When parents of autistic school children say these students sometimes need a break from multiple classroom stimuli - noise, smells, lights etc. -they aren't talking about closing them up in duffel bags.
Nevertheless, news reports say a 9-year-old in a Kentucky public school got exactly this kind of "break." According to Associated Press, during a visit to the school, the boy's mother found her son "stuffed into a duffel bag," with "the drawstring pulled tight."
The school system should look at Temple Grandin's "Teaching Tips for Children and Adults with Autism," found on the Autism Research Institute website. The site offers many helpful tips, none resembling the type of restraining measure the 9-year-old in Kentucky was allegedly subjected to.
It's past time to set national guidelines on the use of restraint and seclusion of school children.
Insist Mercer County School System do a thorough investigation of these disturbing reports and take the proper disciplinary and corrective actions.
We the undersigned are very concerned about the reports of school personnel in your district restraining a 9-year-old autistic child. We would find these reports disturbing no matter who was the victim of the incidents described.
Your response to these reports, quoted in the
Associated Press, that "'The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools ... treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment....'" do not square with the description the mother gave of finding her child closed up in a bag.
There does not seem to be any reasonable explanation for this alleged treatment of the boy, despite reports of his displaying bad behavior.
We believe your school and any school would benefit from understanding the information and reseach on autism Terry Gradin has to offer and may further benefit from research by Dr. Doris Rapp and that found on the Brain Bio Centre's website.
http://www.drrapp.com/
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1718
Certainly all children can be affected by certain stimuli, like loud speaker noises and fluorescent lights, and neurotoxins, including pesticides and fragranced products and other environmental stressors. Children, especially those with autism and other conditions that affect the nervous system, are often especially sensitive to these stressors as well as the medications they take.
Children and society would be far better served by the school addressing these stressors than by its punishing those who suffer their effects.
We ask that your system make a proper investigation of these issues that can affect school children's behavior as well as the specific incident of reported abuse now in the news.
Thank you for your consideration of these serious issues.
