Washington School Accused of Putting Autistic Boy's Desk in Bathroom as 'Quiet Learning Space'

A Washington middle school has been criticized for allegedly planning to seat a student with autism and an auto-immune disorder inside a bathroom.

Danielle Goodwyn said her sixth-grade son Lucas, 11, needs a quiet environment to study as his condition can be triggered by loud noises. But she was shocked to find out the faculty's solution when she visited his classroom in the Whatcom Middle School on Monday.

According to a photo taken by the child's mother, shared with local media outlet KCPQ, his desk was placed over the top of a toilet, and his chair was in close proximity to the sink. The woman also claimed that staff put down a camping mat on the floor to sleep on if he needed to nap.

The teacher reportedly told the concerned mother there was no other option for the child.

"It's not an appropriate place for anyone, but especially for Lucas with his PANDAS condition, he can't be around germs. That's something that can really affect his body," the mother hit back, speaking to KOMO News."It smelled and just the thought of my son working his school day away in a bathroom was disturbing to me."

The child has reportedly been taken out of the school for now and has said he does not want to return. The student told KCPQ the situation with the proposed seating plan left him feeling scared, saying: "I thought this was going to be where I was for the rest of the year."

A representative for Bellingham Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson told KOMO News that space in the middle school was limited and confirmed that a complaint had been filed with administrators on Thursday morning.

Everyone can get their flame throwers ready---WHY is a child who clearly cannot DEAL with everyday daily situations placed in them?? They cannot cope-THAT is child abuse! If anyone needs a virtual isolation tank to function, you do NOT throw them into a situation where they stand out as 'special' forcing everyone else to adapt to them. It's like putting a paraplegic into ballet school! They do NOT have the ability, they ARE going to be frustrated and being the only disabled person in the room isn't going to be cured by pretending it's good for them.
Someone tell me how being put in a situation you cannot handle is beneficial, or how having to be there but separated visually, audibly or physically does anything other than hurt the disabled child. Medical and psychological handicaps cannot be magically cured by pretending they don't exist. Normal is not transmissible by association.
It's like putting a kid in a pedal car in the Indy 500-tragic.

OMG!!! The idiots could not set up ONE table for him in the school library??? And rather than train a librarian assistant to help him out, they’d have no one assigned to the rest room!!! Those who dreamed up the idea should be “kicked out of school”.

While in the general sense yes, autism, ADHD, and excessive-compulsive diagnosis have expanded by what symptoms and conditions now can qualify those problems, but in specific terms autism is a real, not a made-up problem that differs from outright mental impairment by physical brain defect.

In spite of the difficulties and individual case issues, by a certain age controlled socializing is part of behavior treatment that can often help a child overcome the worst results of their autism. Sending all such kids to classrooms well only such kids are present, can be like sending a nearly sane person to an insane asylum - not “therapeutic”, just more depressing than real life with all its struggles with “normal” people. Autism rarely improves in such conditions. And “homeschooling”? No parent should accept that idea before first getting a lot of training for it and a lot of soul searching about whether they are strong enough to take it on. It takes more than loving understanding, few parents are trained and just as many are not strong enough for the “tough love” parts that training the autistic has to have.

Until we quit confiscating tax money for schools and refusing to give EVERY parent 100% free choice of where their kid’s portion of that revenue ought to be spent, then yes, I think public schools and their budgets have to accommodate appropriate educational opportunity for the autistic child, and a restroom in now way can be part of that.

When parents are finally given vouchers (twice a year) that equal 100% of the federal, state and local per K-12 student share of revenue dedicated K-12 education, to pay for ANY (whatsoever ANY) school of their choice, THEN the parents of autistic kids will learn on their own which schools are better for them, and chose them.

Schools make a bundle off special needs kids. They want them in the school.

They may get compensated for some or all of the extra expense involved with dealing with a special needs kid. The fact is public schools are obligated to providing an appropriate education for every child who lives in the district.

Depending on the severity of the child’s condition, the schools must provide education for 12 months instead of 9 and they are obligated to provide it until age 21 rather than 18. If the school cannot physically provide for the child, the district must pay for a facility that can. This obligation takes first priority. If the district has to lay off four regular classroom teachers to provide for one kid, they legally have to do it.

School’s financial nightmares are (and they can’t admit it of course): a large trailer park opening up—lots of kids and no property tax revenue and severely disabled kids moving into the district.

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