A reminder to parents - the 'cuts' and abuse of our children

I am posting a very disturbing 2009 youtube video (below)  illustrating what can and does happen to children who are vulnerable and who are at the mercy of untrained adult 'professionals' at school.  Many children continue to suffer whilst in the care of so-called teachers who are paid with public funds to teach and protect our children. Make no mistake, the incident illustrated in the video below is not isolated, it's one of hundreds that go on every year in countries like the U.S., Canada and the UK. Abuse of children who have autism and who may be vulnerable, is perpetrated by teachers, parents, childminders and potentially any one else who comes into contact with children.

The video below, and the others that follow illustrate the need for you, the parent, to be vigilant regarding your child's safety, both at home, on the street and at school. Abuse of our children in school settings does happen. Understanding autism does not happen magically, unless of course you are a person who has autism yourself.

Training of professionals in how our children think, react, adjust and learn is crucial.  Training requires time and money. Sufficient money is not being provided to schools for training much less for appropriate support.

The little boy in the video below bears the brunt of this 'teacher's' ignorance and abuse. He can't say stop. Her wages could have been better spent on providing this child a program of self advocacy and communication strategies. Clearly he is a child who needed such a program considering the abuse he was subjected to.
http://www.youtube.com/atch?v=1GyW-jsuCbU

Info on this case: http://www.wtae.com/news/20531472/detail.html



In the youtube video below, a Kentucky pupil with autism was stuffed into duffel bag, which his teacher described as his 'therapy.' (November 2011)

link to youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91YrWfvVcc

The financial cuts to the health and education systems here in Northern Ireland will impact negatively for our children - your children may not be receiving the support they require and their educational needs may not be met or ignored in the interests of saving money.


Teachers can mete out abuse just like anyone else. There is no excuse for the abuse and contempt by the teacher in the video I posted above. for her student. I do wonder, however, what training she received regarding autism. I also do wonder, what it would take for another teacher to resort to such abuse in the face of no training and/or support regarding autism. How much does it take for any particular teacher, afraid of losing their job to 'lose' it?

Teachers are going to pushed farther than they ever have before in the coming years. No one can predict how far a person can be 'pushed', or what that might look like. I fear for our children who will be taught by teachers and in schools where stress levels are inordinately high. I fear for parents too, who seek support and who cannot find any.

Statements of Special Educational Need are being drastically cut as are services and monies for disability in general. Diagnosis of autism is becoming more and more difficult to obtain, with many parents being told their children do not 'meet' the criteria for a diagnosis. The services that follow a diagnosis of autism cost money.  To save that money, the state has a failsafe measure for that - don't diagnose!

Many of  your children who you suspect or know have autism will not receive a diagnosis and consequently will not receive the assistance they need and are entitled to. Furthermore, as parents, you will have great difficulty 'convincing' your child's teachers and schools that your child has educational needs that are specific, unless your child has that diagnosis. It's a catch 22 situation.

Thanks to Bamford, however, (see link below) you can see what your child might be looking forward to once s/he turns 18. After years of inadequate education and societal exclusion, your child can live the rest of his days in a brand spanking new residential care home.

http://www.colerainetimes.co.uk/community/official_opening_of_priory_complex_1_3432622

Many people make money off of autism, one way or another. Whether or not your child learns in school,  your child is a cash cow for someone else, a chance to make a few quid. Your child is in school for a very short time compared to the rest of his or her life. What happens afterwards becomes your and your child's problem, not the school's. Isn't it great that we have care homes and facilities to 'clean-up' where the educational system fails? 

Is your child having problems at school? In these times of financial cut backs, it might be a good idea to take a walk around your child's school during the day to see if your child's school is up to scratch, to see if there are any niggling problems that you can address. Talk to other parents. Join support groups to find out what is going on at your child's school and in your own community. (choose your group carefully, many of them simply pay lip service to the status quo).

Never take the school's word for it, that your child is happy or that s/he is learning. Further, if your child is unhappy find out the reason for this too.  Never accept that your child's unhappiness at school is down to self esteem problems or problems that may be occurring at 'home'. Schools rarely accept responsibility for their pupils' unhappiness or academic failure.

Most of all, teach your child how to advocate for himself.  If something negative happens at school, if your child's dignity is threatened or he is neglected or abused, how will you find out about it if the perpetrator is able to conceal what they have done, or if teachers don't 'tell'? What if your child cannot verbally express himself about what happened?

Ask your child's friends how s/he is getting on at school, or ask the parents of other children at your child's school if they know anything about why your child might be unhappy.

Incidents like this:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090397/Kaleb-Kula-Shocking-video-autistic-boy-11-beaten-school-bus-stop.html  happen just outside school gates. Schools permit bullying when they do not address it appropriately in the school. The shocking behaviour of these children coupled with the equally horrendous assault by the teacher against her pupil in the first video above shows quite clearly that schools and anything to do with 'school' (i.e. other pupils and even teachers) has the potential to harm your child if you are not vigilant.


The bullying of this 6th grade boy in the above article (the video is so shocking it's been removed from youtube) had been happening since he was in 1st grade (6 yrs) and the school did nothing to stop it. (more on that story here: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/01/23/video-of-autistic-kids-attack-posted-on-facebook/

In 2012 in Northern Ireland, many jobs are on the chopping block. Teachers are already being stretched in terms of time and resources and will have a hard time saying no to school boards who insist they take your child into their class. With no accompanying resources or support, it's your child who may inevitably suffer due to lack of funds, support, experience and knowledge on behalf of the school.

 Contact local legal rights organisations to find out how to fight for your child's educational rights.  (eg: Children's Law Centre, SENAC)

As a parent there is much you can, and may have to do this year to protect your child not only now, but for the future.
2012 has to be the year of 'standing up' for autism.

National Autistic Society in Northern Ireland - Where? Really?

The National Autistic Society (NAS)  in England are set to build yet another specialist school for young people with autism.  You can read the story in this link: here

It would be nice if the NAS would do the same for Northern Ireland. The charity exists here, it has members, it's funded but what they do here, is beyond me.

The charity is currently asking for parents in Northern Ireland  to participate in a questionnaire about the education of children who have autism in Northern Ireland. It will be very interesting to find out what their conclusions will be. It will be even more interesting to see if they work cooperatively with the Department of Education to actually do something for our kids. I hope that 'research' will not just be another book-end to gather dust on someone's shelf. Report after report, so what? All this 'reporting' creates jobs, but what does it really do for our children? The state of affairs regarding education of children on the autistic spectrum is still deplorable.

We need teachers to teach our children who have expertise, and who have access to specialised, evidence based training.

Our children who have special educational needs require their academic outcomes to be measured against children who do not have those needs.

We have no way of tracking their achievement or knowing what they actually need if we don't compare to the rest of the pupil population.

We need teaching environments that assist with the teaching of our children, not hinder it. We need to eliminate the segregation of our children into 'special schools' or places that label them further with learning disabilities just because teachers don't know how to teach them and we need to teach to their strengths instead of highlighting their difficulties.

We need access to a developmental and academic curriculum which ALL children must aspire to, one that presumes academic achievement for all.

Most of all we need teachers together in schools who are on the same page about our children, that they are bright, and quite capable of learning if only teachers would aspire to teach them. Put teachers who believe in our children together in a school and what have you got? A school that is great for our kids! Now, that is what I would call a 'special' school.

Well NAS? What about it - it's great that you do so much work in England, but here in Northern Ireland, your charity is a non-player - with very few members and even less political pull.

The NAS here in Northern Ireland takes full advantage of the reputation it has built elsewhere over the past 40 years, but indigenously, very little has been achieved by the NAS, more a talking shop than anything else and certainly not made up of movers or shakers. At least in England the NAS tries to be all things to all people.

Here in Northern Ireland, the NAS  is no things to no people. Why do we put up with it?

It is time to force the autism charities into the background. It's the government's duty to educate our children. Voluntaries cannot do this and these charities and voluntary organisations never should have existed in the first place, if the government had been doing their job properly.

Here is an update from the NAS on the what will be happening in the NI based NAS once they hire a new Operations Director: (from the NAS website)

"As part of the ongoing development of services for people with autism and their families, The National Autistic Society has been reveiwing the service offered to families in Northern Ireland. As part of this review we are recruiting an Operations Director whose role will be to develop high-quality pioneering contracted services.

We are committed to growing the range of support and services for people with autism and their families in a sustainable way and this additional senior post will allow us to take advantage of new opportunities and to develop and expand our autism services. This strategy builds on the excellent work that has been carried by our team in Northern Ireland.

We hope that you will continue to support us as we endeavour to develop and grow autism services in this difficult economic climate.

For more information please contact Shirelle Stewart on 07789 941 239 or Regina Cox on 07766 247 817"

Hmm, what that says to me is that the NAS in Northern Ireland requires command, direction and purpose and for that reason, an Operations Director post has been created to get the organisation sorted out.

Hopefully, this new post has been filled by a parent who has not lost touch with what it is like on the ground, trying to battle for an appropriate education for a child or services and support.

Autism NI - Show me the Money - all £400,000 of it

In August I wrote an open letter to Autism NI ( see here ).

Since then, I have discovered, thanks to another parent, that AutismNI, as of May this year has/had almost £400,000 in their possession.

I asked the charity  what it was doing for families and individuals with autism and why it retains so many paid staff, many of whom do not appear to have any direct association with families or persons with autism (fundraisers/administrators).

Anyway,  next time you are feeling a bit altruistic when Autism NI or any other of the 'big' autism charities comes calling for your coppers, please ask what your money is being used for - ask what services are being provided, what challenges to the system are being made for the betterment of individuals and families who live with autism.

Why are you (the unsuspecting public) 'Just Giving' and giving and GIVING to AutismNI's fundraisers (see below) when they have almost £400,000?   http://www.justgiving.com/autismni

See for yourself below, Autism NI's annual report for 2010/11  (anyone can access this information from Companies House) as well as a list of staff members.  The charity's net liabilities are very small and I believe their premises are rent free.

What could £400,000 do for our children?

Our Staff

see here for Charities Commission for Northern Ireland (guidance notes for charities)