They were crowding this kid. The behavior he was displaying usually draws a crowd. Crowds make these kids panic. When an autistic kid panics, he can become aggressive. An autistic kid's aggression causes other people to be afraid. Now he is charged with "inducing panic"- which is a felony in his area.
He's not going to "learn to be normal" by being tried in a juvenile court. It's not going to scare him into behaving. You can't spank out a neurological condition. Trying him won't keep it from happening again, and it won't educate a single person about autism. They'll just keep trying to mainstream these kids, and it will be very traumatic for many of them.
The fact is that they can learn, and mature, and grow up to be relatively normal people. Some of these kids will grow up to be extraordinary people. But they have to be helped in a one-on-one way. The schools need to learn this.
School is such a scary place for these kids, and there are more of them every day. My heart goes out to this mom and her son. I know there are people out there who think she's making excuses for her son, but if people could spend a day inside the head of these children, and feel what they do, they would understand. Recess is so hard for them. Sitting still in a chair is torture. Being out of the safe environment of home can send them into a panic that seems so out of proportion to the actual situation. I have said all of the things she's quoted as saying. I just want to send her a hug. I want the world to understand her son, and make a safe private place for him to learn when she has to work.
1 comment:
That's really sad. No one understood and that poor mother. I know you have felt exactly like that.
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