It's difficult enough to send our children off to school, into the care of others and out of our sight, but for parents of children with special needs, it can take even more of a leap of faith. Add in tragedies like that of Sage Rollins, a 10-year-old boy with autism who was made to sit in a cardboard box during class, and it becomes downright frightening.
According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, one day Sage, who has Asperger's Syndrome and is in a mainstream classroom, asked to take a pair of scissors to school. When his mother questioned what they were for, he said he needed to cut a hole in the box he had to sit in at school. He said his teacher sent him there and to a utility closet when she got mad at him.
His mother, Kim Rollins, was understandably outraged, and an investigation was launched. The teacher in question said the box -- about the size of a large television -- was provided for Sage as a place of refuge, so he could escape when he became overstimulated. Investigators "failed to find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing," and the case was closed. The school, however, has placed the teacher on leave and is conducting its own investigation, as well they should.
I don't purport to know this teacher's intentions, but even if this box was used with entirely good intentions, boys don't belong in boxes in a classroom. If Sage was feeling overwhelmed in the classroom and needed some respite, she should have consulted with the mother to find a solution that wasn't so degrading. Most importantly, the boy himself didn't feel like it was something done to help him, instead he felt like he was being punished.
While no one is saying she forced him into the box, and he even admits he liked going there sometimes, that doesn't really matter. As Ron Leaf of Autism Partnership told the paper: "If he can get away from the person who is creating a meltdown for him, he would run and hide in the dryer. So the fact that he thinks the closet is a good thing, it means nothing to me."
Sage has been transferred to another classroom as of now, but overall, I think his story provides such a sad example of how children with autism and other disabilities are often mistreated in our nation's schools. Time and again we see cases of neglect, mistreatment, and worse -- some intentional, some unintentional, but nonetheless wrong. It's heartbreaking; it's infuriating; and it has to stop.
Has your child ever been mistreated in school?
Image via Beverly & Pack/Flickr
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Comments 16
He is Autistic and has sensory issues. Sometimes confined spaces helps them when they are over stimulated (a closet, a box, a tight blanket)
This is a well known and widely accepted practice with Autistic children. Its in with the same line of thought that swaddling a baby soothes them.
It seems to me the mother either has NO idea what her special needs child needs, or she is looking for attention.
My kiddo is dx with AS, I understand the sensory overstimulation. But still... a box in the CLASSROOM? Maybe at home in the privacy of his own bedroom, he could have a box hideout, but I dont think this method is appropriate for public.
Parents you CANNOT have it both ways!! If you want your child to have the benefits of being socialized with 'normal' developing children there has to be some leeway in balancing special needs with the needs of the classroom. Seems to me he should be applauded!!! Looks to be Sage is growing up and realizes he's different and needs the box but doesn't want to miss the action in the classroom! The window would have allowed HIM to decide when he felt safe enough to join the group!
Stories like this make me thankful I was homeschooled or sent to our community's homeschool co-op. I wasn't even diagnosed (with Aspergers) until I was 12, so who knows how I would have been treated in a normal school.
I'm not saying he SHOULD be homeschooled, or that his parents can or should do that, I am just glad I was. Especially considering I don't think people knew as much about Aspergers when I was growing up.
How does the child feel about the box? No one even thought to metnion that!!!! Does he feel that he's being ridiculed for the box? Does the box represent a "refuge" for him? And perhaps even SUGGESTED the idea.
I sure hope they talk to the child about it. If he likes his box, and the other children understand why he likes his box and are respecful of that, I find NO WRONGDOING here. Teaching is about finding what works for each individual child!
Why????? are teachers so overwhelmed, overworked, underpayed that they can not handle it ? My mom said a while back, that in her day, people who became teachers did it becuase they felt it was their vocations, much like nuns, priests, or religious leaders, andI thought it wasa bit over the top, but now I think it is true. She was a teacher as my dad was too.
If the school aceepted the child to be enrolled in a regular class, it was because they had the resources to accomodate him, and his possible outbursts, just like any other child, let alone one with a diagnosed medical condition that results in behavioral issues, so I don't think there is a valid excuse.
It doesn't matter if he liked the box sometimes or not. The teacher had a responsibility to communicate with his parents nd come up with a solution. The teacher is not an expert in Asperger's and shouldn't pretend to know the right way to address this. If this was an issue (as it obviously was) the teacher still needs to show some understand and respect. I know children with Asperger's and I can tell you I would never think it appropriate to put any of them in a box, in a closet. If this were my child, I would have the exact same issue.