But when a students goes from 0 to 10 in a matter of seconds, you jump to restraint to protect the other students and if you're lucky, yourself. Sadly, many teachers end up getting hurt themselves in order to protect others.

no thanks! Teachers and other staff members in education have lives outside of the classroom. If you end up hurt, so does your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Agree.

What do you suggest, that they return the kid home?

Do you really think that Someone who is supposedly has training in special needs shouldn’t have a backup plan for when a kid has a bad day? This incident should not have escalated in this way.

Are you asserting that every escalation, every single one for every kid, can be avoided every time if you say and do the right things?

That's magical thinking. Most? Yes. Every? No guarantee.

[Anonymous]

"If the school thinks the child is a danger they can make arrangements for a different transportation arrangement or a different school altogether. But they didn't. If they made the wrong determination, that's the fault of MCPS."

Except making different transportation arrangements costs money so someone has to make the call when enough is enough because there will never be enough money, even in MC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Agree.

What do you suggest, that they return the kid home?

Do you really think that Someone who is supposedly has training in special needs shouldn’t have a backup plan for when a kid has a bad day? This incident should not have escalated in this way.

Are you asserting that every escalation, every single one for every kid, can be avoided every time if you say and do the right things?

That's magical thinking. Most? Yes. Every? No guarantee.

Where are you reading that someone said every escalation could be avoided? You are making that up. However, this seems like a pretty typical breakdown of an autistic kid being anxious and a paraprofessional doing things that made him worse (screaming, trying to restrain him.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"If the school thinks the child is a danger they can make arrangements for a different transportation arrangement or a different school altogether. But they didn't. If they made the wrong determination, that's the fault of MCPS."

Except making different transportation arrangements costs money so someone has to make the call when enough is enough because there will never be enough money, even in MC.

So you're saying that the MCPS made the determination that the kid isn't dangerous enough for MCPS to bother spending a negligible amount to transport him in a different way? Again, if that's the case, MCPS is at at fault, because a lawsuit such as this one is going to cost far more money than a special transportation arrangement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

The article didn't specify if the child was riding the bus to school or riding the bus home from school.

The mother put him on the bus if she was able to notice her child was “stressed and uneasy.”

She didn't say she was the one who noticed the behavior. Reread the article.

Then how is she making that claim? He’s nonverbal. It didn’t say someone told her that.

The article doesn't say how the mother is making the claim. It did say that there's video evidence from the bus. The video would capture the student boarding the bus. There also may be statements from teachers or other staff especially if the child had problems at school that day.

[Anonymous]

I think the video evidence will be key.

Years ago, my daughter was in the hallway at Churchill and she was hit in the face for no reason by a child in the Bridge program. There were two paraeducators present but it happened so fast that the staff could not restrain the kid. My kid was hit hard enough that she needed medical attention and had a concussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the video evidence will be key.

Years ago, my daughter was in the hallway at Churchill and she was hit in the face for no reason by a child in the Bridge program. There were two paraeducators present but it happened so fast that the staff could not restrain the kid. My kid was hit hard enough that she needed medical attention and had a concussion.

I'm so sorry that happened to your daughter. It is my worst fear as a special educator and a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"If the school thinks the child is a danger they can make arrangements for a different transportation arrangement or a different school altogether. But they didn't. If they made the wrong determination, that's the fault of MCPS."

Except making different transportation arrangements costs money so someone has to make the call when enough is enough because there will never be enough money, even in MC.

So you're saying that the MCPS made the determination that the kid isn't dangerous enough for MCPS to bother spending a negligible amount to transport him in a different way? Again, if that's the case, MCPS is at at fault, because a lawsuit such as this one is going to cost far more money than a special transportation arrangement.

What arrangement do you think they would consider?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"If the school thinks the child is a danger they can make arrangements for a different transportation arrangement or a different school altogether. But they didn't. If they made the wrong determination, that's the fault of MCPS."

Except making different transportation arrangements costs money so someone has to make the call when enough is enough because there will never be enough money, even in MC.

So you're saying that the MCPS made the determination that the kid isn't dangerous enough for MCPS to bother spending a negligible amount to transport him in a different way? Again, if that's the case, MCPS is at at fault, because a lawsuit such as this one is going to cost far more money than a special transportation arrangement.

What do you consider a "negligible amount"? You have no idea how expensive it to provide door to door / school to home transportation for 200 school days (the student probably gets extended school year). It is so hard to know what is going on with a nonverbal student. Maybe he had an ear infection and was getting carsick? Maybe his stomach hurt? Maybe he didn't get his favorite breakfast? Since there is no evidence the bus driver and aide call the police regularly, it probably was an emergency situation. What were they supposed to do? If they didn't call and the student started attacking other students, jumped out of the bus and ran into traffic it would also be their fault. It is a no win situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Agree.

What do you suggest, that they return the kid home?

Do you really think that Someone who is supposedly has training in special needs shouldn’t have a backup plan for when a kid has a bad day? This incident should not have escalated in this way.

Are you asserting that every escalation, every single one for every kid, can be avoided every time if you say and do the right things?

That's magical thinking. Most? Yes. Every? No guarantee.

Where are you reading that someone said every escalation could be avoided? You are making that up. However, this seems like a pretty typical breakdown of an autistic kid being anxious and a paraprofessional doing things that made him worse (screaming, trying to restrain him.)

Read what I quoted, just above my comment. The poster (you or someone else) is stating that a backup plan would have prevented escalation.

What this "seems like" to you -- without any specific evidence you can point to, such as the video which has not been released -- is not the same as certainty. Yet you claim it anyway.