Posted on 09/23/2007 7:43:27 PM PDT by Graybeard58
A six-year-old autistic boy has been charged criminally after an incident inside his school where he allegedly assaulted a teacher's aide.
It's a story you saw first on 9News.
The incident happened earlier this month at Taylor Elementary School in Brooksville, Ky., located in Bracken County.
He is in kindergarten at Taylor Elementary, but 9News was told that due to his autism and other conditions, his mental capacity is the equivalent to a child half his age.
But despite that condition and his age, it still hasn't stopped a school employee there from holding him accountable: criminally.
Whether it's playing outside with his parents, or coloring SpongeBob Squarepants pictures, Nathan Darnell isn't much different than other kids his age.
But two things that do make him different from many other six-year-olds is his autism – and his criminal rap sheet.
"We are not denying that he did what they are saying, but we are denying he is culpable," said Tony Darnell, Nathan's father.
It was just last week when Nathan's teacher's aide, Glenda Schiltz, filed a juvenile fourth degree misdemeanor assault charge against him.
"What human being with a heart would do that to a six-year old?, asked Cathy Darnell, Nathan's mother. "Seriously, who would do that? I know I wouldn't."
According to the affidavit which 9News obtained, Schiltz alleges that on September 5, Nathan grabbed her by the shirt, pulled her backwards and began punching and kicking her.
"He admits to shoving her down, but he says he didn't pull her backwards," said Tony Darnell.
"She is no small person, she can defend herself," said Cathy Darnell.
So what does the school have to say about the matter?
Superintendent of Bracken County Schools Tony Johnson would not appear on camera but did say in a statement, "I believe we followed proper procedures and I have full faith in my staff".
Despite being autistic, Nathan is integrated with all kindergartners at Taylor Elementary.
His parents believe Schiltz and other teachers there are ill-prepared to handle special needs students.
His mother openly questions Schiltz's credentials.
"[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."
"Most of the time it [Nathan's behavior] is whining and screaming. I am sure that is hard on teachers and stuff, but we find a way to deal with it," said Tony Darnell.
On Wednesday the family went to the county courthouse, where an inquiry was held and it was decided the criminal case against Nathan will indeed move forward.
It's likely then that Schiltz will have to be there.
But until they get a chance to tell her personally, Nathan's family, in the meantime, does have something they want to say to her.
"She is a cold-hearted woman, that she has made every teacher look bad," said Cathy Darnell.
Repeated attempts to contact Glenda Schiltz were unsuccessful.
9News also was in communication with several school board members and none wanted to comment on the matter.
This is all heading to a proceeding scheduled for next week in which six-year-old Nathan will appear in juvenile court as a defendant.
MEGA BUMP!
Odds are that 'medication'is at the root of this. Schools are very quick to push kids off onto the drug pushers.
Thank you, I was just thinking the same thing.
Anyone who thinks that a 6-year old Autistic child should be prosecuted for this is a complete and utter idiot. Any prosecutor who would bring this to trial needs to find himself sitting on a street corner selling pencils or worse.
The “teacher” should lose her license to teach for trying to bring such charges in the first place.
But, that would only happen in a sane world.
Ruck
I would imagine that criminally charging an autistic six year old will invite more trouble from the parents. There must be better ways to CYA. The incident should be put on his permanent school record. But criminal charges in this case seem like a waste of court time.
This kid sounds medicated? He screams all day and assaults people. He sounds like he is in need of some minimal medication.
I agree with you.
I don’t believe the teacher’s aide was in charge of autistic children. She was just helping with normal children. The autistic child was mainstreamed in with the normal ones. I agree that the autistic child should not have been placed with the normal children. He should have been placed where there are people trained to handle his situation.
Although I agree it is a shame the child has to go through the penal system, it seems as though the only effective way for any thing of benefit to occur today is to go through the justice system. It may not be right, but it is the way the system is set up to work today.
The parents, the child and the teacher all seemed to be ill prepared to put the child in this situation; no matter what they say.
Brilliant observation. And a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit from Momma Nancy in addition.
Nathan injures some other kid? Another lawsuit from the John Edwards gang.
Get this kid into a non-mainstreamed setting ASAP!
This absolutely trashes the first rule of holes.
Last December, at my 10 year old grandson’s school’s annual Christmas show, I noticed a child in the chorus acting out....flinging his arms, laughing, making unusual movements.....distracting from the show.
There had to be 50 children in the chorus, singing beautifully....but I couldn’t help but look at the child making a skeptical of himself.
I whispered to my daughter, “Look at that boy being disruptive.”
She said, “He’s autistic.”
Meds cause most of the most objectionable behavior. Moodiness, spikes of rage, extreme depression, are all typical of over-medicated kids.
Really? Wow, that's amazing. You must be a real expert.
Guess all we have to do is take endlessly screaming, assaultive Nathan off all the medications he must be on.
Rubbish. A six-year old child with a psychiatric disorder—not a psychosis—that makes him socially awkard and given to frustration when dealing with other people throws a tantrum and grabs an adult’s shirt. Treating it the same as if a 15-year old threw a punch is absurd.
It’s a matter for the school and the parents to deal with, not the courts. (Are you sure you aren’t hanging on to some ideas from your former affiliation? The courts are not omnicompetent.)
You're absolutely right about that. *Especially* at that age.
My mom was a special ed teacher, and she developed a reference standard curriculum for "special needs" students in my state. I lived through her many experiences with special students of many different sorts. She would never have been for "mainstreaming" kids into regular classrooms until they were fully prepared to do so. Sometimes they can, but many times they cannot.
Until then any "mainstreaming" attempt will merely be a failure. It will only disrupt the regular classroom and will fail to serve the special needs kid.
In fact, my mom may well have been totally against any mainstreaming. As I recall she was of the opinion that the special needs kid needs to work out a way to function in society ~given~ the fact that they're just not ever going to compete on an even level with everybody else. Mental retardation or severe autism are not conditions that somebody ever just "gets over". They're not going to be "cured". What they need is to develop the basic life skills to manage some level of independence, and THAT is something that they can do. She had many illumni of her program to show just that.
Of the many of them I've met, they are some of the happiest people I know.
It takes a special person to deal with the regular outbursts, the impossible attitudes, the cultivated dependence that happens with these kids. It is not for everybody. It is obviously not for the "teacher" in this story.
My .02
Rubbish? The kid screams all day and pulled the teacher down from the rear, then pummelled her. I don't think "socially awkward" is an adequate description of little Nathan's problems.
Good post! Thanks!
Sheer Lunacy!!!!!!
You couldn't be more wrong. There is no "benefit" to anyone going through the justice system.
The purpose of the justice system is to punish. Punishment of autism or retardation does not have any effect on the problem, and doesn't produce less of either.
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