Mother Finds Autistic Son In Handcuffs At School

Local 6 Houston TX ^ | 11/12/02 | Staff

[Skooz]

STORY

Mother Finds Autistic Son In Handcuffs At School

School, Mother To Meet Tuesday

Posted: 11:32 a.m. EST November 12, 2002

HOUSTON -- A Houston-area mother who went to pick up her 8-year-old son at school said that she found him handcuffed and lying face down in his classroom in northwest Harris County.

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	Hear More Of What Happened In Class

The incident happened Monday at Haude Elementary School in Spring, Texas.

Lisa Calvin told Houston's KPRC-TV that she is upset after seeing her son, Adam, who is autistic and functions at a 5-year-old level, in handcuffs.

"It felt like some kind of freak show," Calvin said. "I could hear him begging. He was saying, 'please take these off' and he was crying. When I saw him on the floor, he was soaked in sweat."

Calvin said that her son was handcuffed by a Klein Independent School District police officer after having a tantrum.

"I heard the cop tell him, 'Boy, when you calm down, I'll take these off of you.' (It was) what he was saying when I was coming down the hall," Calvin said.

School district officials released a statement saying, "There was a situation at school in which a student was out of control. The situation was of such concern, that there were teachers, teacher assistants, and administrators that were injured due to the behavior. The options for the school district to control a child are limited. Restraint is one of them."

School officials said that Adam was handcuffed for just a brief period -- about two to three minutes -- and that the district does not use corporal punishment on special-education students.

The school suspended Adam for a day.

"(I've) questioned their ability to deal with him and they've told me that they're perfectly capable of handling a child with autism," Calvin said.

Calvin said that what she and her son experienced was fear and inexperience.

"If I go to work and I'm half-an-hour away or I'm on the other side of town, how long will they leave him handcuffed? Will he just stay in handcuffs until I can get there to pick him up? Or will they just go ahead and have them take him to jail?" she asked.

Calvin and school officials are expected to meet Tuesday to discuss whether Adam will return to school.

Copyright 2002 by local6.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ApesForEvolution]

Right on bump...

[Illbay]

philman, this is so simplistic it's ridiculous.

My wife every year gets at least one, often two, students in her class that she realizes shortly after school begins, need "special services."

She spends inordinate amounts of time doing the paperwork, setting up conferences including the parents (who often don't show up, forcing her to reschedule), and getting the testing, etc.

It is a mammoth effort to try to get these kids classified so as to begin receiving help. The reason is because there are only so many dollars to go around, the school system (and the taxpayers) have to make up the shortfall, and so they put hurdles in the way to discourage everyone jumping on the bandwagon.

FWIW, it will be the same way if "Hillarycare" is ever widely adopted. There will be hurdles placed in the way of patients trying to get healthcare, so that some will fall through the cracks and funding will be saved. Some will die. That's the government "apportionment" effect at work.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Cop to mother: 'Ummmm, aaahhh,-- What are you doing here? You were not supposed to see that! Get out or I will arrest you!"

[Illbay]

What does the teacher do?

Sungirl, what would you THINK the teacher would be doing? What if you had, say, 20 students in a classroom, and one student was requiring 50% or more of your time? And there was nothing you could do because the some federal judge somewhere declared that this student was "entitled" to mainstream classroom education?

Yes, you would welcome a "babysitter" so that you could attend to the other 19 kids.

Teachers have the most thankless job in our society, IMO.

[Jonx6]

I wouldn't send my dog to a public school.

[RGSpincich]

Thank you.

[Illbay]

If you'll include the mother (and her lawyer, lurking behind the scenes here) in that list, I might go for it.

[verity]

Tough!

[Illbay]

Have you ever dealt with an autistic child? You might be astounded at what they can do when they go on a "rampage".

[ApesForEvolution]

Yes, and any adult with half a brain and any sense of compassion wouldn't handcuff an autistic child and leave them on the ground, on a 'rampage' or not...

[CallMeShane]

I'm the father of a very strong, hefty ten-year-old boy who has a case of extreme autism. I am his primary caretaker when he is at home because he is too large and strong for my wife to handle.

My son occasionally pitches major tantrums while attending a school for autistic children, and this can be very disruptive. The best method of dealing with him, when he has these fits, is to remove him physically from wherever he is and distract him by bringing him to another situation which he finds non-threatening (for example "OKay, now it's time to wash your hands", etc). This usually gets him preoccupied with something other than the source of the tantrum.

If that doesn't work, the second option is to remove him from the class and bring him to a small room where he can't hurt himself or disturb others (ex, a lavatory, etc).

It should be noted that my 10 year old boy is at a functional age of about 1.5 years and that he cannot speak, so what works for him may not work for other autistic children who are more functional. But it is never acceptable to use violence against an autistic child. Also, the "do-this-and-I'll-stop-doing-that" approach used by the police in the handcuffing incident shows a lack of knowledge about the nature of autism, which mainly involves a lack of ability to employ cause-and-effect reasoning in social situations. It won't work; it will only terrify the kid, who won't know why he is being handcuffed no matter how much he tantrums.

For those who feel intimidated by autistic behavior symptoms, I can certainly sympathize with you but would challenge you to think about it in the same way as you would when confronted with an epileptic kid who has a fit. There's no sense telling such a kid to "sit still and listen"; you need to move him to a safe place and give him the appropriate treatments.

The same applies also to autism. Furthermore, any school that aspires to teach high functioning autistics along with normal kids should & MUST have at least one specialist with autism available to help bring order when an autistic kid becomes disruptive. School police should not be called upon to do that job; they aren't trained for it. And if the school hasn't got an autism specialist to consult during such minor emergencies, they have no business bringing in autistic kids.

[philman_36]

My wife every year gets at least one, often two, students in her class that she realizes shortly after school begins, need "special services."
It is a mammoth effort to try to get these kids classified so as to begin receiving help.
Yet she still goes through all that effort for the money, despite all those obstacles. Hmmmm...

[SCalGal]

Los Angeles Unified School District insists on mainstreaming, whether the parents like it or not. They've got a consent decree that says they have to place the child in the "least restrictive environment" whenever possible. The "least restrictive environment" is a regular classroom, often with 40 other kids.

I think it's a lousy idea, for the most part. I'm ok with the kids who don't need a lot of extra help and aren't disruptive, but not the rest. The classrooms are too crowded now for the kids without adding additional disruptions.

[Skooz]

IMO, local television news is the ultimate in hype, sensationalism and distortion of facts in order to increase ratings.

This is November--"sweeps" month.

Good point. Your opinion of local TV news is absolutely correct. That could be the case here, but handcuffing a child seems a little extreme.

But, then we have to parse the words--we must define "handcuffing," etc. and see if the TV news hacks are using the definitions the same way most of us would or are using "shock words" (what Dylan Thomas called "chopped and chisled evocative shock phrases") to drive up ratings.

All to often I have fallen for the teaser only to sit through the commercial break and say "Oh, THAT'S all it is....."

[Balding_Eagle]

Some firemen I work with get payed 250$ a day to go sit in classrooms

That's crazy. However, I could not do that for a $1,000 a day.

That said, this whole arrangement is cruel and unneccessary. Surely there is a better, and less costly way to care for these children.

OH.............gasp! Do you think that in many cases the family could care for them? Of course we (society) should help with occasional sitters etc, but no one (I repeat NO ONE) can love the child like the family.

[Skooz]

No No No....It takes a village.

Go back to the brainwashing facility for repairs.

[pesto]

I was a teacher, and had a autistic child in my class, and even though he had a full time aide with him, he managed to smash my toe during one of his tantrums, scream, and spit. When he was in a good mood, he was wonderful, but when he was set off, he just couldn't be controlled. He was in sixth grade when I had him, and big for his age, I hate to think what he could do to his teachers as he continues to grow. I don't think children should be in hand cuffs, but a lot of these kids hurt themselves when they get upset, maybe that was a concern..

[Capt.YankeeMike]

one of the thousands of reasons I will never, ever, let my precious sons see the inside of a public scrool.....

[Vic3O3]

Yet another reason to homeschool!

[valkyrieanne]

I don't know anything about this particular autistic child, but out-of-control children can terrorize. Ah, but they must be mainstreamed we are told by Washington, D. C., regardless of whether the education of others is disrupted.

This is a very good point. In general, teachers do not have a say in whether or not severely mentally or physically handicapped children are put into their classrooms. There are some autistic children who can adjust to the mainstream classroom; others require individual aides the whole time they're in school, and others simply must be in a separate classroom or in a special school for autistic children.

Unfortunately, the public schools are in essence run by the state and federal courts, and lawsuits brought by parents tend to trump teacher and administrative judgement.