The story of a nine year old boy with autism who was placed in a duffel bag in Mercer County Intermediate school in Kentucky has gone viral. Calls are going out for the dismissal or arrest of the offending parties, the teacher and para-professional whose frustration lead to the restraint.
At the same time, Senator Tom Harkin has proposed legislation, the Keeping All Students Safe Act, that would seriously limit the use of restraint and seclusion to manage the most difficult or dangerous behaviors. States like Pennsylvania with laws in place have specific guidelines to ensure they are used only when a student creates the danger of injury to himself or others, and limit the kinds and extent of restraint used. A large reason it is important to see Federal Legislation is that in states that do not have legislation in place restraints or seclusion are sometimes used for punishment, or when teachers are angry and have reached their limit.
That seems to have definitely been the case with Christopher Baker. Citing his failure to complete work, or "smirking when told to put down a basketball and then throwing it across the room," seem grossly inappropriate reasons to place a boy in a duffle bag from which he could not easily escape.
For starters, the action seems to reflect a lack of training or understanding of students on the Autistic spectrum. I recently reviewed an excellent resource , 100 Ideas for Supporting Pupils on the Autistic Spectrum, that would have helped the teacher and aide put things into perspective. Idea 5 is "Never Take It Personally," though I think for teachers of students with autism, it should be engraved on a plaque and hung at the front of the classroom. I also wonder if the teacher wouldn't benefit from Idea 74, Motivation. Often teachers put boring or meaningless work in front of students with autism, and active boys like Christopher get frustrated or bored. If a smirk was all they got, they are fortunate.
There are horror stories out there that have been reported to Senator Harkin's committee: One case reported a 7 year old held face down for hours by staff: a situation that can often lead to death, especially among children with autism who have weak upper skeletal systems. There were reports of 5-year-olds who were tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape, One 13-year-old reportedly hung himself in a seclusion room after being confined for hours.
Another horror story is that Kentucky, being rural and poor, has educators without bachelor degrees. Those with degrees are poorly paid: Kentucky comes in at 32nd among 50 states in compensation. Mercer County, where Christopher lives, is a small rural district--which means the average salary is lower than the state average. A beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree makes $34,700 compared to $39,200 in Lexington. 50% of their students receive free or reduced lunch: the largest group (42%) qualifies for free lunches. There is also no specific certification or endorsement for children with autism, so it means that anyone with special education certification can teach children with autism. Mercer County is a small, rural district, and probably has difficulty filling special education positions--in fact school districts are permitted to fill positions when they can't fill positions with qualified people.
As long as we as a nation fail to take the needs of the growing population of children with autism seriously, we will continue to have unqualified or under qualified professionals working with them. Add underpaid, and you may be creating a perfect storm. Frustrated, underpaid, poorly trained teachers are more likely to give into their personal peak, and like Christopher's teacher, stick kids in bags to find just a little peace and quiet.
Comments
I think to be fair, all sides should be heard. Many schools have therapy bags, and it could had been thought sensory regulation was the problem and resulted in behavior. The student could had weasled himself down into the bag, as my son would had, and I would had let him stay that way so he could see the result wasn’t so pleasant. Emotional people will always jump on a one-sided band wagon, but no one sould condemn someone to be fired without first hearing both accounts.
I agree all sides need to be heard, but as a psychologist who, for over 20 years, has worked extensively with children with behavioral problems, I can’t think of a single situation that would warrant a child being placed in a duffel bag and held there. I’ve been well-trained in utilizing restraining techniques and upon the rare occasion needed to calm a wildly out of control child, once calm, the child is released and the steps to whatever behavioral intervention plan has been developed, are put into place.
My experiences in public schools have largely been that para-educators are rarely well trained and often, not trained at all. Many are told to “go with the child and help them,” with absolutely no idea what “help” means much less how to implement the specific strategies and intervention tools which facilitate a child’s independence, emotional control and self-management.
I’m open to hearing the other side, but if I was a betting woman, my money would rest with Jerry on this one. I imagine the teachers/aides involved are caring and loving people but unless they are given the necessary training-meaning more than a 30min drive-by presentation, but training that allows a teacher to observe and watch the skills implemented appropriately, provides guided practice and independent practice for those who will be utilizing these techniques-our system as it stands is simply set up to create lose-lose scenarios all the way around.
I hope Senator Harkin’s legislation is written with full understanding of all the dynamics involved in educating children with emotional and behavioral disorders (not just those identified on the Spectrum). Maybe I will send him a copy of my book, A Matter of Panache, which extensively addresses this very situation (i.e. what happens when untrained educators are placed in charge of children with special needs) because all I know for sure is that while Christopher’s story is a horror story, sadly, it is by no means an isolated one.
I’m crying after reading this. I have a child with autism, ADD, and tourettes. I can’t believe how horrible this is. It stems from teachers not being trained how to deal with children’s learning differences. Both of my sister-in-laws are special ed teachers, and I know more than they do. Can you imagine how little a regular classroom teacher knows. As a parent I educated his teachers, gave them books, reached out to them, and educated myself on the law. I’ve been lucky, but not all kids are. My heart goes out to him and his family. I hope they file charges against the school and teacher. If this child or any other is going to succeed in life, they must be give every possible opportunity.
If the parent can’t provide information to help the teacher, then the teacher should be responsible enough to educated themselves.
So blame the person who invented the therapy bag. People keep coming up with new ways to provide sensory input, the therapy bag may had been a poor invention, period. Regardless of Jerry’s horror attempt of the perfect storm, under-paid and under qualified does not mean all schools are this way, or that these teachers don’t give a hoot about the children in their care, including the teachers and para’s of this case. Also, a person can have all the training there is to offer, but since each child is an individual and has individual needs, much of that generic training will never be put to practical use.
It’s sad we live in a world where people are quick to judge and condemn others without hearing all sides. No one knows if the child slipped through into the bag, or even how long he was in it to begin with. Should the person be fired based on that? On only one version? It’s sad anyone would promote such a thing.
The teacher and para-pro did take responsibility for putting the boy in the bag. Clearly they were not following an FBA or a Behavior Improvement Plan, or the mother would have known about the bag. I don’t think that the teacher and para pro should be fired without a hearing, certainly. I also wonder if the district doesn’t need to get a consultant in teach effective behavior management to the special education staff, especially children with autism spectrum disorders. I recently read stories on the Families Against Restraint and Seclusion website that would curl your hair: I wonder if rural and southern school districts perpetuate a climate of violence that permeates even special education classrooms?
I always cringe when I hear these stories, but all sides should be heard.
After working with the severe end of the population for over 30 years I fear any legislation that would lump all circumstances, including restraints, into a law.
I have in recent years seen children who were blind or had seizures placed in very dangerous situations because a teacher is afraid of the word ‘restraint’ and won’t use a seatbelt. You have to take into account safety issues when talking about restraints and as always if a safety device is needed then a parent should sign off on it’s use.
I’m not interested in horror stories on some web site. Anyone who does wont be focusing on this situation and pre determining guilt. I’m actually surprised a special education guide would suggest it, along with fully blaming the under paid school staff and not offering proactive things for parents to be doing to educate themselves of sensory items used.
You assume frustration lead to the restraint, which makes no sense when the parent was on the way to pick the child up. No one really can assume there was a behavioral plan in place, either. My guess is since the school was sending the child home, there was no plan in place. In my experience, when parents keep picking up their kids, the parents aren’t well versed in special ed laws or their child’s behaviors and think taking the child home is the best way when really, the need the FBA. My guess is that if there was an FBA, the parent would had said “why are you calling me? Implement that plan”. My guess would be the therapy bag was the consult from the O.T. But until all sides are heard, I’m only assuming as well.
Whoa. As a special ed guide I think it appropriate to respond to news items. When I researched it I found some pretty vicious responses from people, everything from dismissal to arrest for the teacher and aide. I thought I was trying to respond to the breadth of challenges faced both by teachers and parents. I have used a therapy bag with children on the spectrum and it did not have a drawstring: it was open at one end. I have worked with children on the spectrum who bit, spit, tore up their clothing and assaulted staff. Everyone of them had an FBA and a BIP. I currently work in a public setting where restraint is only permitted to protect the safety of the child. I understand that there are far more productive ways to deal with difficult behavior than tying a child up in a bag.
A therapy ball bag in theory is a good idea and could work well for a pressure seeking child, and it’s portable. Depending on the behavior of the child and since he was in a special ed class, the hallway may had been the better place not to disrupt the other students. Ask how many parents actually observe the O.T room or the tools they use? There’s no reason to condemn this situation when such a therapy ball bag can be useful to other kids. My kid would had loved the bag, and he would had tried to be fully in the bag, including his head. Would that make the Para and teacher uneducated? No. It would make my son know more of what sensory input he was needing. I never heard of any one sufficating in a canvas bag. Plastic bag, yes.
Another issue is even special ed students can be accountable for behavior. Always picking the child up from school sends a message to the child what they need to do in order to go home. In my experience no matter the level of ability, a child figures that out. It’s at that point the parent asks for the FBA. As the child get’s older, they end up getting suspensions along with being sent home. After so many, placement must be reconsidered. A parent not well versed in special ed law most always is shocked, that the behavior has progressed to the point of suspensions. All it takes is throwing one item within the class.
Like I said, in my experience many children don’t have a FBA or a BIP. It takes some parents, but not all, a while to loose the thinking that picking up the child is the best method. And because this parent was called to pick the child up, in most cases there isn’t a BIP. The parent hasn’t gotten to that stage yet. FBA’s and BIP’s also aren’t designed only for those with extreme behavioral issues, either. It’s a misconception and bad info to think only those with behavioral issues have BIP’s. My child has a BIP, however he has no such extreme behaviors at all, and the BIP is used for very specific other autism-related issues, like encouraging him to talk and interact with other peers. My child also never had one prior to and at the grade and age of this boy. Not all kid with autism have a BIP, and never do.
It’s a dangerous thing to use a teachers income, insinuate
teachers are angry and have reached their limit, lack of training or understanding of students on the autistic spectrum and unqualified or under qualified professionals to evaluate this event when you’re only hearing one emotional side of the account. No article yet has given valid info about the teacher or Para.
I think what is really lacking in special ed is parents are continually given horror stories and judgemental conclusions which creates distrust of the people teaching a class of disabled children. It is the one profession of which is referred to as under paid, not qualified, and angry people. How would anyone like to be stereo typed like that?