School starts at 9. Got a call from the nurse at 9:05. Movie Boy was in the clinic with skin abrasions to elbows and knees, after being jumped by another student as he was entering the school. They had just unloaded busses and 1500 students were, all at once, proceeding into the building. The other student, Isaiah, got pushed into the bushes. Movie Boy and his friend Joey happened to be walking by, and Isaiah mistook them as being the ones that pushed him. I guess when you crowd 1500 students into a doorway, you get the Lord of Flies, really. Movie Boy didn?t know what hit him. He turned around, and the kid was making a second lunge at him, so he held up his hand to stop him. This is considered by school administration as having ?laid hands? on the other student. Isaiah then knocked him to his knees, and took off. Joey helped Movie Boy to the clinic, where he was treated and I was called. He and Joey filled out incident reports. The AP, Ms. B, let me know that she was going to let Movie Boy off with ?only a detention?. Is she insane? She said if I didn?t agree with her determination, I could write an appeal.
She asked for it. She?s got it. And so does the entire school board, the superintendent, and the principal.
Ms. B,
My autistic?son Movie Boy has been attacked twice in a very short term ? last week?when he sustained a head injury as a result of being hit by another student, and then again today when he received injuries to his knees and elbows when another boy pushed him to the ground. This on the heels of a string of verbal and physical incidents where he has been on the receiving end of bullying behavior. This has been documented?in numerous e-mails, meetings, and phone calls that included his?teachers, administration, and parents.?The bullying that he?has received?has also been corroborated by his peers.
After taking this abuse?for months, he is?traumatized by it. He now fears for his safety at school as do I.
In our phone conversation this morning, you stated that ?boys will be boys?. This is a dismissive and outdated ideology and one that does little to minimize the trend of bullying in our middle schools, or give me comfort that you recognize the seriousness of the situation. This?attitude is not conducive to a safe environment.
As you know, Movie Boy is a child with autism. Children with autism are more likely than typical children to be victimized by bullying. Unfortunately, the anecdotal evidence in Movie Boy?s experience this year speaks to this despite my efforts and his father?s efforts to effectively work with school personnel to manage it.
As you stated this morning, you have not read Movie Boy?s IEP. If you had, you would know that Movie Boy had communication and social deficits, and that we address these in a series of goals and objectives designed to help him succeed in middle school. We specifically address his inability to appropriately handle negative peer interactions. I am frustrated that he has not received specialized instruction as per his IEP regarding these social interactions and clearly the result of that is that, based on what happened this morning, Movie Boy?s skill in this area has not improved. However, this is through no fault of his own.
His inability to appropriately handle negative peer interactions is a documented deficit of his disability. Without appropriate and?systematic?instruction that takes into consideration his disability, your staff is leaving him completely unprepared to handle these incidents.
Despite the goals and objectives in his IEP, and despite repeated requests by both his father and myself, Movie Boy has been left to handle these attacks without instruction as is guaranteed him under IDEA and ADA.
Disciplinary action for Movie Boy is completely inappropriate. The responsibility for Movie Boy to respond appropriately to an incident such as occurred this morning is the burden of his case manager and IEP team, and therefore he should not be disciplined for this incident, but rather he should immediately receive instruction as to the appropriate method as to handle these attacks, if there is such a thing. I also ascertain that it is the responsibility of the school administration to keep him from being attacked, so he is not put in a position where he must respond. There is such a thing as ?fight or flight? response, and in children with autism this response is especially sensitive.
Movie Boy has done an ADMIRABLE job of taking and taking and taking the abuse that has been piled on him all year, waiting for the adults to improve the situation. He should be commended for his tolerance and patience thus far, and not disciplined because finally in March he may not have responded ?appropriately? to yet another attack. [And it is STILL unclear to me what the "appropriate" response should be.]
This is a shameful situation, to allow a child with a disability to be bullied all year and then point a finger at him.?What has been done to minimize the bullying? What has been done to meet the goals and objectives that are clearly outlined in Movie Boy?s? IEP?
Because if ?boys will be boys? is the best you can come up with, you are simply not protecting my child and have absolutely no insight as to how his disability affects him socially.
I also request that no interaction on this incident or any similar incidents occur without myself or his father present. This is a child with a communication deficit.
Thank you,
Kat
