A teenage student put in a "bad kid" box suffers with Aspergers syndrome. Allegedly, a teacher at Parkersburg High School humiliated a 15-year-old boy by putting a cardboard box around his chair and labeling it "bad kid fort." His parents are livid and want answers about the embarrassing moment the student endured after being put in a "bad kid" box.
According to a report on Jan. 8 from AJC, Beth Dean and Jeff Richards were furious when they learned of a teacher's decision to cope with behavioral issues with their son in a demeaning way.
"Instead of sending him out of the room or any other myriad of options, she fashioned a large cardboard box and placed the box around his seat," Dean said about the student put in a "bad kid" box.
Asperger's syndrome, as well as autism, are two misunderstood conditions in children and young adults. They are characterized by sudden outbursts or fits, obsessive-compulsive behavior, low self-esteem, learning issues, poor social interaction, a short attention span and more.
Many teachers, who are not familiar with the signs of Asperger's and and autism may use the wrong course of action in dealing with the situation.
Principal Pam Goots does not believe the teacher was deliberately trying to humiliate the student by putting them in a "bad box."
"She was attempting to deal with a difficult situation in class," Goots said.
Wood County Assistant Schools Superintendent Sue Woodward called the situation "unfortunate" and added this:
"It is not what we send our children to school for, and not what we want to happen to our kids on the parent side or the school side. I hope the adults will work together to make sure it doesn't happen to another student," she said.
Still, the parents of the autistic boy are not happy about the responses and blame a lack of training, among other things. As any parent would be, they are concerned about the long-term impact of putting the student in the "bad kid" box.
At a minimum, they want a policy change and believe the school and teacher should be held accountable for the incident.
Share this on Facebook and remember to "Like" this above.
Comments