New York Police Handcuff First-Grader

[thir]

I don't know about autistic children, but having raised two boys I know that it can sometimes be like training mules. Sometimes you can entice them with a carrot, but sometimes you have to (metaphorically) whack them between the eyes with a 2x4 to get their attention. A tantrum is just that, after all; a bid for attention. Teach them that they're more likely to get negative attention from that behavior, and provide positive attention for good behavior, and you've won the battle.

Do you mean you never had to call the police??

Joke aside, as other have pointed out, these are not your everyday kids and what is termed a 'tantrum' could be a child in serious distress. They do not react like others, and the world is different to them and sometimes very frightening.

[Thorne]

Do you mean you never had to call the police??

I never said THAT! But they were dire circumstances. The little bastards wouldn't turn off the Nintendo so I could watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Damned heathens!

I do understand that dealing with autistic kids is different. I've never had to deal with the situation myself, though. I did grow up with an uncle, only a couple of years older than myself, who was born with cerebral palsy and had a rather severe mental handicap. While we had to make some allowances for his slow learning speed, for the most part he was rarely treated any differently than the rest of us. Just like other kids he had to learn that there were some forms of behavior which were unacceptable, and which earned swift punishment. And he did learn, just as we did.

[leena]

Without knowing the special needs of this child, I wouldn't even begin to comment on how the teachers handled it. We just don't have enough information on this child. Articles like this are written to provoke emotion which is drawn on giving the reader as little actual information to get them there as possible. However, if the mother was upset, then that is my first indicator that police involvement was not part of his IEP, or at the very least, handcuffs were not.

But basically, without all the facts, and with the severe ranges of special needs, and the level of violence that can accompany many of them, I don't assume autism just because that's the most talked about...even within ASD there is a huge range of children and their tendency toward violence. Where there are special needs involved, you learn pretty quick that sometimes, there is no such thing a "typical" tantrum. I can tell you as a mother of two special needs children that people who stand back and make assumptions about me and the way I handle my children, when they have less than 1/2 the story, if any real facts...are annoying. Most people wouldn't be able to take a step in my shoes, never mind get the running start I need each day, to care for my children.

[Thorne]

However, if the mother was upset, then that is my first indicator that police involvement was not part of his IEP, or at the very least, handcuffs were not.

From what we've read here, I would hesitate to base any opinion on the attitudes of the mother, too. I've seen too many instances where parents have blamed the school, teachers, administrators, coaches and anyone else they can think of because their child was caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. I even had a parent swear to me that her child would NEVER lie after he lied right in front of me.

I would like to hear the teacher's/police side of this story but, as noted elsewhere, the unions and board of education are not likely going to allow that to happen unless and until the case winds up in court.

[IAN 2411]

From what we've read here, I would hesitate to base any opinion on the attitudes of the mother, too.

Wait a minute! the mother was called at the same time as the police, but from what i gather the police took him away before she arrived at the school. So there was not really any point in wasting her time, they should have told her on the phone tough shit your boy is locked in cuffs and on his way to lock up. How can she lie about what happened she was not there? I also think that leena had some very good points that were not missed by me.

Be well IAN 2411