SchaferAutismReport : It's A Question of Restraint For Teachers of Autistic Kids

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Vol. 12 No. 114p

In This Issue:

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EDUCATION

It’s A Question of Restraint For Teachers of Autistic Kids

School Bully Problem? Send In The Clown

•

•

•

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PEOPLE

Immigrants Often Feel Caught Between Two Worlds After A Diagnosis

11-Year-Old Autistic Boy Found Safe in Washington

Autistic Boy Found in West Virginia

6-Year-Old Autistic Boy Missing In Florida

Tucson Mother Convicted In Boy's Death

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EDUCATION

It’s A Question of Restraint

For Teachers of Autistic Kids

Parents, others upset by use of excess force

By Barbara O’Brien Buffalo News. tinyurl.com/5zspa4

Allegany — Tim has a lot of “what

ifs” running through his head.

What if he had never been held facedown by

teachers when he was in sixth grade? What if he had had more friends? What

if he had never had autism? As the number of autistic kids in schools

grows, there are signs that teachers and administrators are having

difficulty controlling them and addressing their special needs.

That can lead to conflict, and in some

cases, to federal court. That’s where Carole and turned after

not getting satisfaction through the state’s special education hearing

process.

Their son Tim, a student at Allegany-

Limestone Central High School, remembers being restrained facedown when he

was 12. There is evidence he was restrained more than 10 times over a

four-month period in 2005.

“I thought maybe they were taking his wrist.

I didn’t like the idea, but I figured, they know better, they’re the

instructors, the teachers,” Carole said. “I asked him what happened

when he got home from school, and he would always just say, ‘They’re trying

to kill me.’ I thought he was overreacting. "

Dealing with troublesome children leaves

some teachers with their own questions: How much physical force can be used

in restraining an unruly child? How much time and attention should be given

to the special-needs child without neglecting others? Are there better ways

to control a frustrated child who has special needs? Shepard, a

parent advocate who learned to navigate the system while helping her own

autistic son, said if children aren’t given the services they need, they

can become behavior problems.

“Ninety-nine percent of the mistakes made

with my autistic son was [that] the people working with my son were so

unfamiliar with the disability and they would trigger an outburst,” she

said.

In Tim ’s case, it’s important to get

a federal court ruling, his parents say, because last September a staff

member threw him to the ground three times when he tried to go into the principal’s

office.

Allegany-Limestone school officials would

not comment for this story.

“We take the privacy of our children very

seriously,” said Superintendent Diane Munro. “In the interest of a child’s

privacy rights, and in line with the fact this is a matter that is in

litigation, I am unable to contribute. "

Tim, 15, is one of about 40 children in

Cattaraugus County classified as autistic. The number has been increasing

in recent years not just in Western New York but across the country.

In Erie County, the number of children with

autism jumped 63 percent between 2003 and 2006. In New York State, the

number went up 46 percent over the same time.

, a podiatrist, and Carole

, a pharmacist with multiple sclerosis, were angry when they learned

their son had been held down, sometimes with one teacher lying ov er his

back while another held his legs. They were outraged when they learned that

children in institutional settings around the country have died from asphyxiation

after being restrained in similar ways.

“I never dreamed, never dreamed, never in my

wildest dream — nightmare — could I think that they could do that to him,”

said . “To this day, we do not know how many times he was

restrained during that period of time. "

The teachers’ logs he obtained tell a story

of a disruptive 12-year-old and adults’ efforts to control him. His parents

don’t dispute that Tim sometimes can be disruptive and difficult, but they

say there are techniques that will prevent meltdowns. Other actions — like

touching him and holding him down — often trigger them.

The issue of restraints is a touchy one,

particularly for schools that must protect the student, sometimes from

himself, as well as from other children and staff members.

“When it comes to restraining, the teachers

are between a rock and a hard place,” said Philip Rumore, president of the

Buffalo Teachers Federation.

Buffalo teachers deal with 9,400 students

with disabilities, or about 19 percent of the student population.

“We’ve always advised teachers if you don’t

have to, don’t — only if its an emergency. It’s just too easy for a child

to get hurt,” Rumore said.

Great strides have been made in recent years

in identifying children with autism, which helps them to get treatment

earlier, said Lynda Quick, assistant superintendent of Cattaraugus-Allegany

BOCES.

“How to treat these children is more

understood now,” she said, adding that restraints are a last resort. “But they

are indeed sometimes necessary for professionals trained in how to do

proper restraints. "

Margaret -Carey, associate

superintendent for Erie 1 BOCES, said training on how to administer

restraints includes preventive measures and techniques on defusing a

situation before the restraint becomes necessary to protect the student,

other children, staff or property.

But there are better ways to deal with

people, said Federiconi, executive director of Autistic Services.

“The use of restraints doesn’t really teach

people anything, except to be afraid or to run away from people who

practice it,” she said. “It doesn’t teach them the correct way of dealing

with life. "

Still, restraints are allowed under New York

State law.

“Restraints are an emergency practice,” said

Geary, coordinator of special-education policy for the state

Education Department. “They should never be a routine. "

Tim has Asperger’s syndrome, which is a form

of autism. It’s marked by the same social challenges as autism — such as

difficulty in reading body language — without the language or cognitive

delays.

Ninth grade agreed with Tim for the most

part. He was mainstreamed into regular classrooms and passed all his

classes in June. He even spoke at an assembly held to motivate students to

be more compassionate in dealing with others.

He apologized for getting agitated in front

of his fellow students and invited them to a party at his house.

“It doesn’t matter if someone is popular or

not, or being the smartest student in class, or is amazing at sports or

electronics, but the only thing that does matter is to try hard and be

nice,” he told his classmates.

While he hopes his arrival in heaven is many

years away, he’s looking forward to it because his mother and others have

told him all things are possible in heaven.

“I would definitely have a lot more

friends,” Tim said. “I don’t know if it’s possible, I don’t know if it’s

like this forever if you’re in heaven, but, you know what would be an

amazing, incredible what if? What if I never had autism? "

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