Autism/recess punishment

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Expert: - 1/23/2012


Question
My son who has PDD-NOS was recently punished for me not signing his nightly planner. I have never forgot to sign it before until last Thursday night. He came home and questioned me about why I didn't get punished and made to set on the wall at recess since I forgot to sign this planner. At this point I knew it had stressed him out and could tell by the way he was acting. He had this nervous twitch and blinking of his eyes which he only does when he is highly stressed or has had a seizure. Can they or do they have the right to punish these children for what we as parents don't do? I understand it is their policy but they also need to understand that my child isn't responsible for my what I do or what I don't do. His homework was complete and I did my part of the homework so why punish him over me forgetting to sign this planner.

Answer
Angela,

This is outrageous! Punishing a child for their parent's oversight. Their policy is illegal and immoral. Schools normally send notices trying to guilt-trip the parents into signing, not what they did. I would write a letter to the superintendent enclosing your question and my answer. The district needs to have their lawyer educate them on what the law says about discrimination (they discriminated against your son by punishing him for something he did not do) and student punishment restrictions.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Advocate
Advocates for Kids
Email: timrunner@gmail.com
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com  

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Tim Runner

Expertise

Questions concerning autistic student special education: IEP, assessments, Due Process, mediation, resolution conference, federal law, state law, qualifying for services, residential treatment, special day classes, resource specialists, procedures, having your child assessed, adaptive PE, speech & language, non-public school, FAPE, tuition reimbursement for private schools and treatment centers .

Experience

I have been an education advocate representing students and parents for six years. My experience includes: representing my clients in IEPs, SSTs, Due Process, review assessment results for my clients and for other advocates, and mediations. I have represented clients with learning disabilities, autism, Downs Syndrome, cognitively challenged, emotional problems, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and physical disabilities. I have also represented clients to County Mental Health Departments and Regional Centers. My clients range from pre-school to college students in California and various other states.

Education/Credentials
I have a degree in Mathematics from the University of California with minors in Psychology and Physics. I also studied applied statistics in the field of psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I have taught college classes, conducted seminars, written articles for various publications, and testified as an expert witness.

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