Re: Fw: Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

[Guest guest]

OMG this is heartbreaking. I can't believe she didn't get more fines, fired or something.

Here in Broward - there are not enough bus attendents for the special needs buses and they aren't hiring any. Can you imagine what could happen if the bus broke down, any one of a hundred behaviors etc and the driver just trying to drive safely. Do parents even realize that your child may be on a bus without another adult at least to monitor another adult?

To: <deniseslist >Sent: Mon, December 6, 2010 12:13:05 PMSubject: Fw: Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

----- Forwarded Message ----To: Undisclosed List Sent: Mon, December 6, 2010 9:38:47 AMSubject: Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

By ANDREW GANT, Staff Writer

December 4, 2010 12:05

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/12/04/aide-charged-with-abusing-autistic-boy.html

Florida - A 72-year-old school bus attendant was arrested Friday on charges she grabbed at an autistic boy's limbs, slapped him and threatened to break his wrists if he didn't behave on the bus, police said.

Marilyn Talford Onie was charged with child abuse after Edgewater police watched the incident on school-bus video, according to her arrest report.

Onie -- who was sitting in a seat at the front of the bus, across the aisle from a 14-year-old student with autism -- began yelling at him during a Nov. 8 bus ride home from New Smyrna Beach High School, police said.

Investigators said the boy does not speak and only understands some of what is said to him.

When he began to bite at his arm and reached out to touch Onie with his finger, police said, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them, then pointed her finger in the boy's face. When he reached out again, she grabbed his fingers and squeezed those, too, according to the report.

When the boy tried to touch another child leaving the bus, Onie yelled, "You're gonna get it, buddy," police said. She grabbed his wrists again, bent them downward and asked, "Want me to break them on ya?" according to the report.

"You like that?" she asked later as she pressed on his wrists, "causing the child to lunge his body forward toward Onie's face," police said.

The boy's mother later told investigators her son likely was agitated because a new driver was taking the bus on an unfamiliar route.

Onie also grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, slapped him on the shoulder and pushed his head against the bus window as he tried to touch her with his finger.

"We are not bringing you to school anymore. You're a bad boy," police quoted her as saying.

Onie could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a Wednesday interview with police, she said she "had been having problems with (the boy) for several months but never reported any incidents to anyone."

After watching and listening to the school-bus video, she said her comment about breaking the boy's hands was "said out of frustration."

"Mrs. Onie stated that she has seen the video tape and has no other explanation for her actions other than she is 'only human,' " police wrote.

A fellow student who uses a wheelchair opened the investigation by telling her mother about what she saw. She told investigators she felt Onie was "very mean" and "showed no mercy or sympathy" for the boy, according to the report.

Onie was not fired or suspended, but she was reassigned to duties away from children -- cleaning the buses, for example -- after the Nov. 8 incident, school district spokeswoman Wait said.

The district won't investigate and will wait for Onie's case to be resolved before taking any further action in her employment, Wait said.

Onie works 6.5 hours per day -- considered full-time by the district -- at $11.73 per hour.

She posted $1,000 bail and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Friday.

[Guest guest]

That is why I drive my kid to school! I tried the bus during the summer school session and I was terrified. The bus attendant barely spoke English and the bus driver spoke no Spanish so there was little to no communication between the two. That was a very scary situation. Nope, I will be driving my child to school, he is precious cargo!

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

By ANDREW GANT, Staff Writer

December 4, 2010 12:05

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/12/04/aide-charged-with-abusing-autistic-boy.html

Florida - A 72-year-old school bus attendant was arrested Friday on charges she grabbed at an autistic boy's limbs, slapped him and threatened to break his wrists if he didn't behave on the bus, police said.

Marilyn Talford Onie was charged with child abuse after Edgewater police watched the incident on school-bus video, according to her arrest report.

Onie -- who was sitting in a seat at the front of the bus, across the aisle from a 14-year-old student with autism -- began yelling at him during a Nov. 8 bus ride home from New Smyrna Beach High School, police said.

Investigators said the boy does not speak and only understands some of what is said to him.

When he began to bite at his arm and reached out to touch Onie with his finger, police said, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them, then pointed her finger in the boy's face. When he reached out again, she grabbed his fingers and squeezed those, too, according to the report.

When the boy tried to touch another child leaving the bus, Onie yelled, "You're gonna get it, buddy," police said. She grabbed his wrists again, bent them downward and asked, "Want me to break them on ya?" according to the report.

"You like that?" she asked later as she pressed on his wrists, "causing the child to lunge his body forward toward Onie's face," police said.

The boy's mother later told investigators her son likely was agitated because a new driver was taking the bus on an unfamiliar route.

Onie also grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, slapped him on the shoulder and pushed his head against the bus window as he tried to touch her with his finger.

"We are not bringing you to school anymore. You're a bad boy," police quoted her as saying.

Onie could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a Wednesday interview with police, she said she "had been having problems with (the boy) for several months but never reported any incidents to anyone."

After watching and listening to the school-bus video, she said her comment about breaking the boy's hands was "said out of frustration."

"Mrs. Onie stated that she has seen the video tape and has no other explanation for her actions other than she is 'only human,' " police wrote.

A fellow student who uses a wheelchair opened the investigation by telling her mother about what she saw. She told investigators she felt Onie was "very mean" and "showed no mercy or sympathy" for the boy, according to the report.

Onie was not fired or suspended, but she was reassigned to duties away from children -- cleaning the buses, for example -- after the Nov. 8 incident, school district spokeswoman Wait said.

The district won't investigate and will wait for Onie's case to be resolved before taking any further action in her employment, Wait said.

Onie works 6.5 hours per day -- considered full-time by the district -- at $11.73 per hour.

She posted $1,000 bail and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Friday.

[Guest guest]

Some of us don't have that choice, we have to work.

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

By ANDREW GANT, Staff Writer

December 4, 2010 12:05

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/12/04/aide-charged-with-abusing-autistic-boy.html

Florida - A 72-year-old school bus attendant was arrested Friday on charges she grabbed at an autistic boy's limbs, slapped him and threatened to break his wrists if he didn't behave on the bus, police said.

Marilyn Talford Onie was charged with child abuse after Edgewater police watched the incident on school-bus video, according to her arrest report.

Onie -- who was sitting in a seat at the front of the bus, across the aisle from a 14-year-old student with autism -- began yelling at him during a Nov. 8 bus ride home from New Smyrna Beach High School, police said.

Investigators said the boy does not speak and only understands some of what is said to him.

When he began to bite at his arm and reached out to touch Onie with his finger, police said, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them, then pointed her finger in the boy's face. When he reached out again, she grabbed his fingers and squeezed those, too, according to the report.

When the boy tried to touch another child leaving the bus, Onie yelled, "You're gonna get it, buddy," police said. She grabbed his wrists again, bent them downward and asked, "Want me to break them on ya?" according to the report.

"You like that?" she asked later as she pressed on his wrists, "causing the child to lunge his body forward toward Onie's face," police said.

The boy's mother later told investigators her son likely was agitated because a new driver was taking the bus on an unfamiliar route.

Onie also grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, slapped him on the shoulder and pushed his head against the bus window as he tried to touch her with his finger.

"We are not bringing you to school anymore. You're a bad boy," police quoted her as saying.

Onie could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a Wednesday interview with police, she said she "had been having problems with (the boy) for several months but never reported any incidents to anyone."

After watching and listening to the school-bus video, she said her comment about breaking the boy's hands was "said out of frustration."

"Mrs. Onie stated that she has seen the video tape and has no other explanation for her actions other than she is 'only human,' " police wrote.

A fellow student who uses a wheelchair opened the investigation by telling her mother about what she saw. She told investigators she felt Onie was "very mean" and "showed no mercy or sympathy" for the boy, according to the report.

Onie was not fired or suspended, but she was reassigned to duties away from children -- cleaning the buses, for example -- after the Nov. 8 incident, school district spokeswoman Wait said.

The district won't investigate and will wait for Onie's case to be resolved before taking any further action in her employment, Wait said.

Onie works 6.5 hours per day -- considered full-time by the district -- at $11.73 per hour.

She posted $1,000 bail and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Friday.

[Guest guest]

omg my heart is broken, i'm the mother of an autistic son and he is also non verbal, i know if they change his bus route he would also become agitated. they really need to train these people before allowing them to work around these kids. My son came home from school about two weeks ago with a lot of raised areas on his hands and legs, he goes to a very reputable elementary school in sunrise, i immediately thought he was having an allergic reaction to something he ate at school. I worked nights so i gave him some benadryl before

leaving for work, i wrote a note and alerted the teacher that i gave him the medicine in case he might be sleepy at school. when i got home from work the morning only to get a call from the teacher saying, no he's not having an allergic reaction he was bitten by ants. she did not send home a note, never took him to the clinic to get treatment, nothing. if i didn't write i wouldn't hear. my fellow parents i am not exaggerating, you should see my sons foot and hands. i had to rush with him to his pediatrician to get a cream to rub it. i was furious, everyone says report it to the school board, i didn't as i didn't want her to loose her job. my question is how could they have taken him outside and allowed him to sit in an ant nest? can you imagine the horror he went through? we have to be their eyes and years and we cant allow them to be taken disadvantage of.

[Guest guest]

Wow, this is why tragedies happen, she got a slap on the hand and thats it. Ridiculous... and Sad. the bus driver is more autistic than the little boy.

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

By ANDREW GANT, Staff Writer

December 4, 2010 12:05

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/12/04/aide-charged-with-abusing-autistic-boy.html

Florida - A 72-year-old school bus attendant was arrested Friday on charges she grabbed at an autistic boy's limbs, slapped him and threatened to break his wrists if he didn't behave on the bus, police said.

Marilyn Talford Onie was charged with child abuse after Edgewater police watched the incident on school-bus video, according to her arrest report.

Onie -- who was sitting in a seat at the front of the bus, across the aisle from a 14-year-old student with autism -- began yelling at him during a Nov. 8 bus ride home from New Smyrna Beach High School, police said.

Investigators said the boy does not speak and only understands some of what is said to him.

When he began to bite at his arm and reached out to touch Onie with his finger, police said, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them, then pointed her finger in the boy's face. When he reached out again, she grabbed his fingers and squeezed those, too, according to the report.

When the boy tried to touch another child leaving the bus, Onie yelled, "You're gonna get it, buddy," police said. She grabbed his wrists again, bent them downward and asked, "Want me to break them on ya?" according to the report.

"You like that?" she asked later as she pressed on his wrists, "causing the child to lunge his body forward toward Onie's face," police said.

The boy's mother later told investigators her son likely was agitated because a new driver was taking the bus on an unfamiliar route.

Onie also grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, slapped him on the shoulder and pushed his head against the bus window as he tried to touch her with his finger.

"We are not bringing you to school anymore. You're a bad boy," police quoted her as saying.

Onie could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a Wednesday interview with police, she said she "had been having problems with (the boy) for several months but never reported any incidents to anyone."

After watching and listening to the school-bus video, she said her comment about breaking the boy's hands was "said out of frustration."

"Mrs. Onie stated that she has seen the video tape and has no other explanation for her actions other than she is 'only human,' " police wrote.

A fellow student who uses a wheelchair opened the investigation by telling her mother about what she saw. She told investigators she felt Onie was "very mean" and "showed no mercy or sympathy" for the boy, according to the report.

Onie was not fired or suspended, but she was reassigned to duties away from children -- cleaning the buses, for example -- after the Nov. 8 incident, school district spokeswoman Wait said.

The district won't investigate and will wait for Onie's case to be resolved before taking any further action in her employment, Wait said.

Onie works 6.5 hours per day -- considered full-time by the district -- at $11.73 per hour.

She posted $1,000 bail and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Friday.

[Guest guest]

They allow these things to happen because they just do not care!!! They pretend they do, but only us, the parents care. That's why I do not expect anything from the school or their members. If they are good, I acknowledge it and appreciate it, but if they're not or if they fail me or my daughter, I'm not surprised.

Mónica

[Guest guest]

I understand, I didn't mean to sound so glib. I work too and have had to change jobs twice to be able to drive my child to work. I understand how hard it is having a child with special needs and having to work to pay for all of the treatments, mounting doctor bills, special foods and supplements, I am drowning in debt. We do what we have to as parents to make sure our children get what they need to flourish and live and that in itself is a full time job.

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

By ANDREW GANT, Staff Writer

December 4, 2010 12:05

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/12/04/aide-charged-with-abusing-autistic-boy.html

Florida - A 72-year-old school bus attendant was arrested Friday on charges she grabbed at an autistic boy's limbs, slapped him and threatened to break his wrists if he didn't behave on the bus, police said.

Marilyn Talford Onie was charged with child abuse after Edgewater police watched the incident on school-bus video, according to her arrest report.

Onie -- who was sitting in a seat at the front of the bus, across the aisle from a 14-year-old student with autism -- began yelling at him during a Nov. 8 bus ride home from New Smyrna Beach High School, police said.

Investigators said the boy does not speak and only understands some of what is said to him.

When he began to bite at his arm and reached out to touch Onie with his finger, police said, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them, then pointed her finger in the boy's face. When he reached out again, she grabbed his fingers and squeezed those, too, according to the report.

When the boy tried to touch another child leaving the bus, Onie yelled, "You're gonna get it, buddy," police said. She grabbed his wrists again, bent them downward and asked, "Want me to break them on ya?" according to the report.

"You like that?" she asked later as she pressed on his wrists, "causing the child to lunge his body forward toward Onie's face," police said.

The boy's mother later told investigators her son likely was agitated because a new driver was taking the bus on an unfamiliar route.

Onie also grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, slapped him on the shoulder and pushed his head against the bus window as he tried to touch her with his finger.

"We are not bringing you to school anymore. You're a bad boy," police quoted her as saying.

Onie could not be reached for comment Friday, but in a Wednesday interview with police, she said she "had been having problems with (the boy) for several months but never reported any incidents to anyone."

After watching and listening to the school-bus video, she said her comment about breaking the boy's hands was "said out of frustration."

"Mrs. Onie stated that she has seen the video tape and has no other explanation for her actions other than she is 'only human,' " police wrote.

A fellow student who uses a wheelchair opened the investigation by telling her mother about what she saw. She told investigators she felt Onie was "very mean" and "showed no mercy or sympathy" for the boy, according to the report.

Onie was not fired or suspended, but she was reassigned to duties away from children -- cleaning the buses, for example -- after the Nov. 8 incident, school district spokeswoman Wait said.

The district won't investigate and will wait for Onie's case to be resolved before taking any further action in her employment, Wait said.

Onie works 6.5 hours per day -- considered full-time by the district -- at $11.73 per hour.

She posted $1,000 bail and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on Friday.

[Guest guest]

What makes you think she would lose her job? They had to hire back teachers due to the class size amendment that (yeah) they finally have to follow. What they do though and what they are supposed to do ie: training/hiring paras, assistants, teachers, bus drivers, attendents etc is a different story. There are some fabulous caring professionals out there I just wish there were more mentoring and support for them for our children so they can let the poor ones go. They say there's no money - so why isn't there more cuts from the top? Why are some teachers allowed back after retiring and then allowed to pull in double pay? We have solutions for them but who listens?

To: sList Sent: Tue, December 7, 2010 11:15:45 AMSubject: Re: Fw: Florida - Aide charged with abusing autistic boy

omg my heart is broken, i'm the mother of an autistic son and he is also non verbal, i know if they change his bus route he would also become agitated. they really need to train these people before allowing them to work around these kids. My son came home from school about two weeks ago with a lot of raised areas on his hands and legs, he goes to a very reputable elementary school in sunrise, i immediately thought he was having an allergic reaction to something he ate at school. I worked nights so i gave him some benadryl before leaving for work, i wrote a note and alerted the teacher that i gave him the medicine in case he might be sleepy at school. when i got home from work the morning only to get a call from the teacher saying, no he's not having an allergic reaction he was bitten by ants. she did not

send home a note, never took him to the clinic to get treatment, nothing. if i didn't write i wouldn't hear. my fellow parents i am not exaggerating, you should see my sons foot and hands. i had to rush with him to his pediatrician to get a cream to rub it. i was furious, everyone says report it to the school board, i didn't as i didn't want her to loose her job. my question is how could they have taken him outside and allowed him to sit in an ant nest? can you imagine the horror he went through? we have to be their eyes and years and we cant allow them to be taken disadvantage of.