6-Year-Old Autistic Student Criminally Charged After Alleged Assault

Oh PUHLEEZ, you cannot convict a mentally deficient 6 year old of ANYTHING. This is a waste of time. The problem is with the schools placing the child among the other children. He is no more responsible for his actions then a 5 week old puppy would be for taking a leak on the floor.

How about a bit of common sense.

[This “teacher” should not be in charge of autistic kids.]

It’s not like the socialists make it optional.

[She’s not competent with them. Simple as that.]

Wrong. The child is not competent to be in the classroom. The parents should fix the child before inflicting it upon others.

Thank goodness. But you only answered my first question, not the second.

[You don’t know much about autistic children, do you?]

They are dysfunctional and other children should not be subjected to their problems.

Unfortunately, this is probably the only route the teacher’s aide has available to try to get this uncontrollable “special” child out of the regular school and into an institution that’s really equipped to deal with this sort of thing.

Mentally impaired people require a controlled environment if they prove unable to cope in mainstream society. The reaction here is unbelievable. Okay, so the 6 year old kid is autistic, but the people trying to criminalize him are certifiably insane.

My best friend has a child who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. He is only slightly autistic. Before he was ever diagnosed, I had him in a group of other boys his age. He was not violent but there was no way he would ever learn anything from the other children. He sat tucked up and would not speak or react to anyone, not even me, and he had known me and my son for eight years. Before this day, he had never behaved in any way that seemed out of place. But then he was not a violent one.

There are some who are always violent, but most will "Act out" when over stimulated, and there are some so wrapped up in their own world that they are all but inert socially.

If there is training for teachers and their aides, they need to be provided with it.

All the teachers in my son's school have had this training, even the ones who are not in main streaming classrooms, the teachers love it because just having the certification means extra money in their paycheck.

It does not matter what the child’s situation is, no other student should be subjected to a child who exhibits violent behavior.

So you never go into / witnessed a fight in school, I'm sorry my BS meter broke on that one.

It may be wonderful for the single child with the problem to be among normal children, but it is not right for a normal child on the receiving end of a violent child’s behavior.

I know you are trying to be reasonable, but you aren't making sense here, do you know how much time is wasted at a public school on purpose? I am not talking about a child who hits someone every day, but rather once a month, lots of "normal" children do that. You seem to be labeling this child as a way of not dealing with him as a person, that is not a good way to take care of him, or a good example to the other children at the school.

There is one thing I know about autistics, they are not all the same, they don’t react the same and they should not all be treated the same.

They are indeed all different, just like everybody else... So there normal?

I don’t believe that all autistic children should be held apart from others, just those who deal with people violently.

Define Violently, is it hitting someone once a month? A year, a week a day an hour? Please define your label so i will know what you are talking about for you seem to have some specific criteria for this word that I am not privy to.

Oh, and for the record, when my son was diagnosed, the psychiatrist diagnosed me too, mild autism, so If I don't get the word give me a break, at least I am not violent (I think, still waiting for the definition you use to be sure). Some slightly autistic children can be main streamed with little trouble.

Again, you have no idea, nothing about being, or dealing with an autistic child is "Little trouble".

With guidance, some others may be able to be main streamed. But none who are violent should be main streamed. It is not fair to the other children. If they can be taught non violent ways of expression then they may be main streamed.

Having volunteered at the Carmen B Pingree School for Autistic Children (required of all parents with a child there) I have dealt with hundreds of Autistic children, from mild to severe, and *all* of them can be trained to express themselves in non violent ways and almost all of them have a bad day when they act out.

You say your child likes watching cartoons. Perhaps someone can develop a program utilizing television, maybe even using cartoons, that show them the proper way to behave. Once they learn that, then perhaps the violent ones can be slowly main streamed into a class of normal children.

Such programs exist, I have some and trade them with some of the other parents, but even though I cut off cable, he still gets exposed to "Normal" cartoons, and that's not all bad, I want him to relate to society.

This blanket ‘all should be accepted’ into a normal class or ‘all should be rejected’ is not right or helpful.

I do not remember this being stated anywhere in this thread, and it is certainly not my position. However, the "They should not be allowed to be around normal children" sentiment. Autistic children were also called "retards" on this thread and I hope you will excuse any over reaction on my part, but that makes me mad.

Each child should be evaluated on an individual basis.

It's called an IEP or Individual Education Plan, and it's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for any autistic child and may or may not include main streaming based on the child's progress.

This particular child has shown that he has difficulty in a regular classroom.

Let me quote from the story

"[She believes] you need to take him behind the woodshed and teach him something," Cathy Darnell, said. "That is her mentality, beat it out of him."

I wonder where this kid learned to be violent? maybe he was taught by his teacher. If this is true (and i have no way of knowing) no wonder "Johnny" went ballistic. Whether the teacher’s aide needed to be trained, or the child was not ready to be main streamed, now is for the court to say.

All the court is going to say is whether or not the family gets to keep their son. The teacher's aide is not on trial, and maybe she should be.

If more attention was paid to these children as individuals fewer people would have to go through these unfortunate situations.

The only way to work with an autistic child is individually, they have to progress pretty far before you can work with them in groups.

I know it must be difficult for you. Though autism has been around for some time, the number of children to have autism has exploded of late. The systems have not yet developed to handle all of these autistic individuals. Whether it be doctors, medical insurance, or the school system, there just does not seem to be any easy answers for families who have to deal with autism. I have seen my dear friend struggle with this as her son was not diagnosed until he was almost eighteen. I pray for her and her family regularly. I will be praying for you as well.

Thank you, I know I am probably coming off here as militant, forgive any offense, for non is intended, this is however, a bug red button for me. (Big and red because people push it all the time so it's sore, grin) I appreciate your attempt to understand, and again, apologize for any offense, but people need to understand that these are people we are talking about, not animals, and they need to be treated with the same respect you would want to be treated with when you get old.

I am going to tell a story, so you (I hope) can feel my heart break, this is a true story, but I will of course change the names of people in it.

While I was driving my son up to the bus stop for the Carmen B Pingree School in Salt Lake City (Hereafter the School) I had a woman who I met while waiting for the bus to arrive She had just started at the school, and while her son Jack was a year older than my son, he looked like his brother, and he was very much like my son in skills when he first arrived at the school (Non verbal, repetitive behaviors, extreme intelligence about things mechanical). Because I felt this connection through our sons, and she seemed discouraged, I often talked to her about what it took to get my son to the point he was at now. (verbal, friendly generally obedient, and even starting to be social, even potty trained - believe it or not that one is really hard) She and her husband had to go on a trip, so since I was the only parent she knew, she asked if I could take her son up to the bus stop while they were gone for two weeks. I agreed. When I picked Jack up for the first time, I was told, "Oh, he does not stay buckled in the car." I responded that he would in my car. I took him out to the car and buckled him in the seat. I took his face and pointed it and mine and waited, he finally started looking at me and I told him in a firm and level tone that in my car, if he unbuckled his seat belt, or climbed out of his seat, I would pull over and give him one swat and rebuckle him. I could see that while non verbal, he understood what I was saying.

We made it one block.

The usually 30 minute drive took 50 minutes. By day four, he stayed buckled the whole way, I rewarded him each time we got there by letting him open and shut the car door as much and as fast as he wanted (his favorite activity with cars).

The rest of the two weeks went by fairly uneventfully, the day after they got home, I called and asked Mom to follow me up to the school while I drove her son. She was amazed that he stayed in his seat the whole time. I explained what I had done to get his cooperation and she was horrified, telling me, "Oh, we never strike our children." (A swat is not striking JFTR) I asked her how she convinced him she was serious. She responded, that Jack was non verbal and could not be taught. Realizing that she was just getting started, I explained that Jack did indeed understand language, and could understand rules that was how I got him to sit and stay buckled. she told me she just could never bring herself to strike her child. I told her to enjoy the day or two of "Calmer rides" but that Jack would quickly figure out seat belts were for my car, not hers.

About two weeks later, she pulled into the parking lot we met the bus in late (Luckily so was the bus) and was in tears. She explained to me that while driving to the bus stop, Jack had climbed out of his seat and between her and the steering wheel. When she got him out of the way, there was a police car behind her with it's lights on. The police were not impressed that her son was autistic. She explained that she could not keep him buckled and the police called Child protective Services (CPS) and made arrangements right there to have him taken into a "shelter" CPS was going to come and get him in two days.

While I tried to help her deal with this shock, I knew that is she had been willing to "Strike her child" to keep him in a restraint, she would still have him, instead of having to visit him at a state run facility.

This is my fear, I have nightmares about this child, for there but for the grace of God goes my son.

There is much ignorance about autism, some by parents of the children themselves, tragedies abound families are torn apart the divorce rate for parents of autistic children is high, give us (the parents) the benefit of the doubt, for we are dealing with "uncharted territory" the best we can, and one mistake could cost us our child. I thank you for your care, and no one can have too many prayers said on their behalf, again, thank you.

With all due respect to those with autistic children, they do NOT belong in a mainstream classroom.

With all due respect, why don't you get rid of your TV if it's teaching him violence? Or maybe put in DVDs/Video's that teach better values?

Way ahead of you there, but if I insulate him completely, he will never understand the "real world" so it's a balancing act.

We do not have cable, Dish or anything else that would allow a 24/7 stream of cartoons for this reason, I pre-screen and cut cartoons that are appropriate to DVD for him, I go thorough a lot of media.

Thank you, the part that struck me was the teacher (at leas that is what the story said) was violent and the kid is not allowed to return the same? Get a grip people!

True. People unfamiliar with special needs kids & autism in particular have no clue (which is evident). In many states a diagnosis of autism means the child HAS to be “main streamed”. The parent has no choice in it. People who don’t like it can complain to their lawmakers or homeschool if it’s possible. But to believe criminally charging a 6 year old autistic child makes me wonder who has the real “defect”.

Which is why I kept my son in a private school until he was 9. By the time he went to a public school, the heavy workload of the kids being thrown at the system were handled and he is in a smaller classroom, not to mention that he has acquired more skills than most who just go through public school can achieve (he actually graduated from the school I had him in because he achieved a normal vocabulary, from being non verbal, achieved normal spelling, reading, and was in their top social skills class) Now he attends a "public school" and has special classes afterwards that I have found for him, in one, they do things like go bowling and learn the rules of social behavior out in public. It's been really good for him.

I thank you for your kind words, is there anything I can do to help you?

“Autism cannot be medicated against nor can it be cured, so medication isn’t an option.”

That’s not exactly correct, autism has no cure, but my 13 year old autistic son takes risperdal to help keep him calm.
Since he’s hit puberty, we’ve had some violent outbursts from him, and recently his dosage has been increased. When he does become violent, it’s always been against his step-mother, his mother, or his aide at school. Never against other classmates, or his other siblings. One of the schools behavior people thinks it’s a version of teenage rebellion only distorted due to autism. BTW he’s not mainstreamed, his is a life skills class.

I’m not a fan of mainstreaming if a child is dangerous or disrupts the learning of other children. My point, however, was that folks who think you can just “beat some sense” into children with autism or that their parents simply haven’t taught them how to behave, obviously know nothing about autism and really should move onto another topic.

“The parents should fix the child before inflicting it upon others.”

I hear there’s a sale on wrench sets at Sears. Think that’ll take care of “it?”

You’re very welcome. There’s some comfort in knowing that there are others who actually understand & aren’t speaking out of the wrong end.

You know how it is. There are good days bad days & the occasional very bad day. Just keep us in your prayers. Can’t have too much of that :)

Risperdal saved my sanity, various household items & the potted plants. I was initially against it but it made such a dramatic improvement for her in offsetting some of the meltdowns. I’m sure she felt better too as a result. I’m thankful it worked. Medicating an autistic child can be hit & miss.

Puberty is a NIGHTMARE. But it will pass. I promise :)

Doesn’t Craftsman have a “guarantee”? ;)

[I hear there’s a sale on wrench sets at Sears. Think that’ll take care of “it?”]

Well, now that you mention it, shop class was a good alternative.

I said: “....she should have known not to turn her back on him when he is stressed.”

This is rather scary. You’re saying the adult should know better?

Yeah, the ADULT should know better. She was supposed to be managing the classroom, not he other way around.

Then who is responsible for the safety of the children in the classroom, cafeteria, or on the playground?

The ADULT that is managing that area.

Does every child in the school have to be taught to recognize when these special needs children are stressed....and not to turn their backs on them?

No, but the ADULTS that are working there should be able to handle it. I have worked (as a volunteer) with Autistic children at my son's school. I can handle 8 autistic children, and keep them from getting violent all by my self. If one starts to show signs of being over stimulated, I call for backup and go into one on one with the child who is in difficulty. It's all in the training and this teacher's aide either had that training, or some ADULT messed up by letting her work at the school. THIS IS NOT AND CANNOT BE THE SIX YEAR OLD CHILD'S FAULT HE IS NOT OLD ENOUGH TO BE RESPONSIBLE.

I have two grown children who are considered “normal.” That’s difficult enough to raise “normal” with all the hopes and dreams a parent has for a child to grow to be responsible adults in society. And, of course, a parent will always be concerned for the safety of their child.

Great, go and play with the kids, the adults should be in charge.

Believe me, my heart goes out to you and to parents of children with special needs. That has to be one tough road! I do wish the best for you and your child.

Thank you, for your sentiment, but you are also displaying the attitude that is both ignorant and injurious to my child, so please listen to what I am saying. Leave the judgment of this situation to those who understand autism, and worry only about any safety issues that actually materialize with your own children.

But I still believe special needs children should not be thrown in with other children. To me, it’s saying to the child, “Sink or swim...I wan’t you to be normal.” And they can’t handle it. I don’t think it’s fair for them, and it’s especially not fair to the other children who are in school to learn! The other children (and parents) should not have to fear for their safety because they can’t turn their backs on a “special” child.

There is an old quote, it is better to remain silent and have other think you are ignorant than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

It's never sink or swim, it is educational. If my son spends recess with your child, is he missing anything? If an ADULT who is monitoring the situation makes sure that your Billy is safe by removing my son for acting out at the first sign of "trouble", is he in danger? (just in case you don't know, the answer is NO, this lady messed up) IS it good for my son, YES how in the name of mike do you expect a kid who is at the top of his "Special Ed" class to progress when everyone he sees in the classroom has worse skills than him, and if he is the best they can see will they ever be able to live in society? What you are advocating here is throwing away people because they are not perfect.

I am going to draw an analogy here and you will not like it. Hitler killed "defectives" so they would not use resources needed for the motherland. I may be over reacting, but I hear echoes in your comments. And I apologize for any offense my analogy has caused.

I met the family of the child I described in my post. They are wonderful! In fact, the mom was a good friend of my daughter’s. When my daughter told me they were moving this year, my thoughts were, “How sad...she’s losing a fun-loving friend, but at least my grandson’s class won’t be disrupted every single day.”

At least you are consistently selfish.

Also, your child should not be watching cartoons. Yes, they are violent! 30 years ago several of us parents and concerned teachers did a study and found that small children do not discriminate between cartoon characters and humans in an act of violence...smashing each other on the head with a bat...getting flattened by a car, a rolling rock, etc. They see the cartoon character getting up from the accident without a scratch. They associate this with a human.

Thanks for the tip, read my other posts, I'm way way ahead of you on this.

Of course, we wrote to the TV channels, to no avail. In fact, I see there are more violent cartoons and programs now than ever. And what makes me shudder is that most people in America think it’s horrible that nudity is shown. We should be more concerned with violence....on TV, in movies, and in video games.

I welcome you to a crusade against violence, you might know what you area talking about there, and I'll support your efforts there.