Cruel and unusual!! School Refuses To Let Father Take His 10-Year-Old Autistic Son Home...

[loyalsister]

Given the sensitivity to tactile stimuli this meanness is completely unacceptable! Once again police need training re: mental illness, and other disabilities.

School administrators took Ryan out of class and called police. After calling police, they called Ryan's father, Moses Maldonado. Maldonado arrived at the school 10 minutes before police officers did, but school administrators refused to release Ryan into his custody.

Maldonado was powerless as he watched officers drag his screaming son out of the school. Once outside, the officers handcuffed Ryan and put him face down on the trunk of a "hot" squad car.


http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/young-autistic-student-handcuffed-arrested-father-forced-watch

[malthaussen]

1. Never have liked involuntary commitment laws.

They are too easily abused.

-- Mal

[tblue]

2. What the ???!

Do police get NO training other than 'Do whatever it takes'? And why in hell did the school even call the cops? That poor baby and his dad. I hope the parents sue.

[loyalsister]

16. I hope the parents sue

ME TOO!! I'm not a parent, so I don't have full parent empathy, but I think that if I had the means I would move to a different state. This is so disturbing. Kids deserve better!

[Louisiana1976]

31. If they did that to my child I'd feel like I was living in a fascist police state. I'd sue, too.

[d_r]

3. Oh hell no.

This is absolutely outrageous.

Frankly they kidnapped the boy.

There is no way that a school should be able to deny custody of a child to their own parent. The child is not the school's the child is the parent's responsibility.

We have come to far in looking down on parents and assuming that they are not going to do what is in the best interest of their child and that the school or the state has jurisdiction. This child committed no crime.

ETA I have a 10-year-old boy and if he was so scared and overwhelmed and then the school wouldn't let me have him and then a cop had him like this I would probably be a dead man right now. That father had a lot of restraint and control to make it through this.

[jberryhill]

4. This school has a six person "Autism Spectrum Disorders Staff"

No shit, have a look:

http://www.cye.osceola.k12.fl.us/staff.html

Autism Spectrum Disorders Staff:

Becky Demmitt
Edgar Garcia
Ruth Nelson
Morgan Presto
David Schneider
Sang Tran-Ponce

I sent them a congratulatory note on a job well done.

[d_r]

12. what the heck

Is osceola county sending children who are on the spectrum from multiple districts to one central school? The school also lists:

ESE Support Staff:
Maritza Arroyo
Melanie Cain
Isabel Figueroa
Dennis Kelly
Abby Torres
Becky Bracero
Ivette Pagan
Debbie Palmer
Carmen Ortiz

They have one each of PE teacher, Art teacher, Music Teacher, Drama/Dance teacher.

So why would one school need six autism specialists and nine para pros - is the district sending all children with special needs to this one school rather than attending their zoned schools?

Here are some past stories from osceola county- not the same school, same school district

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Osceola-County-teacher-accused-of-abusing-autistic-student/15600254
2012- According to the incident report, the teacher's aid came forward, saying she witnessed the teacher pull him up "roughly by the arms" and toss him to the ground, then grabbed his feet and "dragged him across the carpet" while verbally abusing him.

The aid also accused the teacher told other students to "kick or push Phoenix when he misbehaves."

Another story about that case with different details:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/narcoossee-elementary-school-teacher-accused-of-threatening-to-cut-off-tongues-dragging-student-across-cloor_n_1687166.html

"He tried to get away from her and he ran to a corner. (I'm) not sure, under a desk or something, and she went and drug him out by his leg, which caused him to get rug burn on his elbow," Phoenix's father, Craig Hanson, told the station.

The boy's mother, Nina Moreno, told WFTV that the teacher also tried to entice other students to physically abuse the 5-year-old.

"She would ask other students, 'Should I hit him?' You know? Then encouraged them to hit him and kick him," Moreno told the station.

Andrus is also accused of holding scissors up to students' tongues and ankles in a threatening manner when they misbehaved.

Another incident:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fla-teacher-accused-feeding-autistic-boy-hot-sauce/story?id=21200322
2012 - A Florida elementary school teacher who was fired for feeding an autistic child hot sauce soaked crayons is being re-instated on the orders of a judge who rejected the school district's appeal to keep her out of the classroom.

Lillian Gomez was fired from her job at Sunrise Elementary School in Kissimmee, Fla., in February 2012 after school officials found out that Gomez had allegedly put jumbo-sized crayons in a cup and soaked them for days in hot sauce before moving them to a bag that was labeled with the student's name.

[Louisiana1976]

28. Sounds like Florida is a hellhole for kids with autism.

[Laelth]

29. Yes. The district probably sends all special education students to the same school. n/t

-Laelth

[d_r]

38. I don't see how it could be legal

I mean, they could probably squeeze it around IDEA by arguing that they are providing a FAPE, and IDEA requires only that they provide accommodations but does not specify that the LRE has to be in a given location. But how could it not violate ADA if children with disabilities were not given the same rights to access their zoned school as other children?

[Laelth]

39. It's complicated.

I assume the school district has its own attorney, however, and is doing its best to comply with the law.

All special education students (and that's different from students with physical disabilities that would be covered under the ADA) go to one school here in my county's school district.

To my knowledge, students are guaranteed an education, but not necessarily an education at the specific school for which their residence is zoned.

-Laelth

[d_r]

40. I get what you are saying

but one thing, the ADA isn't just physical disabilities, it would cover all disabilities. IDEA doesn't specify a specific zone, but ADA would require equal access.I wonder if anyone has every challenged it.

[azurnoir]

15. I hope you either forgot the sarcasm smilie or hoped we'd all see it as such

myself I'd like to but these days

[Wait Wut]

17. Ugh. I didn't see that before I posted.

Obviously a very well trained staff.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. They told us if we wanted to be compassionate we had to have rules.

We allowed them to enforce rules and they have become cruel.

[dickthegrouch]

6. Whatever happened to "Innocent until PROVEN guilty"? /nt

[TorchTheWitch]

23. in a court of law

People always tend to forget that part. And obviously, one can't be PROVEN guilty at time of arrest. That's putting the horse in the cart not just behind it.

Mental illness or no, sometimes the mentally ill or otherwise mentally challenged have to be taken in for the safety of others. It's not about cops needing to understand mental illness, it's about a cop's job being to make people including the offender safe even when it's someone mentally ill or challenged doing something their mind can't help but is nevertheless dangerous to others or otherwise breaks the law.

Police officers are not mental health professionals nor should they be. That job is for the mental health professionals. The police have an entirely different job... make people safe including the offender as quickly as possible.

Quite a number of mentally ill people have done dangerous things to others because of their mental illness like the guy that shot Gifford or the guy that shot up a university full of students or the guy that shot up his family or the woman that shot up a mall, etc. The police don't need to be diagnosing the offender or playing doctor with them, they need to do what their job actually is. Once the offender is in custody and people made safe then bring on a veritable parade of mental health professionals to try to sort them out.

[jberryhill]

25. This was about a 72 hour psych hold

Any person deemed a danger to themselves or others as a consequence of a mental disorder can be held for psychiatric evaluation.

Doing so to a person who, as here, has said they will hurt themselves with scissors is not unusual - but for the fact that the person in question in this instance has a known condition and the school ostensibly has a specialized staff for autism disorders.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

41. Cops, politicians, celebrities and the elite are innocent even AFTER proven guilty. The rest of us?

We are herd animals to be controlled.

[Rex]

7. Got to make sure the kids know and understand, the police are like the bogyman.

You don't run to police in America in 2014, you run away from police and hope they don't blast you away with 30 bullets.

[deurbano]

8. THIS is how they handle a TEN-year-old with autism?!!!!!!

Unbelievable. The school.... the police... THEY are the "criminals" in this revolting saga.

[dhill926]

9. inexcusable…..

sue the living piss out of them...

[kimbutgar]

10. I can't tell you how many times I was called to my son's school because he had a meltdown

But here is San Francisco they don't call the police. Once an aide restrained my son causing a bruise on his forehead. I was so angry and could have gone after the school district big time. It was the end of the year and they knew I could cause trouble. I ended up using this incident to get my son into a non public school specializing in behavior management and minimizing meltdowns by teaching him techniques to control himself.

Too bad the young boy doesn't live in a state that treat children with autism with dignity and not as animal.

I would not let my child return to that school. To this day 10 years later my son is still traumatized by being restrained at school.

[Orrex]

11. Help me out on The Baker Act

If, as alleged, Ryan actually threatened to harm himself with scissors, why wouldn't that justify taking him into custody under the 1971 act?


It's a nightmarish situation. I can't imagine how the family must feel, especially Ryan himself.

[jberryhill]

26. Normally that would be correct

A person who indicates an intention to do harm to themselves or others can be put in an involuntary hold.

However, the circumstances here indicate a 10 year old child who, despite having expressed such an intent, can effectively be prevented from obtaining scissors without resorting to extraordinary means.

One question would be the degree to which the school has authority to restrain a physically uncooperative special needs child. If the school is unable (and by that I mean not allowed) to physically restrain or confine the child, then they would have to do something else. Surrendering the child to the custody of a present and willing parent would seem to be the more reasonable alternative here.

[Orrex]

30. Thanks

Yeah, it's weird that they gave him to the police if the parents got there before the cops did.

[littlemissmartypants]

13. Oh, lord jeeezus, help us all. nt

[Wait Wut]

14. Was he in a mainstream classroom or special needs?

If special needs, I have a freakin' serious problem with the teacher. If he/she hasn't been trained in how to handle an outburst like this, I have a problem with the school board. If he was in a mainstream classroom, I still have a problem with the teacher, but I've seen far too often how non-special needs teachers feel about and treat special students, so I wouldn't be surprised.

The cops were assholes, but it didn't start there. You don't call the cops on a 10 year old autistic child. If, IF, there is no other option, you should be at that child's side, talking with the cops to diffuse the situation as much as possible. The teacher is the child's only advocate at that point since the father wasn't allowed to protect his own son.

That poor baby. Fuck. If it had been my son, I'd be sitting in jail.

[maynard]

18. look at both sides of the situatuion...

I teach special education. I have been kicked, beaten, bitten by kids, and physically abused in my role as a teacher. (by students, not parents). I have even been sent to the emergency room by students who did not want to f follow directions. You need to look at how severe or mild his autism is. If he has outbursts, he will have a behavior plan that outlines what is to be done in case of an outburst. Parents allays are required by federal law to sign off on the final plan. Was the student in a self-contained class or a general education class or a resource room? What happened in the room prior to the incident and after? How did the other kids in the class react? Have other parents of the children in the class complained and threatened their own lawsuit? How has the parent responded in the past to these situations? Just remember, we are hearing only one side of the situation. If anyone thinks they could have done better in the situation, they are more than welcome to become a teacher and show us how it is to be done.

[loyalsister]

19. I can accept part of that

I understand the planning process. The law that allows involuntary commitment is a travesty. And, the police should know better than to push him down against a hot car. Obviously they shouldn't do that to anyone, but the experience for someone who has tactile sensitivity is cruel.

[knitter4democracy]

37. I was thinking along the same lines.

If he hurt a teacher or another student, I can see why letting him go home with his dad was not the right decision. We don't know what happened beforehand, and honestly, having been a sub in special ed, I can imagine many possibilities for why the police were called.

[KamaAina]

20. And with absolute predictability, the kid is brown

[Orrex]

21. Is that the police officer in the picture?

[loyalsister]

22. ^^ Truth!

With what we have been seeing lately, I am beginning to understand a little more why some people want to protect their "beautiful minds."
But, I know it would be as irresponsible as deserting my friends\family in need if I can help. In the end, it's about all of us.

[TorchTheWitch]

24. and very obviously the officer is many shades darker

What's your point?

[elleng]

27. FLORIDA!

'The Baker Act, formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, allows for the involuntary institutionalization and examination of an individual. Maldonado was forced to watch as his son was taken away in the back of a police car.'

[jberryhill]

32. that's pretty much the rule everywhere

If someone threatens harm to themselves or others, most places allow a 72 hour psych hold.

[elleng]

33. You're probably correct,

but the application is critical in these matters.

[jberryhill]

34. Yeah

Knowing his condition, and having a parent right there, it is pretty obvious this was not the run-of-the-mill "lock 'em up, he's threatening self harm" situation.

[loyalsister]

35. Yeah

There's a difference between suicidal and self injurious. It's an important distinction 1. suicide in 10 yr. old children is extremely rare.. 2. Self injury is known to be part of autism in some cases. 3. The parent was there to clear up any confusion between the two.

It appears that it was not handled well and important pieces were ignored.

[HockeyMom]

36. Florida Police Tasered a 5 year old Kinder girl

a few years ago. It does not surprise me that this happened to a 10 year old boy. I worked in Special Ed in Florida.

[Trillo]

42. To put him back in school will now be linked to "cruel and unusual punishment"

in his own mind.

“He doesn’t want to return to school. And he continues to repeat everything he heard administration and law enforcement talk about – Baker Act etc,” Ryan's mother told the Free Though Project.

How many days, years, decades, will he continue to repeat in his mind the cruel events? Could it be for the rest of his life?

[loyalsister]

43. Good point

Actually, we are seeing more and more of these events with police and people with various disabilities. Maybe it's "cruel and usual punishment"?