Autistic children at Exley Elementary were force-fed vinegar-soaked cotton balls
The Autism News | English
Responding to allegations that autistic students in a special education program at Exley Elementary School were force-fed vinegar-soaked cotton balls and made to undergo other adversive punishments, the Katy Independent School District decried the practices and said they were done without district authorization.
“The Katy Independent School District has conducted a full investigation in response to recent reports regarding the use of unapproved techniques to correct student behavior in one of our special needs classrooms last year,” the district said in a news release.
“The techniques that have been reported to have taken place are not in any way condoned by Katy ISD – nor were they approved by any authorized district staff member. As such, appropriate personnel actions have been taken and all information related to this occurrence has been turned over to the district attorney.”
The National Autism Association called the aversive practices as “inhumane.” Parents said their autistic children, some of whom do not speak, were allegedly forced to use a classroom treadmill, reportedly there for exercise breaks, and were made to go longer or faster than they wished.
It was also alleged that cotton balls soaked with vinegar were put into their mouths to control their behavior.
Parents told the school board that they were told certain “procedures” had been used in the classroom without their knowledge or consent. Exley Elementary School Principal Imelda Medrano responded saying, “a treadmill was used” and “vinegar was introduced.”
In the rest of the district’s response, it said: “This isolated occurrence is very unfortunate and we want parents to know that there is no evidence that such techniques have been used in other classrooms or by other personnel. It saddens and deeply concerns the district that such techniques could have occurred.
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