wow how very sad for her. This isnt even a bully type thing theses kids have been together class to class since they been 3 years old and I have never known of an issue. the asst principle admitted to me this kid has issues and his teacher mentioned to me the day this happened ( he was out sick ) that Mikey has been agitated many times before and they re direct him. they are not keeping my son or the other kids safe. it will be interesting to see what the attorney will say about this. the attorney i am going to see is craig Goldenfarb if you are curious to look him up. We are in West Palm Beach, Fl and he does alot of high profile cases. I have also been told to allert the media but I want to see what he says about doing that before I go ahead. Also if they are not protecting our kids handicapped or not them they are violating there rights to FAPE. They basicly have hung themselves in many many ways.. Now I have to pull the pieces together for my son's sake and deal with this mess and help him to get back to being stable. I assume he will be home with me for a while. thankfully I dont work..
I'm so sorry you're going through this, and I can definitely empathize. My DS16 has Asperger's and attends a specialized school. He has been assaulted twice, but the response by the principal in both cases was satisfactory to me. The first time, a boy slapped my son's friend across the face so hard he fell off his chair. When my son reacted by yelling at him to stop, the boy came after my son and started hitting him in the head. My son covered his head and mostly got hit on his arms, but he did end up with a sore stop just above his neck. Two aides restrained and removed the boy immediately. He was suspended for several days while they discussed his placement. They ended up transferring him out of the Asperger's program and into an emotionally disturbed program in the same school. The staff on that side is better equipped to handle that type of explosive behavior. The mom of the other victim and I discussed the incident at length between ourselves, and with the school staff. We decided not to press charges because we felt the alternative placement would keep the boy away from our kids. Plus, he was already in a sad situation, living in a group home because his parents kicked him out. We didn't feel that having him arrested would do any good.
In the other incident, my son's friend kicked him in the groin. When they questioned the boy, he said he was imitating something he'd seen on TV and he really didn't think my son would get hurt. He sincerely thought that since cartoon characters jump back up after being hit or kicked, my son would too. The other boy was suspended for two days while they questioned everyone who saw what happened. He had to write my son a letter of apology, and he is to stay away from my son at break times (the other boy has a one-on-one aide who does a good job of managing him). Again, I was satisfied with the school's response. I know the other boy well enough to believe that he didn't feel he was being malicious. He just got out of control with his joking around and took it way too far.
I think you're absolutely doing the right thing by talking to a special ed attorney. We used an attorney to help us get our school district to give our son his private school placement. They had violated his IEP many times and weren't listening to anything we had to say. At this point, let the attorney talk to the school. In terms of contacting the media, I would advise against it (as a former Public Relations manager). Again, let your attorney determine if that is a good idea, and let him be the spokesperson. I know it's tempting to want to do anything and everything to help your son, but it's best to take things one at a time. Let the attorney tick off the school for you. That's what you'll be paying him for! Best of luck. I hope things work out for your son!
my prayers are with your family
