Re: Digest Number 3537

[Guest guest]

These are excerpts

from the article at: http://autism.about.com/library/weekly/aa090501a.htm

" Upon further investigation, it seems that the boy's mother told the bus

driver that he was upset about his shoes and that he might try to leave the

bus. She instructed her to bring him home if he insisted on getting the

shoes and that she would deal with it. Seems like a simple request of a

parent to a bus driver. Instead, the driver refused to allow him to leave

and caused the situation to escalate to the point where the police had to

be called.

Don't parents have the right to have their instructions followed by a bus

driver, especially when their child is disabled? Why were the mother's

instructions ignored? What gives a bus driver the right to over rule the

instructions of a parent, especially when that drive is transporting

disabled children to a special education program? Don't the school systems

teach the individuals they hire to transport special education students

anything about the disabilities that they are involved with? "

I don't have a violent child. I don't see this ever being a problem, at

least at this point, I don't see this being a problem. But I do understand

that a special needs child is exactly that. And if a person is hired to

deal with special needs children, then they have the duty to know how to

deal with them. This mother had instructed the bus driver how to deal with

this: bring him home to get his shoes, which is what he wanted to do.

My grandmother had Alzheimer. While she wasn't usually violent, if someone

tried to make her do something she didn't want to do, she would strike out.

An intelligent person would have no problem dealing with her, but those who

thought they could make her do what they wanted did have problems. And some

felt that if she was hitting, that that gave them the right to tie her

down, medicate her or whatever else it took. My grandmother was special

needs. That means those working with her should put away their need to

control the situation and instead work with the situation. That means

realizing that you have to know the individual, and what works with them.

It would be wonderful if we could deal with all children the same way and

it would work. I know from raising 8 kids, that's not the way it works.

Some kids respond to punishment, some rewards, some seems like nothing

works. I find that if you supervise your child according to their needs,

not age, you have a better chance with them. An 11 yo should be able to

ride their bike by themselves, but mine will ride right out in front of a

car. So I have to be out with him if he is riding. I have to be close when

he is around others, because he doesn't socialize appropriately. It becomes

very difficult when a child is feeling the need to be like others his age.

So I have to be creative in working with him, explaining to him why he is

not quite ready to be off on his own (using examples, not labels), and

being discreet with my interventions.

This child in Indianapolis could have, should have been dealt with in a

more appropriate way. This driver should have turned the bus around and let

the mother deal with him. If this continued to be a problem, then, of

course, the situation would have to be addressed. But for that day, all

that had to be done is to turn the bus around. Instead this boy was gassed

and arrested.

Lolita