Tina Obanion is a mom. Her son, Dallas is currently facing felony assault charges at the age of six stemming from an alleged bite to a paraprofessional who was attempting to physically restrain him at the time.
Her son, Dallas, attended the Bryan Elementary School during the previous school year. She was called nearly every day to come and pick up her son. At the time, Dallas did not have a concrete diagnosis. However, he did have an IEP. Tina’s other son also has medical issues. To have to drop everything and come running up to school on a continuing basis is quite stressful to say the least but what has occurred this year is quite terrifying for her and her family.
At the end of the previous school year, Tina was told that Dallas had to stay home while he went through testing to clarify his diagnosis and to change medication. The school felt the medication he was on at the time was not working as evidenced by their need to restrain him every day. Tina did so.
One of the reasons they restrained Dallas was because he was hungry. He was on medication that inhibited his ability to gain weight and needed to eat 2 hours before and after lunch. Tina even provided a doctor's note to that effect and the snacks. Yet, when Dallas became upset because he was hungry and being refused his snacks, they restrained him.
When the diagnosis of autism became concrete, she asked that Dallas be enrolled for the summer school program. Her request was denied, even though children with an autism diagnosis are routinely enrolled in summer school programs because evidence exists that these children will regress in educational areas. It is a case of use it or lose it.
Tina went to the superintendent, Dr. Stephens. He sided with the local school’s decision. She asked about going to the school board. In order to be heard by the school board and be put on the agenda, she had to go through Dr. Stephens. She knew the futility of that, so she let it go and did her best for Dallas over the summer.
This school year started in August of 2009 and there was much hope that things would change. It was a new school (same district), with a concrete diagnosis, and a new therapist. Before school started, Tina attended an IEP meeting. She had requested then that Dallas have a full-time paraprofessional to be with him during the school hours. She was denied her request but was told that paraprofessionals on staff could be shared.
Also at this IEP meeting, she saw in the IEP that every time Dallas had a discipline problem, it would be put into his disciplinary school record. She requested to see this record. There were only two recorded incidents. Much less than the number of times she was called for behavioral discipline issues the previous year!
On December 18th, Tina dropped Dallas off at school at 9 a.m. to attend his Christmas party. He had an appointment earlier for ear infections. She told the staff then that Dallas was not feeling up to par and to call her right away if anything came up. She called the school at 11:30 to check in and make sure he was doing okay. She was reassured that everything was fine.
At 12:11 p.m., she received a phone call from the school and told to come to the school right away to pick up Dallas. When she arrived there were cops present and she could hear Dallas screaming from inside. When she got into the room, his pants were pulled down halfway in the rear and low in the front as well. That day the physical restraint process gave Dallas carpet burns on his back.
On another day soon after that, Tina was called again. After questioning Dallas, she found out that he was put in time-out. Time out was outside the classroom door with no one with him to make sure he didn’t wonder off. The classroom was a trailer. This is common practice for schools that outgrow the building and with limited funds cannot afford to add on to the existing building.
Dallas stated he had gotten upset because he had wanted his coat and they wouldn’t give it to him. It was 43 degrees outside that day. He was taken to the ER and evaluated. The Children Protection Services agency in Clinton, Missouri was contacted to investigate this issue. The school is in Nevada, Missouri and therefore needed to be investigated by the next town over.
An investigator arrived and saw the pictures of the physical injuries to Dallas and took a statement from Tina about the incident. However, Tina was later told on Christmas Eve, that the school would be conducting its own investigation into this incident and Clinton agencies would not be involved.
Tina notified the school that she wanted to be present during any questioning of her son. Because of his autism, this process of investigation can be quite upsetting and scary to Dallas. Tina wanted to be on hand to help him stay calm. However, the school never contacted Tina about questioning her son. The school was on a holiday break during this time. The claim was found to be “unsubstantiated.” Tina asked, “What school would find itself guilty when investigating itself?”
On January 25, 2010, Tina was preparing to take her other son to a doctor’s appointment for 10 a.m. The phone rang at 9:45 a.m. and it was Dallas’ school. She was to come to the school right away to pick up Dallas.
When she arrived, Dallas was on the floor, with his arms folded underneath him, one grown adult lying on top of his with her arms around and underneath him, and another adult with her arms around his legs and lying on top of his legs. Dallas is six years old and frail because of his medication. He is underweight. The principal, Ms. Spour, and a nurse were on the other side of the room, watching.
She got Dallas out of there and he complained that his arm hurt. Tina thought it was possible that his arm was injured during the physical restraint process. When she had a moment to stop and breathe (on her way to get her other son to his doctor’s appointment), she noticed a long scratch as he pulled up his sleeve and again said “My arm hurts!” She pulled up the sleeve further and saw a long laceration along his arm and at the top of the laceration was a soft-ball sized bruise.
She called the child abuse hotline. She was informed it would not be investigated because she did not have enough information about what transpired during the physical restraint incident and could not say for certain it was or was not abuse. The purpose of this hotline is to report suspected child abuse. However, the hotline personnel did say they would document her call.
The following day, January 26th, Dallas was absent. On the 27th, Tina attended another IEP meeting. She was presented with a piece of notebook paper with a statement on it giving permission for any staff of the school, regardless of training, could physically restrain Dallas. She refused to sign it.
When Dallas’s advocates at the IEP from other agencies suggested ways to the school staff to prevent overstimulation, such as allowing him to do one paper of work and then play for 10 minutes, Ms. Spour responded with “Sure! Why don’t we just let Dallas play ALL day!” with her hands up in the air. It was clear to Tina that the principal and other staff members were not interested in educating her son because they felt it took away the educational experience for other students. “My son has just as much of a right to an education as the other kids do.” She said during a telephone interview last night.
The message she was sent that day was that her son was “less than” the other students and the staff did not want to have to teach him because they found it too challenging to do so even though it is their job to teach him and the other students or to provide another solution.
She asked for the record of restraint that was told to her exists for all incidents. They have not yet provided this documentation to her.
The following day, January 28th, Tina was called yet again to come and get Dallas from school. When she arrived, he was playing with Legos. Seven or eight teachers and staff were on the other side of the room. Dallas and a paraprofessional were on the carpet near the Legos. Tina bent down and said to her son, “Dallas, you’ll have to clean your mess up so we can leave, but can you tell me why you’re upset?” The principal, also present, was upset and yelled at Dallas that he had to pick up his Legos “RIGHT NOW!” and yelled at Tina "Just get him and you out of here."
The paraprofessional who had been involved in the physical restraint incident on January 25th was there and said to Tina, as she was attempting to find Dallas’ jacket so they could leave, “I could have pressed charges against Dallas when he bit me.” Tina, tired of fighting, said “I don’t care.” The paraprofessional misunderstood what Tina meant and began blasting Tina for “not making Dallas accountable for his actions. I guess it’s okay he bit me!” Tina clarified for the paraprofessional that she did care if Dallas bit her and he should be held accountable for his actions. It is that she does not care if she files charges.
Since that time, Tina has had three referrals leveled against her through child protective services for incidents that took place while Dallas was in school. And now, Dallas, age six, autistic child, is facing felony charges of assault for allegedly biting the paraprofessional during the January 25th physical restraint incident.
Tina firmly believes that would not be the case had she signed the document allowing any staff, trained or untrained, to restrain her child. She cannot afford an attorney for Dallas and is getting help from a friend who has studied some law. She is in desperate need of an attorney who can help Dallas and Tina defend him against these charges.
Tina said in the interview last night, "I'm just blown away by all of this. I think I'm still in shock."
You can read messages from other parents about this school personnel and of support for this family at the Support Dallas Facebook page.
Click here to read about how YOU can help this mother today with upcoming Dallas' legal battle.
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Please subscribe using the link above the article. There will be an update posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2009 following the hearing for Dallas at 3:45 p.m. CST.
As promised, you can find the update by clicking here
Comments
Wow. Just...wow. Words fail me.
As I was on the phone with Tina and shew as telling me about these events (and more!!) I said much the same thing.
It's hard to find words of comfort for a mom like Tina or Zach's Grandmother. This is quickly becoming an epidemic.
This is a horrific story. I hope they are able to find a good lawyer and fight this mess. My thoughts and prayers will be with this family.
Kris- Thanks for stopping by and reading. If people will write letters as friends of the court (click the link at end of article on how to help for instructions and contact information) hopefully we can stop this epidemic!
This makes me sick. It is the Principal and teachers who should be arrested for hurting this child. There are ways to appropriately manage negative behavior via Positive Behavior Support. If I were this parent, I would get an attorney and sue the school district and the staff involved. I don't know how people sleep at night treating kids with autism like animals. It is disgusting!!! They should be fired immediately.
Words will not come. Have we taken "zero tolerance" to extreme yet again???
I'm a Special Education teacher, and while this does sound appalling, it all comes from the point-of-view of the mother. I'd like to verify sources before we start screaming for the heads of educators.
I work with special needs kids to and every mother of special needs kids don;t see the violent behavior their kids display towards other students, teacher, and themselves. I am sure some of his bad behavior is displayed at home. I support restraint when needed
Beth's point is well-taken. This article was obviously written with the mother's cooperation and the educators certainly have their own view of the facts. Unfortunately, while this is an extreme example that apparently escalated to a level it NEVER would have reached had proper strategies been put in place and/or followed, and, having four learning-disabled children (two on the spectrum) and being well-educated in the dynamics of the IEP process over the past 15 years, I have learned that it is not uncommon for educators to simply expect a child who looks normal but cannot express themselves due to their impairment to somehow maintain control over their behavior in every instance, including ones which are extremely painful and frustrating for them. Behavior IS communication, particularly in language-impaired children. It is the educators' jobs to teach, and that includes teaching appropriate ways to communicate. Restraint/seclusion are not acceptable teaching methods.
Truly awful. While there are many, many special ed teachers who understand, I can't help but recall the few we've met who seemed downright hostile and contemptuous of our son and his disability. The only solution is eternal vigilance...and a healthy dose of cynicism until trust is earned.
This is another example of the lack of knowledge & experience our teachers have in handling children with Autism. This is NOT an isoloated incident; this happens alot! My son was physically restrained for tapping his pencil on his desk! Restraining is only supposed to be used as a last resort or in the event of an emergency where the child or others are in danger. How can anyone can justify this type of intervention & how can a child face criminal charges when the physical altercation was provoked by school personnel? Does anyone think that this child will be taught a lesson or learn anything from this? Educators should just admit that they don't know how to handle children with Autism & parents should not be forced to put our children in inclusion settings where their needs are not being met! More & more children are falling through the cracks & unable to receive a free & appropriate public education! Train your teachers & don't treat our children like criminals!
This is discrimination at it's worst.
This school principal should be the one with charges filed against her.
And as for the para, why are you doing this kind of work? You should have charges filed against you for harming this child. All he did was try to protect himself from you hurting him.
I myself do not have a child that is autistic however it doesn't take someone with a college degree to realize the school personnel need to be trained in this area and should not be working with children of this nature. If the school can not follow the doctors orders they are negligent in their duties to insure the child/children are safe and as far as the bit he was defending himself from what sounds like excessive force. Come on! These charges should be dropped and the whole situation needs to be evaluated. All parties at the school should be investigated as well into their roll/rolls of child abuse this is absolutely assinine. Tina good luck to you and your family. Keep your chin up
This is discrimination at it's worst.
This school principal should be the one with charges filed against her.
And as for the para, why are you doing this kind of work? You should have charges filed against you for harming this child. All he did was try to protect himself from you hurting him.
I do understand how there are two sides to a story. What is flabergasting to me, is if the school knew this child had a hadicap, whether it be mental of physical; why they felt the need to let this situation get out of control. Restraint is supposed to be to protect in wose case scenerios, and it looks like the restraint ended up making bruises , cuts and emotional damage to this child. The school is accountable for our children while on school grounds regardless of the handicap, restraint should never be used in the fasion that it did. I call this cruel and corpral punishment not restraint. My prayers are with the whole family, and even to the teachers and principle that have to lay their heads down at night to sleep. I do hope that they realize the wrong they have done and feel some remorse. In due time, the truth will win.
WOW!!!!! This really broke my heart!! Poor lil guy was scared to death!! They should file charges on the ones who held him down for child endangerment!! The mom CLEARLY said "call me ASAP if anything happens", then when she called to check on him, they said "He was doing fine" If that were my child EVERYONE involed would be in a major lawsuit. There is just no call for this kind of treatment to anyones child!
Thank you, EVERYONE who left comments.
The point is well-taken that it is only one side of the story. I confirmed that on February 25, 2010 at 3:45 p.m. there will be a hearing in this matter for Dallas.
I was able to confirm through the school that the charges stemmed through an incident at their school, but the primary response from that side is, of course, "no comment."
The JCO also said "no comment."
It's a juvenile case and it's not likely we're going to get the other side until the matter is resolved.
Having worked with special needs children with severe emotional and behavioral issues over the last decade, I can say that there ARE ways to safely restrain a child who has become unsafe. I had to restrain my oldest son once and my niece who lived with us.
They can receive bruising (usually finger print size) from where they are grabbed... and occasionally scratches because of the fight.
But Dallas is six years old. How could TWO grown adults *need* to lie
Didn't realize the rest of my comment didn't make it through.. I meant to say:
How could two grown adults *need* to lie down on top of him to restrain him?
Wow is right. Why was the para not trained properly to handle chidren? What is wrong with the school system? That principal needs to be held accountable for not doing her job.That paraprofessional is the one who needs to be in trouble and lose her job and not be able to work with children.Tina should contact Jenny Mcarthy's organization and tell them the story and see if she can get any hlep from them.I wonder what would happen if everyone started calling this school demanding to talk to the principal and just give her an ear full .
This breaks my heart. I really don't know what else to say. Tina should try and get in touch with Generation Rescue. Let's hope they get a judge with common sense that dismisses the whole thing and tells the other parties involved how ridiculous they are. He's a six-year-old child, for goodness sake!!
When my twins were 6 they had a bad habit of biting, I had to work with them to break this bad habit. I cringe to think that my twins could possibly be charged with a felony. If I had found that some person was lying on top of either of my twins, I would do everything in my power to press charges on them.
First, let me thank everyone for reading, commenting and sharing this article with others. Because of this (and efforts by others), there is good news for Dallas. I have written the update and you can see it by clicking on my name above and choosing the "Dallas (Obanion) Williams category in the list. Thanks everyone!
I need more info, so far this looks like a lawsuit in the making. The school is a second grade school -- why is the kid SIX? The principal named is NOT the principal at that building. School officials would not have contacted her on Christmas Eve, esp in Nevada, where we were getting the worst winter storm of the season. I've seen the staff of this school in action with an agressive special needs child, and the actions described are NOThing like what they do. Consider the (only) source before you condemn the school personnel, the school, or the district here.
Also let's read the text of the article. No teacher or school employee ever actually pressed charges on the boy. Shame on you for inflating and inflaming this. And NO, I do NOT work for the school district. Ask yourself why this article was not published in the child's hometown or any newspaper close to it.
Amen to you, sunshine please. It is heartwarming to hear all the people out there that are willing to help a child in need. There are many out there that need it. It is, however, troubling to hear how many people are willing to send money to someone before they know all the facts! Not much of the story adds up. I just hope everyone investigates a little more before they start and/or continue to empty their pocketbooks. The truth will come out.
Sunshine please and Truth--
Thank you for reading, stopping by and commenting. I appreciate your opinions on this matter but do need to clear something up.
At no time did my article EVER suggest sending money to Tina Obanion nor did she at anytime request that money be sent to her so I am not sure where your statements about people emptying out their pocketbooks came from.
The link on "How to help" Dallas provided information for a letter writing campaign that was done on his behalf.
At any rate, Tina received the help she needed, the charges were DROPPED.
As far as whether or not Dallas was facing charges, it was confirmed by multiple sources, including her scanning in the documentation showing the hearing information and charges levied against Dallas. The date the charges were made and so on were in that letter.
I forgot to clarify the last point--
She was notified on Christmas Eve by the Clinton agency that the school will handle the investigation, as I stated in the article, not that the SCHOOL notified her of that on that date.
And while schools are on a Christmas break, I do know that they also are in the building at various times for various reasons during breaks as well. I know of teachers who spend their whole breaks there because of IEP meetings and such. So just because the STUDENTS are on break, does not necessarily mean the STAFF is.
However, you're also correct that the staff has had "no comment" about this case for the record.
I am no professional or anything, but I am pretty sure that restraining an Autistic child does not help calm them down, it only makes them feel more frightened and more aggressive. The teachers at this school should have had a little more patience with him than what appears in this story. They have to realize that not only is he six, but he is autistic, which makes it harder. I just hope that this matter is settled out of court.. He doesn't understand what is going on and is probably very confused.
Let me make my point again and to clarify. I did not say that your article talks anything about money but other areas do. I think what you are doing is great. Getting it out there that more training and education is needed on how to deal with children with autism. I just stated that the truth will come out the more public this becomes.
Losing Faith--Thanks for reading and commenting. There is good news that the charges WERE dropped against Dallas. I published an update...
Truth, I understand now. I may have misread what was written or misinterpreted YOUR meanings. I just wanted some things to be clear : )
If any of you ever had a mental illness or cared for someone with one, then you will know that there's points in your/their life where you/they might have had a "tantrum" or a FULL BLOWN OUTBURST!!! In those outbursts you can become completley OUT OF CONTROL, violent towards others, hateful, and your normally acute sense of strength can suddenly have a tremendous leap in the opposite direction. When I say violent I mean biting, hitting,punching, kicking, spitting which all are forms of assault. And there were times when you had to be restrainedto be kept from hurting someone else.When you have those outbursts they could be caused by just not wanting to put on your shoes when told to do so, or if someone happens to look at you in the wrong way. Now being the kid is 6yrs. old, he may seem as if he were harmless BUT you take a 6 year old and combine it with a mental illness then pair it with a sudden outburst they may seem a whole lot older!!! Think about that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KB- thanks for reading and commenting.
Sadly, I don't have to imagine that situation. My oldest, who has a mental illness in addition to autism, has had rages. Those are quite different from an autistic melt-down in my opinion.
With proper ABA positive behavior supports, children with autism do not rage.
Children with a mental disorder do. Yes. I remember when Thom would rage and could lift a full-sized 6 drawer all-wood dresser off the floor and toss it across the room--at age 8.
This is not the behavior we're talking about. Sadly. We're talking about whining, crying, putting hands over the ears. These children are not hitting, kicking, or biting UNTIL AFTER restraint is used, 99% of the time.
But I hear ya, KB. The job of a para/teacher/SpEd is not easy. Neither is being a mom :)
I lived this only our district is just a little more savy about CYA and not quite as blantant about violating IDEA. It is more than appalling and until more people become outraged and the media brings more attention to how often this happens, than things will remain the same.
My daughter is now in a private school and is having a wonderful experience and has never been even a whiff of discipline problem. They treat her with respect and understand her disability. What a concept!!
This woman needs to take her child out of this school ASAP. If she had the pwr & $ she should sue the school too but since it sounds like she is poor, it would probably only work against her & CPS would take her child away & his life would be ruined forever. She needs to homeschool or private school her child.
The mother should countersue the school and ask that that state press charges against the school with child abuse, child endangerment, and neglect.
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