Ever ok for school to videotape ASD meltdowns?

[Anonymous]

Today my child’s special education teacher suggested that — with my permission — she might videotape my ASD child’s meltdowns so that I could see some of the behaviors that my child exhibits at school, that might differ from what we see at home. We refused on the basis of privacy concerns, and our special education teacher accepted this and didn’t press further.

But the request still strikes me as odd. Which gets to my subject line — is it ever okay for a school to videotape a child’s ASD meltdowns? (Not that it’s relevant to my question, but my child is in upper elementary school, highly verbal and intelligent, and definitely old enough to be aware of someone videotaping her while in heightened distress. And of course that does not begin to address the possibility of such a video being circulated over time, including one day to social media. At least, these fears are part of why we did not give permission.)

[Anonymous]

I think it's appropriate for a school to videotape any behavior from a single child with the parents' permission, especially if they think it would help for the parent to see things in a different way.

If they're offering to do this additional work, I'd also see it as a strong indication that I'm completely delusional about my child, their abilities and/or how difficult they are on a daily basis.

And personally, I'd be focussed more on helping my child than being worried about anything 'being circulated' on social media. If you're in denial, you aren't helping your child. You should care more about that than your reputation.

[Anonymous]

I'm all for teachers being observant and reflective. There are multiple ways to collect information, not only videotape. Also, the lead up to the meltdown can be more instructive than the meltdown itself. Videotape would be instructive in terms of what the teacher was saying/doing, as well as the student.

[Anonymous]

Of course it's ok. It is simply another way of collecting and sharing information.

[Anonymous]

No, what happens to it after you see it?

[Anonymous]

How are the at home meltdowns vs what they're telling you they see at school?

[Anonymous]

What type of behaviors is the school reporting are happening during the meltdown?
Yes, I can think of multiple instances where it may be appropriate to tape with parental approval

[Anonymous]

Yes it's appropriate with permission. I would absolutely want to see it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it sounds needed. You must be describing a different child at home and they need you see with your eyes what they experience. If you have a behaviorist who works with your kid or a psychiatrist, show it to that person too. They can use it for teaching purposes or "cireculate" without your permission and if they did you would easily win a huge lawsuit so no worries about that.

[Anonymous]

Not really, because I don't think it would be useful, and it indicates that they are viewing "behaviors" in isolation and not as a response to something. The suggestion would make me very concerned that they don't have a good understanding of managing behaviors.

I suppose it could make sense if for some reason you are disagreeing with them about the severity of her behavior?

Otherwise, random videotaping does not seem to have any therepeutic or educational purpose. If they are struggling with her behavior they need to do an FBA and gather data comprehensively; not just a contextless snippet of the child in the middle of their worst behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it sounds needed. You must be describing a different child at home and they need you see with your eyes what they experience. If you have a behaviorist who works with your kid or a psychiatrist, show it to that person too. They can use it for teaching purposes or "cireculate" without your permission and if they did you would easily win a huge lawsuit so no worries about that.

NP. Your view is ncredbly childish and shallow. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it sounds needed. You must be describing a different child at home and they need you see with your eyes what they experience. If you have a behaviorist who works with your kid or a psychiatrist, show it to that person too. They can use it for teaching purposes or "cireculate" without your permission and if they did you would easily win a huge lawsuit so no worries about that.

NP. Your view is ncredbly childish and shallow. Wow.

NP. I don't understand what you mean.

[Anonymous]

I agree that under the circumstances you describe, parental permission and for purposes of providing additional information so as to hopefully be able to better help your daughter, it would be appropriate. It sounds like you don’t have a good handle on what is going on. I would probably discuss it if it was something my child could understand. I think your social media concern is a bit over the top.

[Anonymous]

....oh, you're only interested in 'ASD' meltdowns, not meltdowns kids with other disabilities have. Sorry, then, I've got nothing to offer you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really, because I don't think it would be useful, and it indicates that they are viewing "behaviors" in isolation and not as a response to something. The suggestion would make me very concerned that they don't have a good understanding of managing behaviors.

I suppose it could make sense if for some reason you are disagreeing with them about the severity of her behavior?

Otherwise, random videotaping does not seem to have any therepeutic or educational purpose. If they are struggling with her behavior they need to do an FBA and gather data comprehensively; not just a contextless snippet of the child in the middle of their worst behavior.

Totally agree with this. Videotaping just the meltdown alone is not productive. The really important thing is to understand what is leading up to the meltdowns. This should be the focus of conversation first, looking at both what teacher is doing and what student is doing and classroom environment leading up to meltdown. Teacher should be journaling this in order to see pattern over time.

The only thing to be concerned about once the meltdown has started is whether school is managing it in a way that minimizes the extent. I don't think videotaping helps with this either, because once videotaping, the behavior of teacher changes. I have often seen in my kid's school, which has an ED program, that teachers actually do things that increase the meltdown instead of diffuse it.

Very big red flag that teacher is focusing on this rather than FBA and gathering more data to see broader pattern.

Also totally agree with OP's concern that once videotaped, OP has very little control over who sees. Yes, there is FERPA and IDEA privacy protections, but OP has NO control over who within the school system sees it and no control over whether someone might use it inappropriately.