Re: Flashbacks to news article a couple of years ago covering a child with autism bei
Originally Posted by
Lencoboy
I don't know why, but today, all out of the blue, I've been having flashbacks to a news article a couple of years back where a child with autism was locked in a cage at school in Australia (I think), and was absolutely gobsmacked as to how kids with said condition are still treated so inhumanely in the 21st Century, which belongs in Victorian times!
Some autistic kids are locked in rooms, rather than cages now. Or humiliated by taping a sign on their jumper. Or being made to wear a Hi-viz vest to single them out from the other kids. This is in mainstream of course, and all true stories - the locked room being my friend's autistic son!
We were luckier with our son in mainstream. By lucky, I mean that the teachers did their best, but were still woefully under-trained to be able to deal with my son. Instead of having a trained ST - he had a woman whose previous job was a dinner lady at the school and she occasionally helped out as a classroom assistant. She was so out of her depth it was dangerous, and she kept having to go off sick. The last time I was called to the school before the council were forced to do something - was to see a trashed classroom - tables and chairs upturned - stuff all over the floor. My son was standing on a toilet in the bathroom making animal noises and she, the ST, was stood by the exit in tears and shaking. Those of us who understand autism will know why this happened and how lack of the correct training can actually cause these meltdowns.
On another occasion my son was in a side room after he'd had a meltdown and one of his old teachers walked up behind him and touched him on his arm. He smashed the computer. I had to go to the school and explain why you don't touch an autistic child who is in, or coming out of, a meltdown - which is severe anxiety. A touch can feel like a punch in a sensitised body and can flare everything back up again. Then the guilt of damaging school property. We got an apology and the promise not to do it again - but it was always the case that lessons were only ever learned at the expense of my son's mental health.
Within 2 weeks of being at the right school (autism specific) my son's meltdowns had all but ceased and he was actually learning, rather than being 'contained' and singled out as he had been in mainstream.
The damage that untrained teachers do, even unwittingly, with autistic children can be catastrophic.
but sadly there are still certain schools for such children where staff have all kinds of agendas of their own and 'physical restraint' is often the first resort, plus the typical 'treat the symptoms rather than the underlying causes' knee-jerk responses, and coming up with 'blame-game' excuses like 'it's the (Tory) cuts wot made me do it'!!
Abusers will always be drawn to the vulnerable, Len.
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