You consider it fine to stuff a 9 year old into a bag and tighten it so he cant get out? You consider it fine to keep a child in a closet with no ventilation or sun light while at school? Or almost choke a child to death?

you have serious brain issues if you think any of those are fine just because they're in special education.

A autistic 9 year old can not kick the @!$%# out of a full grown adult. If they are able to stuff the child into the bag, they can restrain the child until the parents get there. Or they leave the child in the classroom and charge the parents for damages. They do not have the right to abuse the child. The teachers aid should be fired and charged with child abuse and the school should be fined.

if that was your child stuff into a bag you would feel upset aswell, or more likely if you had a autistic child yourself, you'd take him out back and get rid of him yourself.

At a meeting with school district officials, the bag was described as a "therapy bag," Baker said

OK, I'm not a Psychologist or Psychiatrist but I never heard of a therapy bag while getting my Bachelor degree, (yes you guess it) in Psychology.

Oh and to you jj, that "whacked out kid" is called Chris! The only drivel is your "post." Chris is attending a program for special needs children and the school staff (nurse, teacher, teacher aid, etc) are suppose to be trained for special need students. Not too mention, expect such behavior from special need children. Troll alert?

Chris is a student at Mercer County Intermediate School in Harrodsburg in central Kentucky. The day had barely begun when his family was called to the school because Chris was acting up. He is enrolled in a program for students with special needs.

School Officials like this only understand one thing... Hit them where it hurts! Their pocketbook. Just because the child was austistic, doesn't make this any less false imprisonment; not to mention the emotional distress caused to a child with a disability. This type of emotional scarring can undo years of positive therapy with austistic children. The school not only sees nothing wrong with this behavior, but, changed their story a couple of times, while attempting to defend the reasoning behind this treatment. No, these parents should demand school officials and teachers fired; and then run.. do not walk... to the best darn law firm they can find!

The first problem with the situation was he wasn't in a classroom with teachers who are educated in only autism spectrum disorders. The second is the fact that before this incident there were two other reported incidents where a person nearly asphyxiated from being restrained and that one student was locked in a closest almost all year? These people don't know what to do for these children. They can be taught, not just the ASD kids, other kids with special needs who should also be in classrooms with teachers who understand their various conditions. My son travels a half hour a day to school because it's the best one near us and they only have autistic children in his classroom. I can't believe those teachers had so little empathy for this little boy, you can't take it personally, they panic and lash out.

Hmmmm,

Of course the incompetent teachers union will be complicit in taking care of this problem. The involved individuals (I refuse to call any of them teachers) will be put on "paid-leave", displaced to an off-site rubber-room for the next couple years as this case drowns in the hierarchy of our dysfunctional education and legal justice system.

"The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment," Davis said in a statement.

BULLS**T Superintendent Davis! Everything about this incident disclaims ANY of the drivel in your statement. Stuffing a disabled child into a duffel bag is anything but safe and nurturing. You are a shameless lackey of our convoluted education system.

Landon Bryce of San Jose, Calif., a former teacher who blogs about issues related to autism, said the school's treatment of Chris was "careless and disrespectful."

Landon, you forgot the most important word missing from your statement,,,CRIMINAL!

In Kentucky, there are no laws on using restraint or seclusion in public schools, according to documents on the state Department of Education's website.

A July letter from the state agency to special education directors said the state had investigated two informal complaints this year.

In one, "a student (was) nearly asphyxiated while being restrained," and in the other, a student vomited from panic attacks after spending most of an academic year "confined to a closet, with no ventilation or outside source of light," according to the letter.

WHY, WHY, WHY do we need a law to prevent this inhumane treatment of ANYONE, much less a child? Whatever happened to human decency, compassion and common sense? And WHY after 6 months is the state agency to special education still investigating these crimes.

No amount of prepared statements, excuses or bureaucratic nonsense can explain this level of corruption. Teachers are public servants, paid by our tax dollars. These crimes should be dealt with immediately and these "teachers" should never be allowed within 1,000 feet of another school again,

EVER!

This is tragic all the way around; not only did these imbeciles more than just mistreat these children, but it also feeds into the current PC mentality that most schools have of 'no discipline whatsoever'.

Morons such as these people set the stage for most all schools being castrated, and unable to discipline those that need it because of their careless, reckless acts. They are the examples of why no school personell are allowed to discipline when necessary and justified.

Good going, you #&()* heads.... just abused those that deserve nothing of the sort, and set back any chances of bringing back any real discipline into the schools..... could you possibly have screwed up ANY worse?????

In short, let's momentarily disregard the child is autistic, for as many know there is a time when most children "will" act up, throw temper tantrums and be beyond control.

Yet the simple fact is that if a parent were caught by police, say in a hypothetical situation where neighbors called them because of the situation, and a child were found tied in a duffel bag for punishment, and let's not forget that this was a repeat occurrence, that parent would have been arrested immediately, the child taken into protective custody and that parent would have been emphatically dealt with by the court system.

These teachers admittedly had done this more than once, these actions in no way could have gone unnoticed by other teachers, this treatment could not have gone by without some degree of permission and participation by school officials.

As that hypothetical parent would have been treated, so too should each and every guilty party within that school or any official who knowingly not only approved, but merely permitted this type of supervision.

In Florida, I was party to some work done on public schools, one such school recognized for the education of young people placed there specifically by the court system as troubled children, prone to violence and improper behavior. There they implemented what was called "time out rooms" in which the student was placed in a 6X8 foot room with with carpeted walls and floors so they couldn't harm themselves very likely, and especially equipped with a spring latched door. No adult could legally lock a child in the room, but they could stand there and hold the spring latch for a state approved given amount of time, or pursuant to statutes, till supervision or law enforcement could arrive.

These are not only humane forms of dealing with special clients of the education system, but they are respectable and safe treatments.

Stuffing a young person in a duffel bag may seem funny to some, but it is treatment beyond excuse for our troubled youth by those we place in office and positions to guide and teach and educate our children.

Firm and definite actions by prosecutors and the judicial system probably will not be exercised in this day and age as we have grown accustomed to their ham-fisted incompetence. Some how, in some way, even if I as a parent sought personal responsibility with the teachers and officials involved, we need to make sure they are not just vengefully dealt with, but set them forth as an example.

I didn't know "bag therapy" was actually practiced. I saw it once on an episode of Law and Order. But I thought it was just a made up therapy good for tv shows.

While teachers may have been around, it appears that this was done by and ed tech.

An ed tech, in most states, is not even required to have a high school diploma. They are poorly paid, often with not benefits.

They are the equivalent of the "illegal aliens" some folks complain about so much.

When you cheap out, and hire the cheapest, least trained people to essentially warehouse childresn, this is the guaranteed result.

Instead or ranting irrationallyabout unions, how about taking the following to task;
Administrators for not managing and supervising their staff

School boards for cutting pay to help pay for sports.

Parents and voters for keeping on voting for less and less funding.

Jolly, you are IMO, a huge pile of manure!

Please don't feed the Jolly Troll, it only encourages him. He was obviously crotch feed as a baby.

jolly joker...you're a joke. If you can't handle blows from a 4th grader than you should walk out of the classroom, go to the nearest hospital, and have a vagina surgically implanted. Think before you speak!

joker has no idea what he is talking about. Its an ignorant mind at work and one who has no clue. At least joker, however, isn't a teacher at a school for special needs kids.

Throw the teacher in jail, fire them, and nail the school for a wad of cash that is big enough to hurt, but that they can afford to pay. I'm thinking the school gets to pay for the kid's private education. That will begin to shed the light on the dimwits who thought that even for a second, what they did was okay.

jolly joker - you're a jacka$$ and a prime example what is wrong in this world!

Autism is on the rise ! Either these schools are going to need a lot of duffel bags or they'll have to learn how to treat them..

Speaking of Treatment we don't invest much in special needs we'll soon be like a Russian orphanage.

We should be putting our politicians in a bag and taken out to the curb for pickup from the sanitation department, not our Autistic Children. Children are innocent, politicians are crooked.

Anyone at the school involved in this should be fired and face criminal charges. There is absolutely no excuse for treating any student this way. These teachers are supposed to be trained to deal with special needs students and should damn well know better than to do something like this. Those involved should face criminal charges of assault and unlawful imprisonment. Maybe a few years in prison will wake them up to the fact that what they did was completely wrong.

First, let me clarify that I find this incident unacceptable.

That said, there is not an easy solution for handling children with severe disabilities. My daughter attends a charter school, where special tutors are available for students with various disabilities, but they all attend the same classroom. There is one child in there with fetal alcohol syndrome, and she is incapable of behaving. About 1/3 of the teacher's time is spent correcting her, and it is not effective. Luckily there are a lot of parent volunteers in this school, and one of us always ends up taking the FAS girl aside so that the teacher can attend to the other students. But all the other students suffer because of her disruptive presence in the classroom.

Special-needs students require more attention - sometimes only one-on-one attention to be effective - and so it takes a lot more resources to handle a child with severe disabilities. Since schools are funded on a per-capita basis, there's a lot less left for every one else when you invest so much in special education. Our daughter's school chooses not to have a separate program for them, and instead focus on the majority, and it's one of the top performing schools in the area (that's why we send our child there). It would be great if we could always provide everything that severely disabled students needed, but the fact is that resources are finite and they aren't any more important than the rest of the students.

It would be nice if the parents took a more active role. Though almost every parent at my child's school volunteers several times a year, the FAS child's mother (yes, she is the biological mother) never has.

I agree with you, JLM, that this is totally unacceptable. I also see your point. While there are no rosey outcomes to the problem you describe, if the school doesn't have the resources and while no fault of her own, the FAS child shouldn't be in that classroom; it's simply unfair to all others. The mother needs held accountable.

If nothing else and the mother is one of those 'I screwed up but now have my act together' types then she can work and utilize her insurance for keeping someone with her child at school to attend to the child's needs. If not, and she's not working, then she can bus her tush to school herself. Either way, she alone is responsible and should feel so, and act as such. That's her child, her problem, and she's allowing both to manifest themselves on others carelessly.

Sorry if it cuts into her beer budget.....

its very simple, you call authorities. If you read the article carefully you will see that this was not the first time they had put him in the bag. At the very least they should have figured out something better for him including dismissal if necessary, not abuse.

JLM-

It's called "the least restricted environment" and its the LAW. Every child is entitled to to a free and appropaite education in the least restricted environment. The days of segregation are long gone.!

The article in AOL had the superintendent supporting the people involved by saying they were qualified professionals and treat students with dignity and respect. How pathetic. The superintendent should be fired for this statement, along with all involved. There are no laws using restraints? Holding someone against their will? Endangering their life? This kid could have had a medical condition triggered because of this. The mother said he was sweating when they got him out of the bag. A therapy bag? The school officials ought to be put in the bag and see how the therapy works on them. The all should be taken out behind the woodshed and taught a lesson. There is no way to justify or make excuses for this. For all how participated and for all who made stupid remarks by the school, every single one should be fired at the very least. I cannot believe there is not a law to prosecute with.

Yes, I'm aware of the new philosophy on mental handicaps... as well as first-hand how burdensome it is on every one else.

Institutionalization has not had a pretty past, and the pendulum has swung the other way in contemporary settings, but I think in the end that it will even out and society will realize that you can't direct disproportionate resources toward students with very little potential at the expense of the majority (but at the same time, there is a place in society for almost everyone, so total institutionalization isn't best either). In the end, public education isn't so much about individuals as it is about preparing new members for their collective roles in a future society. While special-needs children can gain headway toward independence, that is not the group that ultimately contributes to the whole, so we can't accommodate them at the expense of the rest.

"The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment," Davis said in a statement.

Obviously, School Superintendent Davis is the source of the problem. If he believes this is an example of treating students with respect and nurturing them, he is delusional to the point of needing professional help.

But according to the story, this isn't the first instance of abuse, nor the only student to be abused in this state. Aren't there federal laws to protect citizens, regardless of their age, against this sort of behavior? For example, isn't locking someone in a closet for a year illegal?

If a parent did that to a child, they would be facing prison. Why can a teacher do it? Are they above the law? Or do we have no federal laws that protect us anymore?

JLM:

While special-needs children can gain headway toward independence, that is not the group that ultimately contributes to the whole, so we can't accommodate them at the expense of the rest.

This is a disturbing remark. I thought I read in the article that this was a "special needs" school.

But in any case, I don't want to live in a society in which people are judged worthwhile according to how much they can "contribute." Aside from the lack of human decency inherent in taking that position, I'm wondering who would be appointed to make the determination.

Among those who would have been considered worthless by that definition, one of my heroines comes immediately to mind: Helen Keller. I imagine Einstein would have been tossed aside, too, since the school system considered him hopelessly stupid.

Why the hell would there have to be laws specifically regarding restraint in schools?! This is false imprisonment plain and simple. Not only should they lose their jobs, they should go to jail! You DON'T do that to children. These teachers are lucky they haven't been beaten or place in bags themselves by angry parents. Yes, dismissal and jail!

JLM - FYI: The funding formula for special needs students is much higher than for "typical students". It leads one to ask: If the funding is there when the paperwork has been filed to claim it and the school "can't afford" what the law and funding provides, someone needs to explain where they are using the funds.

Even if the school has great programs, maybe you should be asking if the programs are "great" for the typical kids because they are receiving benefits that rightly belong to those with special needs.

I'm the parent of a child on the spectrum. This summer I at school district expense attended the same program that the teachers and aides in the district who routinely work with student on the spectrum attend and have to pass the test at the end of. We spent hours working on how to prevent meltdowns and not need retraints. Only at the end for an hour after 2 9 hour days of training did we learn restraint techniques because if you do the job right restraints are NOT needed. Restraints are not an answer, they are a tool of last resort if used correctly, not the first thing you try. A ball bag is NOT appropriate as a restraint EVER.

As a parent and after going through this course which is a national curriculum for teacher and other educational professionals - the teachers who put him in the bag and the teachers who stood by an watched it happened should be fired and criminal charges of child abuse should be filed against them.

And if it was my son in the bag... they wouldnt need to worry about cobra or unemployment. They wouldnt have enough brain cells in thier heads to put 2 thoughts together after I finished "instructing" them.

It reminds me of Mrs Trunchbull from Mathilda by Roald Dahl

The "Chokey" is real.

There's no TRAINING in the world that can teach a person HUMANITY.

I would have called someone else to come get him and I'd probably have been arrested for assault and battery.

They should be not allowed to be a teacher or aide or school volunteer in any schools anywhere.

JLM- the real reason that institutionalization is damned right now is that it is very expensive if done humanely. I have two autistic children who are very different from one another, so I advocate for different things for them. For one, a group home is the answer because he is too disabled to be safe without 24/7 care in an adequately staffed program. For the other, who takes the same classes as regular education students, I am looking for an adult program that will provide her with job coaching and frequent guidance on handling the bureaucracy of modern life once I am no longer around. Some people both in and outside the disability community believe institutionalization is never right. Some believe that mainstreaming and inclusion always right. But when you get down to disabled people who can advocate for themselves and the families of those who cannot, you will find that our focus is on the right program for the individual who needs help.

Budget cuts eliminated pepper spray.

There are very good reasons that institutionalization is never right. None of you would want to live in a institution....think nursing home.....would you? And trust me when I tell you that the very worst nursing home is far, FAR better than the best institution for the disabled. If you live in a nursing home and have a complaint, it's pretty easy to get someone to come running and check the whole facility from top to bottom. I have seen MASSIVE abuse in institutions AND group homes for the disabled....mental or physical.....that are not even investigated because according to the people who are being paid VERY well to investigate them they "can't talk to the residents because they're retarded."

I have hours of hidden camera action in a state school in a different state during which the "residents" are tied to chairs, beaten with metal clipboards, and baited to fight each other, simply for the amusement of the staff.

And before you ask, every bit of this happened in the last ten years, some of it far more recently. I personally had to threaten a group home corporate president with kidnapping charges when he lied to one of my advocacy clients, took her to another of his group homes two hours away from what she considered home, and isolated her there, not allowing access by me, her friends, or what little family she has left., all because the fire marshall had been kept uninformed that there were two people i that group home who were fully wheelchair bound SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO PUT IN A SPRINKLER SYSTEM! After all, sprinklers are expensive, and if those two died in a fire, oh, well, they will never be productive citizens.

I could go on....but I can tell by the tenor of these replies that many of you feel the same way, whether you will admit it even to yourselves, much less publicly. Let me assure you, though, that these are people, people with hopes, fears, and very real feelings. Further, they could easily be you or me ten second from now. All it takes for someone to become disabled is a split second of bad luck. Think of the possibilities sometime.

I don't think that a 9 year old could kick the @!$%# out of an adult.

My 8 year old son is 5'3 and weighs in at 130. Given the right motivation, he could kick a teachers ass any day. Just sayin'

I totally do not agree with the punishment inflicted on this child. The staff directly involved needs to be terminated and the higher-ups need to be suspended and required to complete more training on how to deal with autistic children.

I call B.S.! 8 years old, 5'3", 130 pounds? No way! B.S.! Average is 45" and 57 lbs.

Before anyone makes a comment on a subject like this they should spend at least one week in a K-12 environment.

Special needs? ALL kids have special needs. However, when one child becomes the primary focus of the teacher, then all the other kids suffer. Before you say that doesn't happen, spend that week in a school.

Special Education? Far too many children who simply do not want to be in school are labeled "Special Ed" and warehoused in some fashion so administrators can continue to receive state/federal funding and to pad worthless graduation statistics. Don't believe it? Spend a week in school.

We are asking teachers to handle children who flatly do not belong in a classroom. We can wish that were not the case, but the hard truth is they are dragging the educational system down.

Walk a mile in a teacher's shoes. You'll change your tune quickly. You can't impose meaningful discipline. If you try, in all too many cases administrators slap the teachers down. Don't believe it? Spend a week in that school.

Who's BS? Will he help you understand the concept of average?

Would you like the number for our pediatrician??

Obviously he is not 'average'. He is off the percentile charts, and always has been.

My 5 year old daughter is 45 pounds and 47 inches tall.

You apparently live in an average world of average hobbits.

David, you obviously are a teacher who should RETIRE NOW. Please don't inflict your burnout attitude on any more defenseless children.

I was a special education personal health aide, and then a teacher, a 9 year old cracked 3 of my ribs and busted my lip, they very well can kick the crap out of an adult, it's where the term "retard strength" was coined.

In my years of teaching I have never heard of this "bag therapy" in fact my last year teaching is when they started the pilot program in california for basket holds and restraints which are not supposed to harm the children in anyway especially with a basket hold you're not really even holding them, even though I only used it once and I did not harm the child I was disturbed by having to do it and I quit teaching at the end of that year. Yes I am a special ed burn out.

Seems to me these two are burn outs too if they don't realize that what they're doing is child abuse.

Genenut:

My, but aren't we the conclusion jumper today?

I am not a teacher. However, I have spent time in a classroom, as both an observer and tutor. Have you? I have gone to quite a number of School Board meetings. Have you? I have been to any number of parent-teacher conferences. Have you. I have taught in the past. Have you?

Burnout? Why don't you try REALITY? Take some time out from your perfect little world. Spend a week in a K-12 school. That's all the experience you'll need to understand that we are penalizing our best and our brightest at the expense of far too many kids who do not belong in school.

Why don't you step in the shoes of a parent of a child with Autism? I do go to parent teacher conferences, and IEP meetings, and many other meetings to make sure my child gets the most benefit from their education and hopefully will be an independent member of society when they are an adult. I teach my children at home especially when their incompetent teacher fails in their duty.

You couldn't handle the reality of raising a child with autism. Of having to help a child who sees the world in such a different way that you often have to act as a translator for them all the while dealing wiht some of the same issues parents of NT children do. Of then having to fight for their government backed legal right to a free adequate public education and making sure its a safe environment because many do not care and abandon their responsibility for your child during school hours. and then having to defend your child's right to live and live publicly and freely to jerks like you. All while trying to work your job to put food on the table and a roof over your head at night.

Again most of you defending these "teachers" couldn't handle life as the parent of a child with autism, especially you David.

As to penalizing the best and brightest, my children with autism have MENSA level iq's and are extremely bright. People like you with your attitudes penalize them everyday. They have EVERY right to be in school and get an education. You do not have the right to take that away from them.

I have a slightly autistic nephew. He is functional, goes to school in a regular classroom now, but he wasnt always so easy to get along with. When he was 4 and 5, he specifically disliked anyone that wasnt my mother or a friend of mine. He hadnt really known me, I didnt live here at the time, would only see him once every six months when I came for a visit. He just plain didnt know me. Autistic children act up when they are not comfortable. That is all there is to it. People who work at the CDC are educated in this, and they have definate set rules to dealing with them, and Im pretty sure it never includes locking them in a bag or closet. Those people ended up gaining their trust, and working them into a system that got them to be on a specific schedule. There was never restraint, usually a "refocus" room to get the moves and giggles and then a "why" session. They do this because they understand the way they work a damn sight more than these "educators" do. All of the kids seemed to relate and adore these teachers, including my nephew. I had seen the more autistic ones with them, and they worked out the individual childs needs and strengths to make a program that was effective. Im not saying that the public education system needs to do exactly this, but even setting some guidlines for the ones that have them would be helpful. This disorder is not an easy one, but once you understand the ticks, it becomes easier to relate to them on a level plane.

If my kid was in Kentucky, I wouldnt walk. I'd RUN!

And, I agree. More people should be active in their childs education. Even an hour a week, its something. And, dont take your little kids to a classroom to help out. It does no one any good to watch you chase your babies around, shooing them out of things. Get a sitter. Sorry, that irritates me. I have canceled a couple of times because I didnt get a sitter, and there is no way I'm chasing a 1 and 2 year old out of art supplies. Been there, done that. ONCE. Irritates the hell outta me. Especially the ones who dont care, and leave it up to everyone else to keep their kids in line.

the bag was described as a "therapy bag,"

yep, just lock the "offending" kid in the bag, encourage the other kids to beat on it...

such great (ahem) "therapy".

(extreme sarcasm)

When my daughter was 9 years old. She can kick the @!$%# out of any adult if you let her. Don't think a 9 year old kid can't do any damage. She broke a door nearly in half with a single kick.

It could have been worse...she could have made him do a timeout in the trunk of her car. :P

Genenut:

You are probably correct that I could not deal with having a child with autism. I made the choice to have no children, and thus obviated that question. YOU, on the other hand, made the decision to have children, and now you want me, and everyone else, to pay for your child's special needs, and at the expense of other children who do not present such demands on the public purse.

Your children indeed have a right to an education. However, you are too self-absorbed and too full of your self-righteousness to see the extent of your demands. How dare we not appreciate your incredible sacrifice, your burden? Yes, we should stand in line to praise and adore your wonderfulness. Haven't you appointed yourself as a very noble human being.

There are far too many children who are being "mainstreamed" who cannot be mainstreamed. Their demands far exceed those of the majority of students.

You can spin this any way you want. That you tell us your child has the I.Q. of a genius only illustrates the subjectivity of that measure. Certainly, it doesn't necessarily speak to behavior.

Like it or not, there are limits to what we can accommodate. Asking a teacher who is proficient in math to teach that subject, and then placing a further demand that this teacher also deal with extreme behaviors is ridiculous. It is unfair, and for the last time, it deprives the majority of students the time to learn the subject at hand.

It is obvious that most people on this vine have not had to deal with autistic children. At times they can go off the deep end or, as this article stated with this boy, be"jumping off the walls." They are not treated like a standard classroom student because their needs are different. A therapy bag is designed to resemble a womb experience that many children with mental disabilities find comforting. As a teacher, I know that since the District cannot respond at this point, we are not getting the entire story. I have had knives pulled on me, a student trying to beat me up, etc. The parent's side of the story always comes out first until the attorneys for the District have had time to review the situation. At that point the entire story will come out. Autistic students at times need restraining to protect them from harming themselves and others. I would like to ask all of the "experts" posting on this vine what THEY would do in this situation.

Excellent post alwaysanother. Most online article intentionally sensationalize and leave out key information. Like you said if the child is emotionally violent and banging his head on the walls something needs to be done. It sounds like if the actions were described in a different way, it might come off reasonable. They called the mother. What should they have done, a straight jacket? It seems like the school is between a rock and a hard place, in order to defend their actions they would have to disclose the nature of this child's problems.

While I understand that autistic children have a wide range of behavior patterns and can be very difficult for teachers to handle putting a child in a bag is not acceptable under any circumstances.

David, I believe your last comment is extremely unfair.

People don't choose to have autisitc children. It just happens. Some parents of autistic children can't handle it, and institutionalize their children, perhaps unnecessarily. A parent who puts in the time and effort to make sure their child gets the most out of life should be admired - too many people do the bare minimum and expect the rest of the world to do it all for them, regardless of whether or not their child has special needs.

In additon, this is not a regular classroom - this was part of a special needs program. One would think that they are trained and equipped to handle difficult kids in a humane manner.

On a final note: in our efforts to be a better, more enlightened society, shouldn't we be trying to help all children reach their maximum potential? Even if that potential is only to dress and feed themselves? While there may be some that can never be mainstreamed, we have a moral obligation to make sure that we don't leave behind any kids that can be mainstreamed, and the only way to make that determination is to work with these kids to try and get them there. This kind of work takes years and it is only after years of effort can we start to determine how far these kids can go.

I'm no expert Sam but I do have a low functioning autistic step-daughter and I was a special ed teacher for quite a few years, I wasn't in the classroom so if I take the teacher's word that he was "off the walls" and throwing basketballs across the room, as a teacher I would've taken him out of the classroom until he could calm himself, as a parent I would've put him in his room until he could calm himself, but at NO time would I put him in a freekin duffle bag!

First off, some children can grow very quickly. I was 5'9" by age 12 and weighed 130 lbs. That's about the same size as most adults, if not a bit larger.

Secondly, I'm not a parent and I probably never will be, but I think that forcing schools to deal with violent kids is ridiculous. In high school I constantly had to deal with an autistic boy. Sure he was smart, but he also had a very short temper and would act out on the most mundane triggers. He's thrown everything from chairs, a saxophone, desks, and trash cans because somebody took his idea or somebody called him out for playing the wrong note. I have to say, when a 6 foot kid decides to throw a chair at you because you 'stole' a project he wanted, it's very frightening. Any other kid would have been kicked out of school for that sort of violent behavior. But he was kept in the same classroom with the rest of us for all 4 years. I can't tell you how many times he interrupted our classes for his outbursts; teenagers might be a bit volatile, but that is no excuse for how many times he interrupted our learning (we were even the differentiated/AP students - i.e. the ones who took the hardest classes - not the kids who took easy classes and drifted through). Yes, he was brilliant and may feel entitled to be in school, but I don't believe it should be at the risk of other student's safety or education. Just because a child is special needs doesn't mean that they should receive special rights to be in the same classroom as regular students if they detract from learning or have violent behaviors.

That said, this young boy should have never been placed in a bag like that, though it seems he did need restraining. I think the mother needs to work on his behavior issues 1-on-1 before she sends him back to school, or at least attend school with him and keep him focused and occupied. Being a parent is hard work, you cannot pass that responsibility on to educators or blame them for your own short-falls in raising your child. I know another autistic person who turned out just fine; his parents spent most of their free time working with him and took a very active role in his education. Autistic children cannot simply be passed off to the school district and be expected to become functioning adults.

If nothing else and the mother is one of those 'I screwed up but now have my act together' types then she can work and utilize her insurance for keeping someone with her child at school to attend to the child's needs

Get the child on Medicaid. In many states it doesn't matter how much the parents earn because they make an exception for certain medical conditions in children. Medicaid will pay for the sort of aid you speak of.

David Walker, you are making a stupid socialist claim. Your house may have never caught fire, but I'm sure you pay your fair share in taxes to support your local fire department - and I would hope you don't show up at a house afire and bitch about them spending YOUR tax dollars.

ALL children deserve the best education we can give them. You are now the big boy in class. Sit down and shut up. You are triggering my temper and my gag reflex.

"The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment," Davis said in a statement.

Yea well, you f--king failed at that, sir.

Growth charts mark the average size not the only size a child can be at any given age my 8 yr old was the size of a four or five year old. It doesn't matter anyway because this was not proper care for any child. This was an adult that doesn't know how to control a child.

This is child abuse. Not only should the employees be fired they should be prosecuted.

Completely & Totally UNACCEPTABLE!!!! This would be traumatizing to most children. I was told to stand in the hall for 5 minutes in 2nd grd and it still upsets me to think about it (I strove to not be a problem child). Whoever is responsible should never be allowed to work w/ children again.
And if the Superintendent who said, "The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment," believes that this is treating students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment, he needs to be fired too.

I realize newspapers love to sensationalize and blow things out of proportion but no degree of this is acceptable.

I agree that the school did not handle the situation properly but I cannot condemn them. I believe the child should not have been in that school. No school should be responsible for restraining children either to discipline them or to protect the other students. If a child is behaving badly enough to necessitate physical restraint the parents should be called and told to come get the child so they can deal with the problem correctly. If the problem continues day after day it might be a sign that the child is not ready for public school. Teachers are not the parents, doctors or therapists that see to the care of the child and are not trained to act in their stead.

Yes, the school was wrong but the parents were just as much at fault. They should find a facility that is better equipped to handle their child's needs.

Mandimoomoo - He through a basketball across the room. Not even at another human being. I would not call that violent behavior. No, teachers & students shouldn't have to deal w/ violent behavior but his behavior was not violent. Restraining students is not the teachers job. Schools, even elementary schools, have staff members who are trained in security and they would not put a child in a duffle bag.

Gene is right and I agree with him on this issue wholeheartedly. I think we all agree that putting the boy in the bag is wrong on so may levels. I am not a teacher but I understand the frustrations that come with teaching special needs children. They do hurt the other childrens learning experience from the standpoint of so much attention is given to them. You can't deny that. I like to think of it as a public education, not private education. And thats what should take place. Hopefully they can find the boy a school for the help that he needs.

b-

Even kindergarteners are taught that throwing things is wrong. If I were to throw a book across a room because my professor says I wrote a bad essay, that would be construed as violent. So why would a kid throwing a ball after being told to drop it not be considered violent, or at least a precursor to violence? I am not in agreement with him being put in a bag, but the fact that it was done makes me think there is more to this story. After all, we have only heard from the mother. I only hope in the end he can receive the attention and education he needs, even if it means removing him from the school. I also hope the mother takes part in his education and doesn't pass him off to the school.

I agree 100%. This is clearly the media wanting to stir things up. I'm pretty sure the kid was being bad and there was a reason for the teachers doing what they did. But, THAT doesn't make a good story for MSN.com. It's best to demonize the teachers and glorify the parents of this kid and the kid himself. The kid is fine- back to bouncing off of walls and acting up I'm sure. The teachers, however, are now under attack for doing what they thought was best. I am not against what was done here, and I hate the way America loves its demon/victim labels.

1SGFitzsWife4ID I do understand what you are saying and I hope that your child is doing well. I feel the need to point out, as you probably know, that children with emotional problems often do not have the skills to calm themselves. They sometimes need help and even restraint to avoid harm to themselves and others. It is sad to watch this happen, but it is reality. :(

Mandimoomoo-- Why do you believe his mother has to work on his behavior issues? My child had severe behavioral issues at school, but not at home. It was not because I was lax at home; in fact, I placed greater demands on her. For all you know, the boy who terrorized you in high school was fine at home. I don't know him, so I cannot say whether mainstreaming could ever have worked out well. Maybe it could have, with specially trained aides, etc. Or maybe he needed to be in a special education placement without being handed a dumbed down curriculum. For whatever reason, you school district did not come through with an appropriate program. Hence, his inappropriate behaviors AT SCHOOL.

What was done is called Child Abuse. The child should have been removed from the room and placed in another room for a time out. The mother called to come pick him up. But it is never right to put a child in a bag for any length of time.

Audrey

I'm guessing the kid from my school had some pretty big issues because he was shipped 45 miles every day from his own district into ours. His smaller, home-town school had a small sped program, but ours was larger and is apparently well funded. That said, I still feel violent students have no right to be in a classroom with others if it's interfering with safety or education, even if the person is intelligent and can handle more advanced learning. Have you been in a classroom with a violent or disruptive student? Do you know what it's like to forfeit some of your education or feel physically threatened because somebody, somewhere, feels this student should be in a classroom with non-sped kids? I was and still am shocked that his parents never sat in on classes or came to school after he had an outburst.

Without getting into too much of an argument; if she has a child, then she gets to be a mother and take on the responsibility of teaching him what's acceptable and what's not. I'm calling out the mother because, for some reason, her son acts out. I have no idea what her home life is like, and I don't know if there are problems there too, but acting out in public is something the mother can work with her kid on. I'm not saying that his outbursts are her fault, but parents can always sit down with their children and help them work through issues, even if they have autism. Ultimately, parents have to be responsible for their own children. It is not the job of teachers, therapists, or other to raise them, though they can be there for support and guidance.

David - perhaps we should send all the imperfect children to the gas chamber and start a Master Race of only people named Walker?

I agree with David, to a large extent. Yes, having a special-needs child is taxing on the parents, and it is also taxing to every other person who has a role in the child's life. Genenut wants affirmation for all the difficulties endured in raising an autistic child, but won't extend that affirmation to teachers and staff who also endure that child's difficulties every day at school. Instead of criticizing how they don't meet your standards in "doing their jobs," maybe you should appreciate the time they do spend with him, since he is so unbearably unpleasant that you feel "most of us couldn't handle life as his parent." If you feel the staff are so incompetent compared to you, then why don't you homeschool him and provide that perfect atmosphere that only you can seem to achieve? Oh wait, because life with an autistic child is too hard to handle (according to you) and you're eager to pawn him off on others and then criticize them for not performing an educational miracle.

Remember that those of us with average children also want what is best for them, and feel that they are entitled to a classroom that provides a challenging learning environment for them. That doesn't happen when disabled children are constantly interrupting the class and forcing the teacher to divert all her attention to their lengthy meltdowns. Or when schools are forced to cram 25 students into a classroom because so much of their resources go to hiring individual babysitters for severely troubled students. Yes, there are federal funds that go to special-needs students, but most teachers will tell you that "no child left behind" is an impossible mandate, even with the additional funds. Having a legal right to a certain education doesn't mean it's actually practical to provide it; it just means some politician wanted points on the education front. You need to appreciate the efforts they do make, as well as you doing your part at home and volunteering in the classroom to reach these goals. I know it's my child's teacher's job to educate her, but it's also my job, so I communicate with her about how to reinforce the lessons at home, and also volunteer my time in the classroom to help make it successful. Hopefully you are doing the same.

Absolutely. Banned from teaching permanently

The school and their Board of Education be damned. This should be a charge of attempted homicide. If not a very severe case of child neglect and assaulting a handicapped minor! An autistic child put in a bag? How dangerous can you get?

"This should be considered child abuse"

Oh really? Was he beat up? Was he bruised? Was his life in danger? Now quit throwing that term "abuse" around.

I don't think it's fair to assume that all teachers have the innate ability to work with autistic children. Elementary Education and Special Education are two different degree programs.

How about we lock you in a bag, RxDawg, with only a tiny hole, while you sweat like a pig and see how you feel.

Nobody is "throwing" the word "abuse" around. This is abuse, plain and simple. Not all abuse has to leave bruises.

@RxDawg actually the child's life was in danger a small hole left at the top would not provide sufficient oxygen for the child to survive for an extended period of time. Next time your child misbehaves put him/her in a bag tied with a little hole at the top and see how quick child services takes them away for ABUSE.

By no stretch of the imagination is this in any way child abuse. Those in the know understand this is a humane, save and effective way to deal with an out of control autistic child. The practice is also approved by the vast majority of the medical and physiological professions. I have managed youth sports programs for over 30 years and attended many seminars on the problems of dealing with autistic children and other disruptive disorders in children. Though we don’t use the bag method, several times a year we are forced to physically restrain a child with two or three adults to prevent injury to themselves or to other children. If they do injure someone, or have to be restrained more than once, we are forced to remove them from the program and they are not allowed back. There are good parents out there that take great care of these special needs children, there are others that do not, I would say about 30% good and 70% bad. No statistical science here, just my own experience and observations. A lot of parents dump these unfortunate children on public schools or normal youth activity programs because they either don’t want to deal with the situation and demands on their time, it’s someone else’s problem to deal with, (teachers and volunteers not formally trained to handle autistic children), or in the case of youth sports programs, they want a couple hours off to themselves to shop or run errands. I have been forced to institute a policy that one or both parents of an autistic or special needs child must be present in the building or on the field at all times to help deal with unexpected and unpredictable behavioral problem when they arise. We also require that they be kept on their medication when participating with other children.

Do YOU have a child you would like treated in this manner???! I seriously doubt it. This IS child abuse!

So, if all the teachers that work with this type of special needs person were to walk away, what would the needy people do? If u prosecute those that did this to send a message, what if the message received results in no more special needs programs? They say one bad apple can spoil the barrel. This goes for students as well as teachers. Even special needs kids need to have discipline. This is not the correct way to go about it, but u can't just expect there to be no punishment for the actions of the child.

Hey IBM & Rx - Child PROTECTIVE services have taken kids from their parents because they locked a child in a closet to restrain them. How do you think they feel about teachers doing it? I tell you if someone did this to my kid they'd be pressing charges against me for retaliation. & if you this is not abuse, what is it? It is most certainly not professional or acceptable.

There are teachers and there are teachers out there. I know from the local school here they would rather pay a teacher with less teaching qualities than pay one thats capable of handling almost any situation calmly and affectively and capable of giving more to their students. You get what you pay for and now days, cheap is in. Its a shame the government dosen't establish standards for teaching and we're letting our future get flushed down a comodor. Funny, sad as it seems they allow this and as far as I'm concerned, it should be at the top of the list and in every budget from the government on down to the schools. Maybe start a school for disfunctional students and have prisoners teach there, it can't be that bad for the students that need that type of education. The students that want to learn and the teacher that do give back whole heartedly deserve better. If seperate classes suite childern with disabilities, then thats what should be done for them and if volunteer work is needed from parents then so be it, do it. If everyone helps its easier. Take interest in our young and their educations and parents need to be parents first before the young are even in school. Its very important to be a parent first, before you go pointing your finger at anyone else. Then as far as some teacher go, they need to be students themselves and not teachers collecting a pay check for absolutley nothing that they do.

It's not child abuse. Outside of the parents of this kid hamming it up with the media, it's a nothing incident.

Great, then we'll do it to you.

People who think this is fine are proving themselves to be the REAL retards.

Well, Zip, it makes you wonder what they do to their own kids behind closed doors. Frightening.

Yes it does bonos, yes it does make me wonder.

"Bible Belt".

I hope the parent sues the pants off the school district. Can a parent sue those board members personally?

"Quotations."

Kentucky, and every other state in this country.

All fifty-seven (57) of them!!!

That is absurd and offensive! Shame on you for making such a rash generalization Janice from Ohio.

If a parent did the same thing to their child, they would not only lose the child, but they'd probably be facing felony abuse charges.

No they would not. Look up the law, and stop overreacting.

You are SO wrong. I used to work for a CPS agency. I've seen people lose their kids for far, far less.

I hope the parent sues the pants off the school district. Can a parent sue those board members personally?

Yes they can.

In the teacher's defense: in no class leading up to the degree did anyone say not to put people inside bags!

No wonder each generation keeps downgrading mentally.

Gee, with every generation saying this exact same thing, one would expect that everyone would be functionally retarded by now.

Hey, they tried to secede. It was all those northern states that held onto them for dear life, so they really don't have much right to complain now. In fact, General Sherman marched to the sea burning down the homes and farms of ordinary citizens so they couldn't leave the union. I guess the modern equivalent would be nuking them. If that's your cup of tea, I don't think we need you either.

krell, I am speechless over that ignorant remark.

Use of the R word is VERY not acceptable.

uh oh the PC police are out.

Joe, my point is that ol Genenut can't decide what is ok for me to say and what isn't. He is obviously not an SNA. A black man can tell me he doesn't want me sayin nigga cause I ain't black. Whitey can't. An SNA can tell me not to say retard. Unless he's flanked by non-SNA's. I've heard SNA's use retard to other SNA's. Its actually comical.

As will your name calling and slander, there, Gene-O.

I was asking a legitimate question. Is it ok for like-people to call each other that word? Black people do it and its ok because they are using it on themselves. Is it ok for the menatlly handicapped to do the same thing? We give them freedoms to integrate into society, right? Will we give them that right as well, or are opressive people like you going to tell them "thats bad, m'kay?"

As will your name calling and slander, there, Gene-O.

It's also against the Newsvine Code of Honor; a suspendable offense even, Genenut.

Above all else, respect others. Address issues and arguments and refrain from making personal attacks.

Saying a word in general is far different than personally insulting another member.

They should be branded just like sexual predators

Do you actually think before you speak, or are you a knee-jerk reactionary like most people? What an stupid thing to say. Like you have never done anything you don't want open to the public. I do not agree with the childs treatment at all, but that is just a ridiculous thing to say. Nothing compares to the sexual abuse of a child, so do not compare a kid in a duffel bag to a kid who was beaten and violated and emotionally devastated by someone they more than likely knew and trusted.

Happy Holidays.

Best & most concisely intuitive post on this thread !

The thing I find most troubling is that teachers seem to leave common sense in their cars when they go to work. They do some really idiot things when confronted by PC issues too. Supposedly they have had child psychology in their education courses but they never seem to act like they have.

Knee-jerk reaction using swift indescriminate punishment . . . sound familiar? Good thing Harry McNicholas isn't in the classroom. He'd be baggin and taggin incessantly.

Thanks and I will. One letter for each of these members and one to the school.

Stamps, paper and envelope will not cost that much and besides we need to support American jobs (Postal Service). And, I may get my friends to write also.

Lets flood their places with mail.

On their website the only email listed is for their website administrator. If you go by the format of their email address, you can email the principal at dana.cobb -at- mercer.kyschools.us

I just emailed the principal and administrators.

Does anybody have the parents' address? I would like to write them asking them why their kid isn't home-schooled to prevent incidents like this from happening at school that negatively affect the learning environment for other kids who aren't acting up?

Thank you, Noah!

A.M. from Lexington. Number 1, these parents might not be in a position to home school. Oh, yes, a self-righteous, smug, living-in-a-perfect world homeschooling mom told me that "many divorced and single moms work and homeschool." Number 2, Federal law entitles disabled students to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Parents need not apologize for putting their kids in public school, let alone for their kids to be given an appropriate education in a humane environment.

The bottom line here, which nobody wants to talk about, is that we as a nation are overpopulated, we are birthing kids with disabilities b/c pregnant mothers drink, smoke, over-eat, eat unhealthy foods, use drugs and b/c our environment has been trashed, yet some people feel every kid should receive, and can receive, quality care. Our institutions, like public education, are stretched to the limit b/c there are simply too many kids. If adults got a life and got an education and realized there's more to life than giving birth, we'd all be better off. Let's concentrate on the greater good, like cleaning up our air and rivers and saving our trees and wildlife, and let's get off this ridiculous soapbox about one misbehaving kid who has probably forgotten about the whole thing. In other words, let's stop indulging America's obsession with news that isn't real news.

For crying out loud, autism has absolutely nothing to do with the pregnant woman's behavior. Since it clearly runs in families, it probably has a genetic component combined with some currently unknown environmental factor.

Well, if it runs in families, perhaps the most responsible thing to do is to prevent those people from procreating and perpetuating the defect. And the potential environmental factor is most likely mercury, which leads me back to my original point. Not everybody should be having kids, and we need to get back to protecting our earth and natural environment and not some kid who clearly was born with a defect.

Everyone pays taxes for this or that in case you need services. Just because you don't use these services doesn't mean that no one else might need them. If someone murdered some one you loved should you not bother the police because you might be a drain on society? or if a tree fell on your house and demolished half of it, should you not call your insurance agent to get money to fix it? If you did, other people would surely pay in the long run with higher insurance rates!

Your point of view is not based on logic, I would have to assume you are not of the age to partake in big boy/girl topics. please remove yourself from this one. no one with half a brain should have to put up with reading your drivel

To people that think autistic kids are not able to contribute to society are seriously mistaken. It is believed that Albert Einstein had autism among many people who have given us new Ideas and ways of thinking that have improved our lives.

I think everyone who doesn't really know much about Autistic children, but have a whole lot to say about it, should watch the life story of Temple Grandin. It is a film about an autistic child and how she made her way through life. In the end she became a person who changed things and became someone that is more important than most of you people talking about how these people are a drain on society.

Well, if it runs in families, perhaps the most responsible thing to do is to prevent those people from procreating and perpetuating the defect.

Can't we just prevent you from procreating and be done with it?

Well, I may not be able to stop you from procreating, but at least your posts won't be adding up on my seeds anymore, you're banned for life from posting on any of my articles or seeds, A.M. from Lexington, if you try to, I will just delete your posts. You are also now on ignore. You aren't worth wasting a single minute more on.

I agree with your post Michelle. I work with adults and children with disabilities including autism. Occasionally, someone will have a behavioral outburst and we use non-invasive strategies to address it. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER would we put anyone in a bag. As a matter of fact we don't even use a room for "time out" or anything like that. If these teachers and assistants had been properly trained they would have been proactive rather than reactive and abusive. To think the superintendant said they treat children with dignity and respect - how utterly ridiculous! I teach dignity and respect to our staff and guess what? stuffing someone in a bag is neither dignified or respectful.

I think it's wonderful that your son is successful!!! Good parenting must play quite a role in his life.

Proper training or not, morally you know it is wrong to tie ANYONE up in a bag.

Wow.

I've also got a 4 year old autistic boy. Can barely talk, but he knew how to use an iPhone before he turned 2. He might be a savant (like in Rainman), but we'll have to see. His future definitely hinges on trained teachers who know better than to abuse disabled kids. How evil can a person get? These are kids...KIDS!!!

There's a special place in hell for people who hurt children.

I have a autistic girl in my girl scout troop. She is the sweetest and most well behaved child!! I am out ragged that anyone would do this!!! My daughter has a learning disability, and we take her to Learning therapy. It has helped so much. She is a different child now. 2 B's and the rest A's on her last report card. I know her therapist would be out ragged by this article.

on another blog I wrote that I would have hurt whoever was responsible, badly..My daughter has CP, and if ever I found out somebody was abusing her, more than likely I would be in prison.....Or CSI would be involved..

And get this, all the GOP/righties lambasted me for being a Liberal that disagreed that special needs children shouldnt be in the same classroom, full inclusion...

this is what one wrote

I couldn't hope to find a better example of liberal insanity than the postings on this topic. This is why our state is in the horrible condition it's in. Because one child has a disorder that causes him to constantly raise his voice and run around the room, every other child in the class is supposed to sacrifice their education. We went to an assembly where this boy was allowed to scream and run around, disrupting the songs and recitations the kids had worked on for weeks. This type of thinking is insane, plain and simple. If liberals were content to destroy their own lives I wouldn't care but they insist on imposing their insanity on everyone.

MY response

HEAVYBUDDY I'LL BET you were in the "let 'em die" GOP debate audience
you have NO CLUE what a civilized society should be..you call it Liberal, people with sensibilties call it a civilized society..
It takes a village to raise a child

Michael--as a grandfather of an autistic grandson, so am I. Those people should be fired and hire teachers that understand how to teach and work with autistic children.

"HEAVYBUDDY I'LL BET you were in the "let 'em die" GOP debate audience
you have NO CLUE what a civilized society should be..you call it Liberal, people with sensibilties call it a civilized society.."

Let's sum up. Your definition of civilized is to allow one child to disrupt everyone else's education.

BTW, folks, nowhere in the article did it state that the boy had been placed in the bag. Maybe he crawled into the bag. If they stuffed him into a bag it was wrong. But it's equally wrong for tax payers to have to pay for educating other people's children. It's even more wrong when education isn't happening.

once again, an article that had nothing to do with politics was turned into a bash the GOP party.

and Dan, i personally would disband public education (without public education, private schools would be made that provide cheaper education while providing good customer service to ensure continued service). but since that won't happen, here's my opinion on how public schools should run:

i think it is asinine to have special needs children in with the standard classroom. to be honest, i think classes should be divided by ability. grab the super geniuses and put them in one classroom, the well-rounded in another, the handyman in another, and the challenged in yet another.

all of our focus on being equal has left us all just average.

Gotta love the Vine. /s/

Right on. I also went to grade school in the 70's and I couldn't agree more.Of course I'm not happy that these children are still being abused in such horrific ways, but I'm thrilled that technology has progressed to the point that at least once a week one of these SOB's gets caught on tape doing what they've done for years,but now finds their sorry arse on YouTube or the national news, and then gets their walking papers, and hopefully disciplinary action against their teaching certificate.

I hope so-called healthcare professionals who are the kind who abuse society's most vulnerable are the next to start getting caught on tape.

I disagree. This kind of abuse has always gone on.Society is moving forward because now we have the technology for child victims to bust their perpetrators.

If the parent had done this at home and CPS got involved, the mother would have probablly lost custody and been put in jail for child abuse. But since these were "trained professionals" they think they can call it therapy and be fine!

Sometimes it is necessary to restrain an autistic child, but it involves something closer to a full body hug. I had to do that with my autistic son many times when he was very young, but I would NEVER have put him in a bag!

Full body hug worked with my PTSD child and she was 12. PTSD was thanks to her biological father.

Are you an idiot? Of course it's not OK. It's NEVER ok to mistreat any child, for ANY reason.

If it were OK, there would not have been an article written about it.

I believe anna's post was to point out to those people posting here that their 'approval' of what the school staff did was idiotic at best. Something that is morally/legally wrong for a parent to do is most certainly wrong for school employees.

Granted I skimmed a lot, but all I see are people in outrage against what the school staff did.

Where is this approval hiding?

Why would you ever object to it being highly illegal for "parents" to do those things? I could make an educated guess, I just want to see what kind of answer you come up with.

It really sickens me how there are people who feel this is in any way, shape, or form acceptable!!! I bet the bunch of you don't even have kids! If you do, you don't deserve them and I honestly fear for their safety. If you don't, do us all a favor and don't pro-create!! YES kids can get out of line! But when has stuffing any child in a duffel bag for bad behavior, physical or not, been constructive???? It's TRAUMATIZING!!! Its inhumane!

Yes it is ok as long as you are trained by the state how to abuse people and properly sanctioned to do so.

It's, funny. It's like you don't even hear yourselves when you say the word abuse! Do you even know what it means? "Bad or improper treatment; maltreatment"...my 5 year old could tell you that!! So let me ask you do you have kids?

Im sorry if that came out wrong. Thanks dsb for seeing my viewpoint. For everyone else..., its that i have been noticing increasing violence from authorities towards children, getting away with it. Its treated as no big deal in respect of their jobs. I cannot for the life of me, understand how its ok, "it will be investigated". If a parent did this, oh, big trouble. I have children, grown up now. One teacher had pulled my daughters hair and continued to call her stupid. She wasnt the only student this happened to. The other parents didnt want to be involved. I went to the principal, and he told me he never saw this when he went to the classroom. I let him know that I wouldnt beat or treat my kid like crap in front of him, why would this teacher? He's her boss. But if there was a whisper of myself abusing my children, he would call CPS lickety split. Why not her? It was swept under the rug. I eventually pulled my daughter out. So, its as if its ok if you are not a parent *sarcasm*.

No child should be abused but no disruptive child should be allowed to remain in a classroom unless it is a classroom for disruptive students. Not every child can benefit from an academically oriented education. Remove those who cannot manage to behave (for whatever reason) and those who cannot benefit from academic instruction to a school specializing in such disorders.

I agree with you. Stop demonizing these teachers and start looking at the parents' poor judgment call with enrolling their kid in a public school. He's clearly disruptive and unable to handle a structured environment. It's time for those parents to try a different route.

So A.M. you're saying it's okay for these teachers to put this autistic boy into the duffel bag? Even if their trained how to handle this type of behavior it's okay to possibly traumatize the kid? Just asking.

Why not also sue the school for millions of dollars so that it can't function anymore? Just screw over every child while you're at it. This is not an excuse to get rich.

Or you could just fire the people responsible, and not take the rest of the children down in your anger.

You are what is wrong with this country, with your "sue everyone for everything, always" mentality. Why? Because there are far more of people like you than there are people putting kids in duffel bags.

You are the reason there are warning labels on everything for everything. I bet if you ordered coffee without a "Warning: Contents may be hot!" label on it you would sue for burning yourself.

Of course, what I said is unpopular because people don't want to react to things with appropriate scale and do not want to take responsibility for themselves, and would love to game the system if given the chance.

Don't worry, I am prepared for any hypocritical outrage whoever may throw at me, likely with some sort of insinuation that I am a terrible person or whatnot.

The mom will have to sue to get her child in a different school. I would sue too. For tuition at another school of MY choosing and for all the care and counseling this child is going to need after being tied up in a closed bag by teachers.

Boom Reason I am just curious. If we were to stuff you into a bag for 20 minutes what would you do? I agree that we should not sue just as a way to get money for ourselves but sometimes it requires such a suit to make them to take action. Fire the teachers involved and anyone of the school administration that might know but that does not leave the school system off from any blame.

Great post David1159; "Fire the teachers involved and anyone of the school admin. that might know"......

What happened to that child is total bullsh*t......

For tuition at another school of MY choosing and for all the care and counseling this child is going to need after being tied up in a closed bag by teachers.

That works up to a certain degree. If "your" choosing happens to cost much more than this school cost, then no, you don't deserve it. This kid is autistic. That means he should already have extensive care and counseling. Paying for more is silly.

Let me give you another example to illustrate that last point. If you are already a frequent patient of a psychologist and you get locked in a bag, you do not need another psychologist. You talk about it at the psychologist you already visit, but that's not to say that you may not necessarily require a few additional sessions.

How well do you understand autism?

I agree that we should not sue just as a way to get money for ourselves but sometimes it requires such a suit to make them to take action.

I am not objecting to suing to have them fired and to get any appropriate fees; I am objecting to those who view this as a "get rich quick" excuse, especially in this case where that money would be taken directly from the other students.

I have never heard the term "sue the ass off x" not refer to getting a boat load of money from them.

David.......... stuffed in a bag for an unspecified period of time.......... the kid had no idea it would be "only" 20 minutes.................. nor do we know since they let him out once the mom got there! I have a cousin with an autistic son and she did a brilliant job with him and worked with professionals to help him - not just drop him off at a school where he would be abused like this. Not to mention, most autistic children are highly intelligent - they just need the proper attention and treatment - not a duffel bag!

I have never sued anyone. I do believe that if someone intentionly does harm to you or your family, knowing what they are doing, they might should be sued. This school is not saying we are sorry, it was wrong. They are supporting the act by saying it was respectful. They should be sued and charges pressed. This is the type of people that will continue to abuse children till they are stopped.

(sigh) without hitting him.

must not take much to become a qualified professional in Mercer County!

You are overreacting to a very minor, justifiable incident. The kid was being bad. He needed to be dealt with. He was dealt with. End of story.

Apparently, it's not illegal in Kentucky. The state where you still have to stand before a supreme court justice, and swear you've never taken part in a duel to hold public office. That's how a school can do it.

The better question is WHY can a school do this? Isn't there some Federal law that prohibits confining students in a bag? If not, I guess we have to rely, once again, on the Federal government to tell backward states what's appropriate, and what we stopped doing in the 1800's.

Libertarianism. Let the states write all their own rules. My @ss.

Yes, this is Kentucky. Enough said.

If only it were "just" Kentucky. Read my earlier posts on this subject.

And what happens to the rest of the class while you are physically restraining the child? I remember when I was a 3rd grader, we had a mentally disabled student in the class. She got upset almost daily. One day she pulled the hair out of the teacher (unprovoked) and had to be dragged out of the class. When the teacher returned, she had a facial laceration and what later turned into a black eye. The class had no instructor for quite some time since it took the principal and the teacher to get her out of the classroom. We keep cutting public education but these students require nearly one-on-one attention. This simply isn't possible. We can't have it both ways. If this article upsets you, vote for a school-tax increase in your area.

Logical, A) the child should have an aide (of course will most republicants wanting to cut special ed funds this gets harder and harder to get) and the teacher needs to be trained how to deal with the child. an IEP does this. A properly trained teacher and aide can prevent most children from that level of violent meltdown most of the time.

The student in your class probably did not have an IEP, those came with ADA and IDEA.

^ This

This kid isn't the only one with rights. If the kid was being a terror (and he probably is if they had to put him in a cloth bag) and putting other kids in danger, there is a judgement call to be made. Do you choose the safety of one kid, or the safety of 32 other kids?

Obviously the kid needs better guidance, both from parents and teachers, but the parenting is free and an aide is $30K per kid per year X12 years of school.

I'm not saying it's right, but given the lack of funding, the lack of parenting, and the lack of options, I'm not surprised it happened.

You get the school system you pay for.

Calling the parents of this kid bad parents because their child has behavioral issues in school is wrong. You don't know what the circumstances are, and being judgmental of the parenting is stupid. I would speculate that the vast majority of parents with kids like this want their kid to behave properly, and are upset by the behavior. They need understanding and cooperation from the school. Abuse of a child, regardless of the opinions of knuckle draggers, does not promote good behavior. Just the opposite, in fact.

If the "professionals" in the class were properly trained they can prevent the ball from being thrown in the first place. And if all else fails there are proper restraint techniques that do not endanger the child or others. a ball bag is not one of them.

TYING A CHILD UP IN A BAG IS ABUSE NO MATTER WHAT. ANYONE WHO THINKS ITS RIGHT - I HAVE A BAG WAITING FOR YOU.

All I know is if I have an autistic kid one day, and something like this happens to him, whoever is at fault will feel the wrath of a man. I won't demand he be removed from the bag, and I won't call the police. I'll take him out of the bag, and SMASH YOUR FACE. I'll go to jail for a few days and I'll be fine with that. And whoever put my kid in a bag won't EVER do it again.

Michael, You are right. It's not always a matter of good versus bad parenting. I have gone to as many as 30 private speech therapy appointments, medical appointments and school meetings in a single year for one of my autistic children. I was the one who worked with her at home to get her to start using verbs. I was the one who persisted in having doctors look at her until a serious physical issue was identified and taken care of with surgery. I am still the one who spends nearly every non-school hour with her. A number of professionals have commented on how well I understand my daughter and help her manage her behaviors. They have praised my ideas about how to help my daughter at school. Before working with these professionals, I had to work with a team that considered my daughter bad and must have thought it was my fault, because they called me at work (I'm the only parent now, work is not an option) several times a week to complain. With that team, my daughter became disruptive and violent to a far wilder extent than she had ever been before. Six years of hard work by me and by our current education team have finally reversed the damage, and I receive good behavior reports from school. So, no, it's not always bad parents. It's not always bad teachers. But in this article, the teachers did something inappropriate. There is no mention of the mother doing anything inappropriate, so there is no reason to talk about "bad parenting" just to even out the discussion of bad teaching.

Does anyone do any research before they post? Try googling spacial body bag/autism and see what you come up with.

My only complaint would be why this school doesn't seem to have the funding to purchase one and instead is forced to use a duffle bag.

M4Ogre, As i read your post, I seem to feel as if you think its "ok" to shove a child in a bag? If so, then how about if we place you in a steel box barely large enough for you to fit in and leave you sit? Or do you feel your too good for something like that?

NO child, no matter what deserves to be put in a bag like that. There are more respectable ways to deal with a child with autism. And i would hope that someone would start a petition and push hard to make the politicians change some laws to help protect these children.

I would love to see the family, sue the school, and the idiot school employees are fired, charged for abuse and lose any teaching credentials they may possess.

To the young man and his family, I am so sorry that certain people of human race are that low and pathetic to do something so disrespectful to you all. I hope you all can find some happiness during this Holiday season, you certainly deserve it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

You obviously do not have a special needs child. This child could have suffocated, not to mention the emotional toll this has taken. As a parent of two autistic children who are now homeschooled (one due to emotional abuse and neglect at the school systems hands), I have taken my children to hundreds of OT, PT, and Speech appts which I sat in on and never was a "bag" of any kind used. There is a "sack" but it is see through, stretchable for free movement and easy/breathable. If there is no money for funding, an intelligent person would KNOW not to use a duffel bag which not only restricts movement, leaves a child in pitch black darkness, and unable to breath comfortably. It IS abuse. They chose to use this as punishment to restrain the child, not therapy. Research is not the issue here, it is common sense and compassion these "professionals" lack.

That's why mainstreaming is a terrible idea. No, it has nothing to do with discrimination. It is a behavioral issue. If a child just can't function in a typical classroom, but them in a classroom that can accommodate them.

Now this child was "shoved" in this bag and was moments from suffocation. I believe the article stated the child's head was NOT in the bag. Were you there?

Ridicule me all you want. I can only tell you it is misplaced. Neither you nor I were there. The story indicates that this child had been involved in this "therapy" before. His mother states as such. It doesn't appear as if they were trying to hide it. After all, he was in the hallway with the teachers aid waiting for the mother to arrive. If the teacher thought they were doing something wrong, do you think she would have put the child in the hallway of all places.

I ask you again, did you research spacial body bag/autism? Simple question. Yes or no? Since you apparently would rather rant on in righteous indignation I'll just say that what the teacher did with the child appears to be an approved therapy for autistic children. Whether or not it is appropriate to use a duffel bag I don't know. That will be for someone with more knowledge than you or I have of this situation to answer.

Or we could do as many of the righteous here seem to require. Let's bind the teachers hands and feet and pitch her into a lake. If the teacher sinks, she is innocent of any ill intent, if she floats, she is evil and we'll burn her at the stake.

Well, if I read that his head was not in the bag, they either updated this story and took it out or I read it somewhere else. This story is somewhat local for me. I also recall reading that the mother said her son had mentioned the balls and bag prior to this incident. I don't see it in this account though.