In an update to a story posted here last week, a teacher was denied a contact after duct taping a disabled boy's only functional arm to his wheelchair. Special education teacher Leslie Garcia was denied a teaching contract for next year by the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) executive board.
Anthony Birden's grandmother stated "They took away his dignity. They took away his freedom to use the only limb that works on his little body. He couldn't reach for his water. He couldn't reach for anything." The middle school student has shaken baby syndrome and is non ambulatory and nonverbal. He communicates with his right hand.
5 comments:
Some of the comments on that article are just terrible. But then, I've come to expect a certain amount of such behavior in comment threads of disability stories.
It's sad but those comments explain the reasons why this kind of thing happens. I've learned that those kinds of comments are self explanatory as to the roots of ignorance, abuse, neglect and discrimination.
It's good to hear that this teacher's incompetency was recognized and she was denied the teaching position for next year. I don't have to read the comments, and won't, in order to know what excuses are being used to defend her. That is terrible.
It's heartening they're in effect firing the teacher--I hope the district scrutinizes special education policies and classes more carefully in the future. That poor kid has been through enough.
Thank God/dess they did the right thing--sadly rare when disabled kids are abused and neglected in school. Thanks for letting us know.
My blog is going password-protected soon; if you would like an invite please email me at sophiasprayers@gmail.com.
P.S. Word verification is sitrun--kind of relevant to the non-confinement post! Speaking of which, I am happy to report good behavior on the part of the professional Spiritual Directors International. When I emailed them explaining the offensiveness of using the term to describe the hero of Avatar, they immediately wrote back thanking me so they could use more accurate and positive language in future.
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