Oh my word, I too am so sorry for your situation. My son went through a very similar experience. The police came to my house with a juvenile probation officer and told me to come pick him up and the next time he would be cuffed and brought to lockup. I had to appear before a board of mental heath, school board, probation , and a youth "bootcamp" type person and deal with their scowls and threats about the type of parent I was and the type of child my son was. It was horrendous. The incident came from my son hitting a teacher aid in the arm with his chair that she claimed was unprovoked.She said he deliberately hit her with his chair after she asked him to pick up the pencil he had thrown on the floor. When i picked him up and they let me take him home, I was helping him change out of his school uniform and was horrified to see a very distinct hand print in the middle of his back with every finger and palm very visible and I asked him what happened and he said she grabbed him and made him bend over to pick up the pencil and it hurt him so thats why he hit her. I immediately took him to the police and demanded they take picutres of the marks on his back also i took pictures of it with my phone at home before getting to the police station. They went to the school and said they will review the cameras to see what happened. They were trying to charge my son with assault with a deadly weapon for using the chair to hit her. I said to them I will also be filing charges on her for the marks on my sons back.The cameras "werent working" in that classroom" was the story they came back with and I never heard another thing about the assault charges against my son but i still had to pay $25 a month and take him to report to juvenile probation every month for a year. Families Helping Families had a lawyer advocate on staff that took our case and took on the school board in my sons defense and he was released from the probation. PLease find an advocacy agency to help you and get your child out of that school because even if the teacher is let go or dicisplined for her behavior there will still be consequences for you and your child there. Its obvious they are not equipped to handle the needs of these kids and are doing more harm to the children.

Oh, it's so nice to find someone who has suffered the way we are suffering. We have had over 11 meetings with school staff to work out behavioral intervention plans. They resist our recommendations, successful methods, and even the advice of the professionals who work with him. I have suspected for this year and last that he is being set-up for failure. The teachers don't think it's necessary to learn about Autism so they will know what his triggers are and how to avoid escalation. After he had 3 criminal charges against him in September, we appealed to the district special ed coordinator. He has worked really hard to help us, but was against our transferring to another school. I think he wanted to use us to get changes to happen in this school. After our last meeting, I was in pieces because two school psychologists seemed to be attacking me and it was mentioned that other school personal had intervened in the halls when they saw my son do something they didn't like. The very next day, I was called to the school because he had "punched" both his teachers. Turns out, they refused to give him a snack when he was extremely hungry, then they tried to force him to bounce on the therapy ball by holding him on it by the shoulders. He just did the "fight or flight" arm fling and ended up connecting with both of them in the mid-section. They called the school officer who put him in handcuffs and filed two more assault charges against him. When I got to the school, I told them I knew they were seeking revenge, they hated him and they hated me and that he would no longer be going to that school. Monday I have to jump through all the hoops of transferring him to the other high school. I have been so depressed. I have contacted the state office of public instruction and will probably hear from them on Monday. To top everything off, I've been cooped-up with my son for the past 4 days and I'm about ready to scream!!!

I am sorry that you are having to go through this! My son had a teacher in 5th grade that refused to accept that he has AS. She would provoke him and even bully him in front of his peers. My son is on a behavior plan at school. This teacher felt that Jake's actions were personal toward her. She took matters in her own hands and called the police and claimed that he assaulted her even though she was the one who pulled the door closed and prevented him from entering the classroom with the rest of his peers after recess. The police officer called my husband and I and suggested that maybe we needed to do something about him. I advised him that our son was seeing a psychiatrist and a psychologist several times a month and the real issue was with the teacher. I also scheduled a meeting with the director of student services and the superintendent and advised them that if this issue was not resolved that I would be seeking an attorney as well as contacting the state board of education as they were failing to eduacte him and they were causing psychological harm and not accepting his disability. Feel free to contact me for more answers. I hope this was not too drawn out. Good Luck!

Does your child have a Behavior Intervention Plan on his IEP? If not, why not? Your school is out of compliance and you can sue if his behaviors have not been addressed in the IEP, and/or that plan has not been implemented. The plan should reflect an analysis of whether the behaviors are something he can learn to change (skill deficit) or are something that are due to an inability to learn new skills (process deficit). Skill deficits should be addressed through a learning plan that involves direct instruction of replacement behaviors, and process deficits should be addressed through accommodations, and a re-examination of what the Least Restrictive learning environment is for your son. A crisis plan should also be in place that both ensures safety for all concerned, and links back to the plans for learning skill deficits and accommodating process deficits.

Check with your local educational service center to see if there is a parent advocate available to help you. This would be a great support and they tend to know the system and how it works. I did a lot of research and I advised the superintendent of the school that if the charges brought against my 11 year old son at that time were not dropped then I would be hiring an attorney who specialized in the Americans With Disabilities Act and would sue each individual involved in contributing to my son's psychological harm and I would sue the entire school district for failing to follow the requirements of his IEP and for persistent undue psychological stress. If you force a "potentially violent" youth to sit on a ball you would have to expect that there is a high probability that you may be hit. This ignorance is unacceptable! Don't be down on yourself! The schools do not do everything they should or can. They only do what they HAVE to and at times they don't even do that. It is hard to circumvent the system. You are doing the right thing by reaching out for help! I know how you feel and if it weren't for my own antidepressant medication I too would be an emotional wreck! Try to also maybe look into some OT for your son. This seems to be really helping my son. There are some days that I dread even having to leave work. Hang strong and please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to help you do some research. Take Care!!
Angie