Five year old special needs kid handcuffed in Pennsylvania

[gpatt0n]

Published on May 5, 2015 A five year old boy who has special needs was recently shackled and handcuffed in a Pennsylvania school and his mother is understandably livid about it. The school had an established action plan if the child had any sort of temper tantrum in school, the boy was known to have temper tantrums because of some special needs. The incident occurred after the boy started stabbing himself with pencils and trying to choke himself. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks discuss. Do you think the school and police went too far? Tell us what you think in the comment section below. After a 5-year-old boy ended up handcuffed and shackled in a patrol car following a classroom outburst last week, his family is saying the school's failure to follow an established action plan left their son traumatized and unable to return to school. Chelsea Ruiz told The Huffington Post Monday that her son, Connor, had a "meltdown" at Philadelphia Primary in upstate New York last Wednesday. School personnel told Ruiz that Connor was jumping around, stabbing himself with pencils and trying to choke himself by chewing on foam and crayons. Ruiz said teachers in her son's special needs classroom tried for two hours to de-escalate the situation. But eventually, instead of calling Ruiz or her husband, Ryan, the school called the state police. Ruiz said the school didn't reach out to her until after that.”*

Click for RECENT TOPICS click for RECENT TOPICS click for RECENT TOPICS

[CitizenCain]

I guess the kid is lucky they didn't shoot him.

[gpatt0n]

I guess the kid is lucky they didn't shoot him.

 

Maybe, but my reading is totally different. I posted this in the comments on youtube:

 

 

As a parent of a (now) 22-year old man with autism who defined 'handful' from his earliest years, I can tell from the sketchy material in the story that:

 

1. The kid had an IEP with a plan on how to handle his outbursts.

2. His outbursts are the reason for his being in a special ed program

3. The idea that he went off the deep end is a testament that someone at the school is a ditz.

4. If you can't outsmart a five-year old, you need to get out of the business ("I've used things as odd as the promise of cookies (usually handier) and ice cream to redirect attention.

5. you don't call the state police, this is not a criminal justice issue.

 

Hell, the school didn't even call the state police a little over a decade ago when my son put two aids in the hospital emergency room after they 'stupidly' stole his computer time so they could play instead. Pissed the kid off, it did

 

One of the rules of humanity, it would seem, comes from the autistic phd in animal husbandry Temple Grandin who would be quick to point out that you roll the kid up tightly in a blanket ... his head obviously free .. and apply firm but gentle pressure to his entire body and, just like the cow going to slaughter, he'll calm down, relax and regain composure and control. It helps to talk calmly with the child as well. But then that is being smart about it.

 

None of you (ON TYT) apparently have a clue. Oh, and if you listened between the lines, dear momma in this case has set herself up for private schooling at the taxpayer expense. That they didn't call mom or dad in this case makes me wonder if the school itself was helping the parents in their plot to get private education.... because you don't call a cop on a five year old acting out in special ed ... at least if you are not a complete idiot, you don't.

 

Hence, the gut feeling that the principal is maybe friends with the mom's step mother and figured this would be a good way to get out of the loop and do something good for her friends kid (private school) ... you don't get diverted to a specialized school capable of spending one-on-one time with a troubled child at the tax payers expense without some horror story like that presented here. It is almost too classically perfect a setup for that outcome as to raise my suspicions.

 

I do know that the kid is an innocent bystander in this who needs help... and he probably won't get much in the public school there.

 

pubby

[The Sound Guy]

Oh heck no am I going to wrap somebody's elses kid up in a blanket and start squeezing.

 

That's a lawsuit *waiting* to happen.

[gpatt0n]

Oh heck no am I going to wrap somebody's elses kid up in a blanket and start squeezing.

 

That's a lawsuit *waiting* to happen.

 

If it is written into the IEP as one of several approved methods to calm the kid down, it works.

 

What you don't know SG is that at the first IEP for my son back in 1996, they carried us to a room where we were sitting in little kid chairs. Over in a different part of the room was a padded, sound-proof room that they said they stuck kids into until they quieted down. Also in the room was this massive wooden chair that looked like "Old Sparky" down to the leather straps for the legs, arms and torso. (There was no electrical apparatus) ... and this is how they introduced us to special education.

 

You've obviously been spared the experience of dealing with a head-strong, non-communicative child.

 

Oh, and in the context of being smart. Whereas you might swat a three year old or even a six or seven year old who is misbehaving, it isn't a good idea to react that way with a moderate to severe autistic child because that is the type of behavior they learn all too well and re-apply with vengeance again and again through age 21 and beyond.

 

Fortunately, we understood that and instead countered with actions designed to calm and relax the child ... As a parent, we would often grab the arms and lay on him to provide the pressure needed to calm. Of course he was trying to bite us - literally chew us up - but again, we learned that you don't shrink from a bite; rather you adopt the mindset, "Oh, you want a piece of me ... here - putting our other hand behind their head and pressing toward the bite, we acted as if we wanted him to swallow the entire arm. We actually were able to avoid injury this way because had we tried to jerk away, it could have torn our skin ... this way, we just got a moderate bruise that because he let go quickly, was less an issue.

 

What you have to grasp is that you are the adult and you have to 'out think' the child who, if you know most babies, make it their goal in life to manipulate you to providing for their needs.

 

And I'll admit one of the most surprising aspects of out-thinking them is grasping that some of the strategies seem, on first blush, to be counter-intuitive (the bite-response, for instance.)

 

pubby

[mhparker92]

As with most things like this - there is more to this story. And, Pubby, while that works with our own children that we are raising (though maybe not now with the imposition of DFACs), a school system can't do that. And, you shouldn't ask them to, in my opinion. The fact is that if this kid is causing body harm (pencil to the eye) and/or strangling himself to the point of passing out (which is coming), and nothing else worked - yeah - call the cops. Now - was that state police officer the closest (perhaps already in the building), was he closer than local folks, was he closer than the school resource officer or replacing the school resource officer that day? There's alot more to this than we know, and as such, I can't render a judgement.

 

Would I like to have this happen? Absolutely not. But, I've had similiar incidents happen when I was in charge - my reaction - grab my police officer who had his handcuffs and zip ties on his belt from work. Didn't need them. But, I might have.

[jennilyn77]

I recently read an article written by the father of an autistic boy. In the article he says, "being the parent of a child with special needs has made me a father with special skills." I love that.

 

I haven't read the whole story but I'm reading way too many of these types of stories lately and it disturbs me. I don't doubt at all that the way this was handled traumatized the child. Regardless of any differing factors in the case, the main goal should be to protect the child and his well being and that includes emotionally. The parents should have been called before it was allowed to escalate for so long.

 

ETA- Pubby, not sure if you know this but nowadays some schools have sensory rooms for kids on the spectrum. my son has one at his school and he loves it. No more scary wooden chairs, thankfully

Edited May 6, 2015 by jenilyn

[The Sound Guy]

You are correct that I haven't raised a special needs child, but have several friends that have them, from Asbergers to a seriously autistic young man, so I have some exposure to them.

 

I agree with the poster above that it's one thing to do that to your own child, but if something happens to the child while the teacher is trying to wrap the child, who is getting blamed? Say, the teacher trips over the blanket edge and falls on the child, or knocks them against a wall during the struggle? I assume the special needs classes have multiple teachers/assistants so their are witnesses, but from my children's safety training that I've had (due to work with youth), I'm not sure they would be considered a valid witness for the defense.

 

A question: Do you sign a waver that releases the teachers from harm if any damage/injury occurs while attempting to implement the IEP control options?

[gpatt0n]

Soundguy:

 

the IEP is essentially a contract and it is signed by both parties. Before the GOP took over the congress in the 1990s, the parents were in a stronger negotiating position vis-a-vie the schools. The GOP has been eroding parental rights (and child rights) ever since. Why? If a parent wins a private specialized education program for their child, it can be rather expensive which translates into taxes ... and the rest is the GOP knee jerk.

 

pubby

[The Sound Guy]

Ok, gotta ask: Exactly how do you blame the GOP for everything that has happened? Got any specific examples instead of blindly blaming the GOP?

 

Seems like the Liberals have been running most of Dept of Ed lately or it would be a heck of a lot different that it is.

[gpatt0n]

Ok, gotta ask: Exactly how do you blame the GOP for everything that has happened? Got any specific examples instead of blindly blaming the GOP?

 

Seems like the Liberals have been running most of Dept of Ed lately or it would be a heck of a lot different that it is.

 

I lived it, SG. Due process was a lot stronger. The aspect that drove the changes was the increase in taxes that schools had to raise to pay for the needed services. The best way to avoid raising taxes is to not need services. The best way to not need services was to avoid having services mandated in court by fighting it.

 

Parents and advocates began winning in court by showing that substantial progress could be had if their child were provided with the proper services. They could do this because under the earlier versions of the law, the school district could not stop them from putting the kids in these alternate settings allow a contrast between their services and the services provided by third parties. They lobbied the legislature to change the rules and the result is that you couldn't collect reimbursement for the private placement even if you won meaning that if you had the funds and that was the right placement for your kid, you put them there. If you weren't able to afford the private placement and the attorney you engaged to fight for the private placement could not get a portion of the 'reimbursement awarded' ultimately, winning in court was not feasible for rich or poor.

 

And all that was changed by the substitution of a few words and rearranging the dynamic of how children with disabilities could be taken out of school and placed in an alternate setting that might prove they could improve - dramatically.

 

The pressure on schools to pay for such private settings evaporated as did the necessity to raise taxes to provide those improved services.

 

And, SG, it happened before my eyes in the congress in which our very own Speaker was in power.

 

pubby

[The Sound Guy]

I'm still confused as to what you mean by "congress", State or Federal? Newt or Glenn?

 

As well, I'm not sure that I agree you have a valid point in what the school system should offer. The standards you are suggesting existed appear to have not been equally applied and I suspect that is what got it changed more than just the GOP wanting to save money..

 

I know you live with that reality every day, but If that standard were applied to the "Exceptional" children, i.e. that that school system should be forced to provide whatever level of support, supplies and teaching for them to show "substantial progress" i.e. fully reach their potential, I fully believe that there would be an even greater outcry against it.

 

I lived that when I was in high school, there were three levels of each class, 101, 102 and 103, where the good students got to get in the 101 class to be challenged and reach their potential, the standard children were in the 102 level and the ones that didn't get it would get placed in 103.

 

Of course the issue was that once placed in a lower level class, the child could never advance to catch back up with the higher level classes and were left behind. Children in the 103 classes were badged as "slow" and not much expected of them. The result of the outcry was that the schools were forced to "mainline" everyone together. For a while, the solution was thought to be having classes implemented to allow the students to self teach at their own pace, (my 7th grade science class was one), while the exceptional students were examples to the other but they were failures. (My lab partner and I ended up begin the only students allowed to go at our own pace, we nearly finished the book. The remainder of the class after having made little or no progress in the first month, were all made to work together and barely made it half way through) Unfortunately, with the situation we have now, we have the exceptional students who are bored out of their minds and causing trouble or losing interest in the class, the good students who are just keeping up (more or less) and the poor students who are totally lost, all in the same class, not allowing either of ones at each end to reach their full potential and doubtful the middle students do either with the Teacher dealing with the ones at the two endpoints of the spectrum. Or the parent pay for school twice for their kids to go to a private school. (And no, I don't believe in the voucher system, it would be a total disaster and would result in totally segregated school systems - segregated by ability not necessarily by race.)

 

Bottom line, the schools are forced to provide a "one sized fits all" for the mainline students. I understand there has been a push at times to even mainline the challenged students into the regular classes, but I believe that is bigger mistake because they do need more attention per student. I believe the schools already provide a much lower student to teacher ratio for the challenged students, I would hope so at least, but having a private tutor/program for each student would seem to be to be beyond the call of duty.

 

I know that a lot can be said for society trying to providing challenged students with enough skills to survive on their own in life, that the cost that society will pay for them NOT being able to survive on their own will be high. The problem is that the school system, an independent body, is expected to take on the costs of the education, whereas the cost to society of not providing them with the proper skills is borne by other parts of society. (Social Security, Medicaid, Homelessness, etc)

 

Perhaps the best solution would be for the state to provide direct funding to the schools system for that extra program expense since its the state that would pay the price for not having it. I don't know. It's a tough call. As a parent I want my child to be the best they can be and I'm sure you feel the same. I know my friends with challenged children want the same.

 

I don't believe there is a perfect solution.

 

[jennilyn77]

Often times the most exceptional students happen to be the same ones with special needs.

 

I agree, there is no perfect solution but inclusion is something I'm all for.

[jennilyn77]

Children with challenges who are mainstreamed into a regular class are given a support teacher. their needs don't typically interfere with the rest of the class because of that. Early on when I realized my son was going to need help in many different areas I was told that I need to always push for the least restrictive environment. I would tell any parent of a child with special needs to do the exact same. Thankfully and luckily, with the early intervention my son has received, he should be able to test out and not need an IEP anymore around the age of 7. He is gifted in that he is extremely smart. On the other hand he is emotionally immature and has a lot of muscle tone issues which could interfere with his writing, it already does. He attends a paulding special needs preschool. I assume the special needs preschool exists because of extra funds set aside for special ed? I know that each class only has a limited amount of space available and if you are able to secure a spot by showing your child has enough need you should consider yourself quite lucky (sounds weird, I know). I also know that there are special classes for autistic children who can't be mainstreamed.

 

Bottom line, when kids are being arrested and shackled for autistic behaviors, while in the care of adults who are supposed to know how to handle them, there's a huge problem. Kids shouldn't end up being thrown in prison for something beyond their control. It's happening more and more, you don't hear about it because it's not typically covered in mainstream media, unfortunately. we clearly need more autism awareness, especially in the law enforcement community. Google Richard Neli Latson.

https://adiaryofamom.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-school-to-prison-express/