The Autism News | English


(CNN) – The former teacher of a schoolboy diagnosed with autism, who is accused by the child’s father of mistreating the student, has called the allegations “disingenuous,” saying she wasn’t there when the alleged classroom incident took place.

The father, Stuart Chaifetz, said he put a recording device on his 10-year-old son, Akian, and recorded school staff in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, making what he described as inappropriate comments during class.

Teacher Kelly Altenburg said through her attorney Friday that she “does not condone any such remarks.”

“This language was not used at her direction, in her presence or with her knowledge,” according to the statement.

Chaifetz launched a website and a YouTube video on Monday to publicize portions of more than six hours of recordings of what he says are teachers and aides talking about alcohol and sex in front of the class, punctuated by yelling at his son to “shut your mouth.”

School authorities said in a statement Friday that they are “continuing to investigate what occurred in the classroom in question.”

“Since the evidence presented is audio only, it is imperative that the improper conduct identified on the recording is correctly identified to the person(s) who committed the conduct,” the statement said.

Altenburg said she had been attending an hour-long meeting when the recordings were made and was not in the room when Akian was allegedly told to “shut up,” among other comments.

“There is no basis, either legal or truthful, for Mrs. Altenburg to be held accountable for the language or alleged words and actions of others, which may have taken place within her classroom, but which occurred outside of her presence and without her knowledge,” her statement said.

Chaifetz responded by saying Altenburg is culpable because the incident occurred in her class.

“This was an all-day situation and it was not limited to the first hour,” he added.

WTAE

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The Autism News | English


JONESVILLE, MI — An 8-year-old boy with a form of autism was kicking at a teacher, and looked as though he was going to kick police Chief Brian Corbett, when Corbett used his baton to strike the boy on the lower leg.

Corbett then helped put Eli in a police car and again hit the boy, who was screaming and kicking the door, according to a police report, obtained Tuesday through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Since this March 27 incident, Corbett has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the conclusion of a state police investigation.

Eli’s mother, Kristen Kolodie, earlier relayed the events. Her telling does not differ extensively from the police report, but she said Corbett told her he whacked Eli twice and both times he was inside the police car.

Corbett and Detective Sgt. Gordon Bigelow had been called at 11:30 a.m. to Emily B. Williams Elementary School on Adrian Street to help with Eli, a runaway student.

According to the report, Corbett pulled up in front of Eli on Maumee Street, near a golf course that neighbors the school. Eli then ran across the road, back toward the school.

Two teachers and Bigelow contained Eli near a fence surrounding the Jonesville track, but Eli refused to stand, according to the report. He continued kicking one of the teachers. He was waving a two-foot stick, Corbett reported.

He got under control, but would not walk to the police vehicle, and as Corbett approached, it looked as though he was going to kick at Corbett, Bigelow reported.

After Corbett hit Eli, Eli stopped trying to kick, but he still would not walk, and Corbett, Bigelow and the teachers carried him to the car, according to the report.

Once in the car, Eli was screaming and kicking the door with his feet and Corbett hit Eli again and told him “NOT to kick the police car,” Bigelow reported.

M LIVE

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The Autism News | English


TULSA, Oklahoma – She didn’t speak until she was 4 years old, and today she is a household name to ranchers, animal scientists, autism advocates and HBO audiences.
Dr. Temple Grandin’s life was chronicled in the HBO film “Temple Grandin,” which earned 15 Emmy nominations and five awards, including Claire Danes’ Best Actress in a Drama win for portraying the title role.

After a fundraising event for Tulsa Community College’s veterinary technology program, Grandin stopped by News On 6 and spoke with Six in the Morning anchor LeAnne Taylor about how she turned challenges with autism into a successful life and career in animal science.

When she was a baby in the 60s, research on autism was lacking. Doctors diagnosed children, including Grandin, with “infantile schizophrenia. Grandin calls that claim “ridiculous.”

She says there are signs parents can pick up from their child’s behavior, and those signs should not go ignored.

“Most important thing, if you’ve got a child that’s 2-3 years old and not talking and is sitting and rocking and doing a lot of odd behavior, the worst thing you can do is nothing,” Grandin said. “It’s very important that these kids get 20 hours a week of interaction with a teacher. Teach them turn-taking. Teach them language. We’ve got to keep them engaged with the world.”

6 Oklahoma’s Own

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The Autism News | English


OCEAN CITY — The Meyers family recently put their house in Berlin on the market and are readying for a move to the Baltimore area.

They’re not moving because of a career opportunity. Instead, they’re leaving the Shore because they’ve been unsatisfied with the way their autistic third-grader, Joe, has been treated at Ocean City Elementary School. Joe’s mother, Ellen Meyers, said better help can be offered elsewhere.

“Joe needs to be with people who can deal with autistic children, who haven’t had just a one-day training program, but people who actually work with children all the time and know how to handle them — people who are more trained specifically for autistic children,” Meyers said.

Last November, Meyers got a call from Ocean City Elementary School’s nurse telling her that her Joe had a scratch on his face. Joe had what his mom called a “meltdown,” during which she thinks he got the abrasion. She went to pick him up at the end of the day; she didn’t want him riding the bus if he was agitated.

She saw his face, which was scratched and red on his right cheek just below the eyebrow. Meyers says one of the school’s educational assistants told her Joe was being restrained during an outburst, that he had lost his footing and that another one of the assistants had pinched his face during the event.

Joe told his mother the same story in the car as they drove home — where they took photos of Joe’s wound — and then to the hospital. Joe repeated the same account later to officials from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and Child Protective Services, Meyers said.

Since that instance when Meyers picked Joe up from school, she says the educational assistant has denied ever relaying such a story to her, and that school officials have told her flat-out that such an incident never happened. Without an account from the assistant, there are no witnesses to say what had transpired, Meyers said.

Most recently, the Maryland teachers union warned her in writing not to repeat her concerns about the episode to school officials, police or members of the press.

Autism in schools

School district spokeswoman Barbara Witherow said she couldn’t comment on the specific case. But Worcester County school leaders say, in general, their classrooms welcome autistic children. At minimum, educators working in Worcester County public schools receive two types of research-based training, according to Witherow. Educators are taught safe behavior management methods and best practices. They’re provided with “effective strategies for improving student behavior,” and appropriate physical intervention techniques, such as a restraining hold, to help protect the student, educator and others, Witherow wrote in an email.

DelmarvaNow!

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The Autism News | English


When Kim Rollins’ son asked for a pair of scissors to take to school a few weeks ago, she was heartened that the fourth-grader, diagnosed with an autism-related disorder, was excited by a class project.

No, Sage Rollins explained, he didn’t need the scissors for a project. He wanted them so he could cut a window in the cardboard box his teacher sent him to sit in.

Sage, 10, told her that his teacher at Ronald Reagan Elementary School, in the southwest Riverside County community of Wildomar, sent him into the box when she became upset with him. Before that, she forced him to sit in a darkened supply closet, according to Rollins.

“I was outraged. I was insulted,” Rollins said from her home in Wildomar, near Lake Elsinore. “I cried when I heard.

School principal Nori Chandler told a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigator last month that Sage went into a closet on his own, when he wanted “quiet time,” and was never sent by the teacher. Sage also told the deputy he went on his own when he needed a quiet place.

The principal told the investigator that a district counselor provided a “decorated large cardboard box” for Sage that was placed in the back of the class, to provide a refuge for him when he had sensory overload, according to the investigative report, a copy of which Rollins gave The Times.

The box, about the size of a large television, was turned on its side, allowing Sage to use the open flaps as a door.

The deputy who investigated the allegations “failed to find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing,” and the case has been closed, said Deputy Joshua Morales, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department. The investigator’s report said there did not appear to be any intent by any school employee to mistreat or abuse Sage.

Although she taught Sage in a mainstream classroom, Sabrina Beth MacFarlane has a state education specialist credential for working with special needs students. She has been placed on paid administrative leave by the Lake Elsinore Unified School District and was not available for comment.

“Appropriate personnel action has been taken, and the matter is under investigation,” said district spokesman Mark Dennis. “We’re taking this matter very seriously.”

Rollins’ attorney filed an administrative legal claim against the district and the teacher, a likely precursor to a lawsuit. The claim alleges that the isolation was involuntary, punitive and caused other fellow students to ridicule her son.

Los Angeles Times

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The Autism News | English

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A special needs teacher in Florida could lose her job for allegedly using hot sauce to keep students in line.

Lillian Gomez is accused of pouring hot sauce on crayons that belonged to the autistic children she taught at Sunrise Elementary in Osceola County.

“I was really upset. I couldn’t believe it, honestly, I was like, ‘how can a teacher of so many years do something like that,’” said Karina Holguin, who is aunt to two 5-year-olds in Gomez’s the class.

When Holguin learned of the hot sauce, she said she was outraged.

“I was just shocked, and confused,” she said.

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HILLSBORO — Hayden Amanna, 5, and Justin Ngo, 4, don’t know it, but they’re being spied on.

The boys are working with teachers in an intensive learning classroom at the Northwest Regional Education Service District Hillsboro Education Center.

What looks like a mirror in their classroom is actually a window and, typically, teachers in training are watching and making notes. Sometimes it’s a parent, keeping tabs on a son or daughter.

The center, which opened in September, is the only statewide center for autism teacher training and observation. It also caters to 3- to 5-year-olds with disabilities in western Washington County. About 500 students visit the center, and nearly two dozen have an autism disorder.

The Education Service District (ESD) used $4.3 million in federal stimulus funds to purchase and remodel a former Hillsboro School District school in the 700 block of Washington Street.

One of the center’s main purposes is to provide autism training to teachers across the state — in person and online — who take it to their home school districts and train others to work with students up to age 21.

Classroom instructors may have degrees in special education but not specifically in autism, said Laura LaMarsh, ESD coordinator for autism services. There is no teacher certification for autism like there is for deaf/hard-of-hearing and visually impaired.

Nationally, about 1 out of every 100 children is diagnosed with autism, which ranges widely in severity. It is diagnosed based on behavior, not biology, because there is no test for autism.

According to the Autism Society of Oregon, these children may struggle with language, have abnormal social interactions, repetitive behaviors, sensory integration issues, obsessive compulsive behaviors and anxiety.

Often, change is difficult for them. Something as simple as rain can set off a child with autism, as it did with Hayden, who glanced out the window at the dark, dreary day and threw himself on a mattress, crying.

OregonLive

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The Autism News | English

A mother wants justice after she says a North Myrtle Beach High School teacher’s aide physically abused her special needs daughter.

Leslie McCabe’s 15-year-old daughter, Aubrey, suffers from severe autism that leaves her with minimal communication skills.

“She would tell me, “No school mommy. Is hurt”,” said Leslie. She wasn’t sure what her child meant by those words until a few weeks ago.

Two teachers at North Myrtle Beach High wrote letters to the principal saying a teacher’s aide pushed, grabbed and hit Aubrey. In one letter, the teacher says Aubrey was hit so hard, it left a red mark on her arm.

“He [the principal] looked at me and basically said this is the worst thing I ever want to say, but we found out that your daughter is being hit and abused by one of her teachers,” said Leslie.

On November 10th, the school suspended the aide who remains on administrative leave while the Horry County School District conducts an investigation, said spokesperson Teal Britton.

CarolinaLive

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