Reposted from an LJ community

[kisekileia]

I'm reposting the following because I think it's an important thing for a lot of people who read my LJ to read, and I want to encourage everyone to PLEASE donate to the family this concerns. I'll link to the donate button at the bottom of the post. Here goes

Comments

[dustyfro]

That's crap. I don't know how they do it in Arkansas, but in my county, all special education aids are trained to use restraints (holds, not like handcuffs) in ways that keep the staff and the student safe. And they're designed to get the child to move on their own to a safe area, not to corner them and hold them down. Everyone knows that if you throw yourself in the path of a child in crisis mode, you getting hurt is your own damn fault. You can get worker's comp for injuries, but getting bit and hit is a matter of how close you chose to get in those situations.

[kisekileia]

And that's how it should be--clearly not how it was in this situation.

[indy_md]

it's the journalist in me but that's a biased account/article and even if i had money i wouldn't be able to donate until i had heard both sides of the story.

[kisekileia]

Fair enough. I'm sure the other side is that the staff thought he was a physical threat to them and believed in "holding him accountable for his actions", but that's not an appropriate way to treat a student who is acting out due to a disability rather than for antisocial reasons. The staff probably felt unsafe, but the school had neglected to take suggested measures that would have made it possible for the staff to be safe.

[integritysinger]

well, with a son on the autism spectrum who is manageable at home but recently missed a suspension because his principal is a thinking man that knows my kid has needs and with a daughter with severe mental health issues that is in a mental institution, I'm afraid my opinion on this subject is not going to agree with most people!

[kisekileia]

*nod*