Autism Awareness: About that 10 year old boy with autism who got taken away in handcuffs…
Over the last couple days, a video about a ten year old boy being arrested for ‘assaulting’ a paraeducator. Read the article, watch the video, please…it’s important. Here it is:
10 Year Old Boy with Autism Arrested
If you’re like most, you reacted with — outrage, umbrage, horror. Or maybe — like some commenters — contrarian, maybe you felt the kid deserved it, the school maligned, more to the story.
I’m not going to debate that. Me — and a lot of parents like me — feel dread. Cause this COULD happen to us. While most of our kids are sweet/passive/lovable. They have their triggers and cannot be ‘calmed’ by the usual social threats or techniques.
Without any doubt, this could be us.
…while this video might seem extreme, it’s not all that ‘rare’. Maybe not common. But I have more than one personal parent-friend, maybe a half-a-dozen who have had ‘cops’ involved. I’ve had many others who have had their kid tied up. Suspended. Locked in a room. Ultimately institutionalized.
In the above case, a paraeducator ‘filed a report’ because they were ‘attacked’. At home, Luke has bit/pinched, and hit his therapists. Probably not too different than what happened to the above paraeductor. Though not often, he’s done the same at his school. Many of his peers have similar incidence.
Luckily, most ‘trained’ special needs professionals get it. They see bad behavior all the time. They run to it. It’s what they signed up for. (I love them)
The problem is — many paraeducators are not trained or have no experience with this population. Paraeducators — who do the lion share of 1-on-1 with special needs kids in public schools — often don’t need full college degrees, don’t get paid near enough, are typically understaffed and under trained(if trained). Aside from the actual ‘in class’ assist, kid’s like Luke need 1-to-1 assistance to get off the bus, find the classroom, stay in their seat without running, find the bathroom, etc, etc. Luke wouldn’t know how to order his lunch and let alone open his Oreos without some assistance. Paras are critical.
Luke’s had some very strong/passionate/caring paras. He’s been insanely lucky in this regard.
Luke is in one of the MOST ‘autism aware’ public school programs in the county. When he first joined the class, all his paras were carefully interviewed and screened. Most of them were college grads or degree-seeking students ontrack to be special needs teachers. Most had prior inclass experience and/or training with kids on the spectrum. The teachers were putting unusual demands on the paras to teach using ABA and implement the specific behavior strategies kids like Luke require. And they got really really good paras.
Last year, due to budget cuts, that stopped. Instead of hiring paras from the outside, the school system had to cycle in paraeducators from the general ‘pool’. People who didn’t have specific training, may not have had any experience with kids on the spectrum, people who may have overreacted to pinching and biting. People who may have made BIG DEALS about incidents. And filed police reports. And threatened the school system. Or whatever.
(btw, Luke lucked out again and got some really great ones. But other kids in his class had their bumps. One even left the school system. )
And I get it…some people aren’t cut out for it. Some people don’t know how to deal with an aggressive non-verbal kid. Some people shrug off a bite or pinch, some people make federal cases of it.
Those people probably should NOT work with aggressive kids with autism. Do something else! Work at a daycare. But to be a special needs superhero — you need to be a bit tough. You need some courage. And then they also need some TRAINING.
Luke won’t wear pants with buttons. I can’t imagine what he’d do if Handcuffed. He can’t sleep outside of his bed without his parents in place…juvenile hall?! This is terrifying. I wish I could say it’s pure fantasy.
Luke occasionally gets aggressive at home — the #1 key to modifying that behavior is to do exactly what most people WOULD NOT DO! You can’t scream. Or jump. Or push him. You have to keep your wits. And not let him know it’s working. He doesn’t react to threats or punishments when he’s angry(he doesn’t get ‘the future’ very well, only ‘the present’). So you have to stay calm and implement a strategy. It’s difficult and requires training and experience to do right. And if you haven’t had that you’re probably going to scream, run, hit-back, restrain, etc.
It’s not just aggressive behaviors either…parents constantly report when educators/programs aren’t up to snuff — their kids lose skills, lose potty-training, get angry at home, etc.
This is NOT the paraeducator’s fault. It’s not the teachers fault. It’s not the principals fault. And it’s not the policeman’s fault.
It’s the system. Many school systems just don’t have the resources to handle even the minimum treatments for some kids. Kids are lumped into classes they shouldn’t be. Paraeducators without training/experience are put with kids already in these bad situations.
Public schooling is a product of the LAW and the BUDGET working hand and hand. Hopefully, school systems ‘do their best’ with their budgets. Often, they ‘do the minimum’, saving their money on expensive individuals for the ‘good of the many’.
When we send Luke to school, we are rolling the dice on so many things. Will he have a good and attentive teacher? Will he have a trained paraeductor? Will the school try to do their best? Or just the minimum and keep the rest secret?
In my last post, I discussed how discrimination among special needs is a big problem. If you read the comments of the video post (never read the comments, right?), you can see people blaming the kid, blaming the parents. I even saw a commenter say “What if the headline said ‘Disruptive kid arrested’ would anyone care?”
I think they would. No one wants to see a 10 year old kid in handcuffs taken from his mother and stuffed in the back of a cop car.
Secondly, if you think Autism == Disruptive Kid…this awareness thing is failing. And I deeply fear for my son. And no amount of “BLUE LIGHTS’ is going to change this.
I don’t think all the special needs parents working together are going to change this either. I don’t think we’re loud enough. We’re too busy chasing our kids around grocery stores and battling school systems about IEPs.
I think we need help from the outside. Politicians, school executives…and you…look for your own opportunities to help. To step up. To step in.
The teachers and paraeducators, I’ve met really care. I think we need more of them, like the ones Luke has, that aren’t just educators but advocaters. Kids like Luke really don’t know how to stand up for themselves. Schools need to be filled with people who are fighting for his rights and making sure he’s in a situation that makes sense.
This video is VERY real. And while I normally like to end on an up note or optimism…in this case, my best hope is faith and luck.
And you…whoever you are…
