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| Photo courtesy of Kevin Pack |
Nugget will be entering 4th grade this year at a new school. We were forced to change his placement when, in April of this year, he had over 800 aggressive behaviors while at school, according to the school's own data. Nugget has not shown any forms of physical aggression at home in the last 2 years. When Nugget was 3, he was receiving intense ABA therapy at home. He raced through the goals and finished the program in just 2 years. His behaviors were quickly reduced at home when my husband and I both starting applying these techniques as well, and still do. His behaviors at school continued, as school staff were not applying consistent positive behavior supports. They said they were, of course, but we believed Nugget's behaviors in this environment proved otherwise. We knew our son. Just because he has autism, does not mean he can't talk. He had no reason to lie about being "squeezed" at school by school staff, including the Principal. We filed for due process after Nugget came home with matching bruises on both of his arms. No one could explain to us how they happened. We did not approve of him being restrained, yet it was occurring. The school settled. Unfortunately, the ignorance of school staff continued to the point of Nugget coming home in April saying he would rather die. Needless to say, we did not send him back. The challenges Nugget faced started already in Kindergarten, 4 years ago. Below is an email I sent to his teacher at the end of the school year. This teacher has yet to apologize, or even acknowledge us, or this email. Kindergarten, I believe, was an extremely important year as it would set the tone for Nugget's perception of school. Unfortunately, it was not good and as many of you know, you cannot get those years back. To other parents, I say go with your gut feeling when your child is telling, or trying to tell you something. If he/she is not verbal, their own behavior can speak volumes. I have changed his name in the below email.
