My son was physically attacked at school the other day. Some girl, that he doesn't know, started flapping her mouth at him then they ended up in an "altercation". Basically, she came at him and he swatted her hands back. Therefore, it was a fight. The interesting thing is - he was sitting in class minding his own business doing his Bell work for math. She didn't even belong in the classroom.
Now he sits in Alternative School which can only be described as Juvenile Detention run by the school system. Needless to say, with his autism, he is very frightened and really doesn't know why he is there. I can't even explain it to him. I don't know why.
I am argued with the vice principal, counselor and a few other administration members. Hopefully, I will be able to talk with the superintendent to get to the bottom of this. The girl made up a story about my son attacking her. I am not allowed to find our her version due to privacy laws. That is the goofiest thing I ever heard. My son got the story today at his new temporary school while the students all explained why they were there.
I firmly believe my son's story and I negate the girl's story. I am not normally a bleeding heart when it comes to my kids. If you do the crime, you do the time. However, one thing that moms of kids of autism know, they don't lie.
I have physically worn myself out trying to fight this problem. Our school has a no tolerance policy when it comes to fights. I cannot say that I agree with it once you look at the pitfalls. According to what I have been told by staff, if you are on the receiving end of a punch, you are in a fight. Therefore, you are going to Alternative School. They had a boy in this school that stood and let a girl beat him up. He ended up at this school because he was in a fight. I don't get it.
The fallout from all of this has yet to completely happen. My son's anxiety level is through the roof. He spent the first half of the day frightened of breaking a rule. Your break a rule, you get another day. He only had half a day because school was canceled early due to impending storms.
He doesn't understand and neither do I. I firmly believe that kids with Special Needs have no rights in my school system. You are guilty without any recourse. I am wondering who will be paying for the therapist that we will probably have to hire to fix the fallout. I will continue my arguments with the school. I will be at least heard if not understood. We have decided to find a private school for my son to receive better training. When does this end?
Where's the line between no tolerance for fighting and no tolerance for bullying? Several years ago, my oldest was bullied on the playground, he told a monitor, the monitor did nothing, the other kid came back and bullied (attacked) him more. He came home with bruises around his neck and scratches on his arms from the attack, but yet he was suspended for fighting (fighting back...aka defending himself). Schools can talk the talk about no tolerance for fighting/bullying, but they don't do a good job at walking the walk.
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