Is soaking the crayons of an autistic child in hot sauce the best way to teach him to stop eating them? Probably not, but neither should it have cost a teacher her job ... or so says a Judge who recently ruled on the case of a Florida teacher who did just that.
In February, special needs teacher Lillian Gomez was fired from her job at Sunrise Elementary School in Kissimmee after she soaked an autistic boy's Play-Doh and crayons in hot sauce in an attempt to get him to stop eating them. She was also accused of force feeding them to him, but she has denied that.
According to WFTV, the school has spent more than $50,000 in attorney fees fighting to keep her out of the classroom, but she hasn't backed down in her quest to get her job back. Friday, a judge recommended that she be allowed to go back to teaching at the school, and parents are outraged.
If she force-fed the student anything that would be one horrific, inexcusable thing. Assuming she just soaked the crayons so that the boy would get a little spicy reminder to keep them out of his mouth, however, doesn't outrage me so much.
I remember being in first grade when a boy wouldn't stop sucking his thumb. The nun teaching the class would repeatedly take his thumb and dip it into his jar of paste. He just started eating it off, so it wasn't very effective, but it was her attempt to help learn a lesson as gag-worthy as it was for the rest of us to watch. I doubt it scarred him for life, and I don't really see this hot sauce incident as much different than that.
Were they model teaching practices? Certainly not, but as far as I can tell neither were done out of anything but good intentions. If that autistic boy had choked to death on a crayon, I'm sure we'd be outraged that the teacher was letting him eat the crayons.
Did she make a bad choice? Absolutely, but I don't think it's a choice that should cost her the job. Mostly, I think it's yet another wakeup call as to how much work there is needed to improve the way we educate autistic children and help those who teach and provide services to them so that they are better equipped to handle their challenging jobs.
Do you think this teacher should get her job back?
Image via Monica's Dad/Flickr
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Comments 49
You both also aren't autistic, I'd veture to guess, and as such don't know that chewing is often a way for autistic children to relieve anxiety. It's not a bad habit, it's a coping mechanism.
There are a lot of other things she could have done - there are actually devices that fit pencils and crayons designed for chewing, specifically for kids with autism and sensory issues. She could have suggested that to the parents. Just one idea.
If I had a kid in that school who was in special ed, I would sure as heck make sure she never got near him.
if that is the best diversion a special ed teacher had in her bag of tricks, she has no business in a special ed classroom ever again
I know people are saying it's no big deal, but unless she got permission from the parents she should have never went down that route. she could have asked the parents what they do or if they would be ok if she does dip them in hot sauce. What if the child had a severe reaction to the hot sauce. I know people will argue that the kid could choke on the crayon, but confront the parents first about the issue instead of taking it upon yourself to do something like that. I would be pissed if a teacher did that to my kid. My daughter got hurt and was crying; and even the teachr said it wasnt over the top crying; well the director heard her which her office is next to the classroom and told her to stop crying because she is crying for no reason; well of course that upset my daughter and she was hurt so she didn't stop crying on command like this woman wanted her to. so she took it upon herself to give my daughter a 30 minute timeout in the kitchen!!! the kitchen with sharp knives and objects she can get hurt with!! first off who gives a 5 year old a 30 minute time out; and second why was it in the kitchen and not either in the class or the directors office. Needless to say i gave that woman a piece of my mind and never returned back to the daycare with my daughter and she absolutely loves where she is now and can enjoy the rest of her summer!
I agree with the other posters -- The first thing she should've done was talk to the parents about it. If this was done with the parents' approval, then fine; the teacher should not have suffered any disciplinary action. However, if the teacher took it upon herself to do this, then that was very wrong and she deserves to lose her job. Pretty sure putting hot sauce on kids' crayons is not a method used to train special ed teachers in college.
she should DEFINITLEY lose her job! for ONE; the kid could have been allergic to hot sauce what would have happened then?! PLUS; hes autistic he cant control all that like chrisa said its a coping mechanism and how dare her take that from him. she should have asked the parents for hlep with this.
I have 3 autistic children, one of which, if he would've consumed something unexpectedly spicy like that he would've freaked and reacted violently, and the situation would've ended up on his permanent record.. Now how is that fair? If she wants to continue teaching she should stick to NT kids who have the ability to tell their parents when she's acting like a douche.