Mum’s crusade to keep autistic son in school
The Autism News | English
The seven-year-old autistic boy who was stood down from school for being violent towards his teacher aide has now been suspended-and may possibly be expelled.
The News Advertiser reported recently that Tinna Dockerty’s son Dylan, who is autistic, was sent home for allegedly scratching and kicking a teacher aide.
Now he has been suspended following allegations of further violence.
Miss Dockerty said she had received a letter from the school saying Dylan’s injuries to staff were too frequent and severe to allow him to continue attending the school.
Among other information, the letter said Dylan had given his teacher aide a black eye and broken her hand. Miss Dockerty was not aware of either incident occuring.
Principal Neil Baker said that while he could not discuss any individual child’s circumstance, the school did have a child on suspension.
“The board of trustees, who govern the school, will have to decide whether to uphold the suspension, whether the child can return to school under certain conditions, or whether to remove the suspension. If the suspension is upheld, the child would have to find another school to attend.”
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Comments
Rebecca Cookson says: The problem with state schools is that they are not properly resourced or funded to care for autistic children’s educational needs. Autistic children need very calm, quiet environments in order to function without stress and to be able to learn. They find noise and change stressful and they react, sometimes violently. Modern classrooms are noisy and constantly change; and there is constant disruption to the train of thought which even normal children struggle with, let alone an autistic child. Modern classrooms are an abnormal environment for the autistic child if you take these issues into consideration. There should be a separate unit established at schools for children with autism, and these units should have trained staff who know how to be calm and patient with the autistic students they teach. The current education system has set in place a ridiculous paradox where so-called inclusive education is compulsory to ensure all children experience the modern classroom regardless of their deficiencies or problems and regardless of whether the teacher and the school has the resources, the teacher aide hours and support to actually cater for these students. An autistic child cannot learn according to the rules of the curriculum for all kinds of reasons.
The school who stood down Dylan, is not equipped to cope with children with autism and yet the law states they must somehow cater for his needs. This is neither the school’s nor Dylan’s mother’s fault. Both parties are caught up in a stupid education system that does not support either. This is a political problem that has to be addressed. There are countless children and teenagers with autism and there are no proper facilities in place to educate or care for them. Autistic people are often gifted and have to have a proper, quiet environment in which to study and produce learning outcomes. The standard school environment NZ has currently, is less than adequate for such uniquely gifted individuals. Proper facilities need to be built and staff trained to deal with the problem of autism.
