10 year old with autism bullied by teacher/aide

[curt81]

This is terrible. Bullying will not be tolerated!

[danielzmom]

i didnt watch the youtube video but i read this in the news..it's really disgusting ..those teachers are really pathetic and should get jail time..i do believe that teachers' bullying and gossiping happen everywhere and everyday not just in NJ!

[Snow Queen]

Innapropriate and I expect they have lost their job. I really wonder why some people choose to work in positions that they don't care for. If you are a bully and heartless you should not be in the teaching profession.

[K8's Fate]

As a teacher, I find the behaviour of the teacher and aids appalling. I'm disgusted that those individuals dare to call themselves educators. I've taught children with moderate to severe forms of Autism, and am sickened to hear of the mistreatment of this man's son. This boy is lucky to have such a strong advocate for his needs in his father. I've been blessed in my career to work with truly caring individuals. I'm also very lucky to have a strong administration (Principal) who would not tolerate this behaviour, and who is so aware of the happenings of our school that this behaviour would never be allowed to occur in the first place.

[glowworm2k]

It's sad to say, but I don't think this is an isolated case. I know that there's a lot of bullying in the teaching profession. My sister (a teacher) has been bullied by her colleagues (at multiple schools in many ways), and my mother tells me how some of the aides in her special needs class sometimes come up with derogatory nicknames for kids with developmental disabilities (one aide calls a child whose movements and thought processes are dramaticaly slowed "Turbo" for example). While I get that some of the things my Mom recounts to me come out of the stress of working with children with very high and complex needs, I still see it as being disrespectful to the children who deserve to have teachers who are their supporters and advocates, especially as the other school children can often be so cruel

[hollyquaiscer]

I too was sickened when I first heard about this. Why oh why would someone choose to work with children if they have absolutely no patience and seemingly could care less about the future of these children. Having worked with children (only in a high school setting) with disabilitiey) my heart breaks when I see this. Jail is the only solution for these people!

[gspmamma]

This makes me sick. Having one son with ADHD and Autism and another son who is Developmentally Disabled I worry all the time about how they are treated at school. One is in a main stream class for now and one is in a special needs class.

My one son has had an E.A that is a bully. I had to tell her off more than once about how she treats my son. When that didn't work I went to the school board. She was with holding migraine medication from him one day just because he refused to eat. (she had stressed him out that day so bad that it caused the migraine and he never eats when he gets them because he can throw up) She got a royal earful but that was it. She is still in the class being a total *****. So glad he will not be with her next year as he will be going to high school. And yes this is a special needs class.

I will say there are some great E.A's and teachers out there that do care. But it is the bad apples that need to be given the boot.

[saveadollardiva]

This makes me just sick to my stomach. I have a cousin who has autism and if anything like this every happened to him I would just freak out! These children should be the teachers number one goal of making sure they get the best education they can give them to help them grow. I am happy the teachers lost their jobs!

[barginbin-barbie]

Well. No wonder the school's can't enforce Zero tolerance for bullying. I pray this was a isolated case and it's not going on in other schools. But somehow I doubt it. I wonder where Cherry Hill is. If it is worth everyone posting this on their Facebook . Where the world is much smaller. Everyone knows someone. Make sure their dirty little secret is exposed. My disabled son had a excellent teacher . She went above and beyond to make sure they benefited from being in school and had positive experiences. When my son asked if he could try a "normal" class for math because he wanted to try and get out from under the special needs label. The teacher tried. But it created suck a political fuss. In the meeting this teacher resigned. It was like she was actually bullied by the other teachers and their rules for trying to hard and she gave up. She cried we cried and he never got to go in the "normal" class

[abbasgirl]

Good for him for getting to the bottom of what was going on.
Sadly, I wasn't totally shocked by anything I heard on the video. When I was going for my DSW, I spent a semester in a special needs classroom for a placement. I didn't hear any of the language that I heard on the tape, but the tone was definitely there. Most of the teachers and E.A.s were good, but some had been there too long. I saw similar stuff in group homes.
I haven't worked in the school system since.

[DaveP]

Just horrific. Thank God he has a good father going to bat for him.

[Lynn49]

I was going to say, "unbelievable!" but having read posts here, I guess it's not so unbelievable, at that.
So pathetically sad, and yes, thank God for his Dad!

[couponclippercaitie]

I was completely disgusted when I read this. I work at a day-centre for adults with special needs, and this is just appalling. I can never imagine speaking to any of my clients in that way or talking inappropriately in front of them! Just because they can't communicate the same way we do, doesn't mean they can't understand us!

It's really frustrating because we struggle and struggle to earn trust from families and to recieve funding for programs, IMO this makes everyone in the field look bad! Also, HOW DOES THIS TEACHER STILL HAVE A JOB!?!

[couponclippercaitie]

I do agree about group homes. It's not that there isn't enough regulation in the homes, it's that there's so few group homes (especially level 3's, 4's, and 4+'s), that even if there is a violation, shutting the home down isn't an option because there is no other place for these individuals to go...

Good for him for getting to the bottom of what was going on.
Sadly, I wasn't totally shocked by anything I heard on the video. When I was going for my DSW, I spent a semester in a special needs classroom for a placement. I didn't hear any of the language that I heard on the tape, but the tone was definitely there. Most of the teachers and E.A.s were good, but some had been there too long. I saw similar stuff in group homes.
I haven't worked in the school system since.

[marstec]

That was really disturbing to watch. No doubt, the school board thought that firing the teacher would be the end of it. I can see why the father made the video and broadcast it on YouTube. I wonder if the teaching credentials and screening are different in the States, this seems like such a severe case.

I think there is potential for abuse when individuals are responsible for vulnerable people in our society, this includes children, elderly and persons with special needs. All people should be accountable for their actions, but it seems even more important in this situation. My mother-in-law was shocked at the behaviour of some staff at a nursing home when (during a nursing strike), she helped care for a relative. One hopes that there are proper screening processes in place that would reject those individuals that are not suited for the job.

I have a bit of a unique perspective because I've subbed in a classroom for autistic children. I will share a few comments: There are different levels of autism, so we can't lump all autistic children into one group. Teachers and educational assistants have a close-working relationship because they are in a constant high-alert situation. There are autistic children who throw chairs across the room, hit their caregivers, run away at the first chance, etc, and it's not from bullying by the teacher.

It is a different learning environment than a traditional classroom: there are more adults present, which leads to more casual conversation, but the overall expectations of respectful treatment should be the same. It's not a cake walk working in these classrooms, but they can be very rewarding.