The behavior of this teacher is appalling. Granted, one child should never be allowed to disrupt the entire class. Furthermore, as a specialized teacher who has taught a number of Asperger’s kids, I can assure you that it takes a lot of skill to be able to successfully teach children with this disorder. Obviously, this teacher was in over her head, at the end of her rope, and lacked the skills to work with this child. That certainly doesn’t excuse her actions.
Hopefully, the parents will be able to find a private school for special needs children. This kiddo will probably never be able to function in a class of 24 kids but could handle a small class setting with teachers who know how to address his behavioral and academic needs.
Thank you...this is one of the most reasoned responses on this thread.
...However, Alex had apparently been disrupting the entire class since January, and the teacher, parents and administration had been unable to find a solution to this problem (which seems to have also occured at Alex's last school).
Furthermore, as a specialized teacher who has taught a number of Asperger’s kids, I can assure you that it takes a lot of skill to be able to successfully teach children with this disorder. Obviously, this teacher was in over her head, at the end of her rope, and lacked the skills to work with this child. That certainly doesn’t excuse her actions.
Okay, the teacher didn't have your specialized skills, and she also had a class full of "normal" kids in addition to Alex. She shouldn't have done what she did, but what should she have done? It sounds as if she had used just about every trick in her bag...