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My wife has worked with Special Needs children for 25 years. The last few years have seen a major influx of children with significant emotional and behavioral issues into the Public Schools. This increase in severity of needs is accompanied by multiple physical assaults against Staff by children. Injuries which include: broken arms, dislocated shoulders, closed-head brain injuries, stabbings, skin puncturing bites, skin puncturing scratches by feces encrusted fingernails, etc.
A mother in the linked story complains that the School did not call her first. My wife's experience is that parents of these violent children NEVER answer their phone when they see the call is originating from their child's school. Assuming the parents have filed an accurate contact number with the school, another common trick to avoid calls from the School.
My wife has worked with Special Needs children for 25 years. The last few years have seen a major influx of children with significant emotional and behavioral issues into the Public Schools. This increase in severity of needs is accompanied by multiple physical assaults against Staff by children. Injuries which include: broken arms, dislocated shoulders, closed-head brain injuries, stabbings, skin puncturing bites, skin puncturing scratches by feces encrusted fingernails, etc.
A mother in the linked story complains that the School did not call her first. My wife's experience is that parents of these violent children NEVER answer their phone when they see the call is originating from their child's school. Assuming the parents have filed an accurate contact number with the school, another common trick to avoid calls from the School.
Teachers/staff shouldn't have to put up with this.
But what is the solution?
This little girl is only 6 years old HOWEVER:
Quote:
According to the incident report, a sheriff’s officer arrived at the school at about 10:30 a.m....The report noted the girl as 4 feet tall, 50 to 60 pounds and wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans.
“The subject was destroying school property, attacking staff, out of control, and running out of school,” the report said. “The subject has been diagnosed with disruptive mood, disregulation disorder, and is prescribed Adderall.”
Is she in a SPED class or "mainstreamed" b/c her mother wants her to be?
Mommy Falk lawyered up & quick.
Quote:
Falk sat surrounded by members of The Cochran Firm, pushing through tears to speak.
“As a mother I feel helpless,” she said.
That's mommy's FIRST mistake. Figure out your kid. Get you kid help, keep her on her drugs and if those drugs aren't working (or you sold them/didn't give them to her) - don't send her to school and then whine about how she acts. Keep her home and deal with her on your own. Don't subject other students to her behavior and then cry about, since you weren't doing your job, she got Baked....and was still incorrigible at the hospital.
Quote:
In a Facebook post, she said her child was “kicked out” of multiple schools because of her mental disability and that Love Grove Elementary School’s staff should have handled the situation better before resorting to the Baker Act.
Multiple schools and the kid is only 6 years old?
Quote:
“They [Love Grove] claim their staff is trained to handle children with mental disabilities,” Falk said. “My daughter was diagnosed with a mental disability. She is not like other kids. She looks normal, but she is not normal ... I want my daughter to have an education just like everyone else. I’m hurting so bad right now.”
Apparently Love Grove Elementary is a regular old public school. Nothing on its website says it specializes in handling kids with disabilities.
More than half of their students are on reduced or "free lunch".
Sounds like Mamma Falk is looking for a free lunch.
Teachers/staff shouldn't have to put up with this.
But what is the solution?
This little girl is only 6 years old HOWEVER:
Is she in a SPED class or "mainstreamed" b/c her mother wants her to be?
Mommy Falk lawyered up & quick.
She was in a special education class
That's mommy's FIRST mistake. Figure out your kid. Get you kid help, keep her on her drugs and if those drugs aren't working (or you sold them/didn't give them to her) - don't send her to school and then whine about how she acts. Keep her home and deal with her on your own. Don't subject other students to her behavior and then cry about, since you weren't doing your job, she got Baked....and was still incorrigible at the hospital.
Her child is being treated by a doctor and is currently (before this event) being evaluated for autism
Multiple schools and the kid is only 6 years old?
Apparently Love Grove Elementary is a regular old public school. Nothing on its website says it specializes in handling kids with disabilities.
More than half of their students are on reduced or "free lunch".
Sounds like Mamma Falk is looking for a free lunch.
Officers on scene said she was calm and they thought the school just didnt feel like dealing with her tandrum. I wasnt there so I cant speak on whether committing her was the right decision or not however having her escorted in the back of a police car is pretty terrifying for a 6 year old. She asked the police if she was going to jail. They should have called a medical escort not police. Then it would have been a medical intervention not a police one and a lot less traumatizing. Additionally they locked her in isolation during a 48 hour hold and did not let her speak to her mother, sedated her and put her in a diaper. She was so sedated that she couldnt go to the bathroom and her mother said she was incoherent. That IS NOT mental health treatment.
The actions of the hospital she was committed to are unacceptable. She is a child. A small child. Out of control, maybe. In need of help, definitely but she is not in need of 48 hours of isolation and drugs. That doesnt help anyone.
Duval Public Schools have issues. They hire people who are not qualified to teach special ed to teach special ed. I don’t think you can generalize about special ed in general based on this isolated incident. I knew someone who was starting in a special ed classroom a few years ago who had a background teaching history, then preschool. I am not sure how she was at all trained to handle special education students coming from a preschool. At least when I lived there, people were getting transferred all over the place and new teachers just got assigned to wherever, many outside their certification areas. The better option is not to move teachers around or routinely put them in areas outside their certification area. Many teachers there end up moving to adjacent districts.
Teachers/staff shouldn't have to put up with this.
But what is the solution?
This little girl is only 6 years old HOWEVER:
Is she in a SPED class or "mainstreamed" b/c her mother wants her to be?
Mommy Falk lawyered up & quick.
That's mommy's FIRST mistake. Figure out your kid. Get you kid help, keep her on her drugs and if those drugs aren't working (or you sold them/didn't give them to her) - don't send her to school and then whine about how she acts. Keep her home and deal with her on your own. Don't subject other students to her behavior and then cry about, since you weren't doing your job, she got Baked....and was still incorrigible at the hospital.
Multiple schools and the kid is only 6 years old?
Apparently Love Grove Elementary is a regular old public school. Nothing on its website says it specializes in handling kids with disabilities.
More than half of their students are on reduced or "free lunch".
Sounds like Mamma Falk is looking for a free lunch.
Wow..that's a lot of assumptions to make from that article. Here's some additional information:
Police said the child was calm and the school didn't want to deal with it
Quote:
Cops can be heard questioning why they had been called out to the school to take Nadia away
Nadia was heard asking: ‘Am I going to jail?’ after cops were called in.
The female cop who led Nadia to the police car says: ‘She’s been acting very pleasant’.
‘She’s been so co-operative with me,’ she is heard saying. ‘I think they may have agitated her a little bit.’
‘I think they don’t want to deal with it,’ another cop says. https://internewscast.com/shocking-m...alth-facility/
The mother did not ignore the child's condition, the child is under the care of a psychiatrist
Quote:
“That’s not a place for children. It’s a place for no one,” Falk said. Falk said she didn’t know the Baker Act could be used on her daughter, much less a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD, is developmentally delayed, and has a mood disorder. Falk says her daughter’s psychiatrist believes she may even be on the spectrum of Asperger’s syndrome. “I want this place to be investigated. I want Love Grove to be investigated,” Falk said.
Florida has laws regarding special needs kids, did the school even identify her as being special needs or make an IEP plan?
Quote:
Quote:
An IEP is a written agreement that tells you, your child, their teachers, and other school
staff and service providers what services the school will provide to help your child meet
their educational needs http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse....-eseparent.pdf
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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This is a very serious problem for Special Needs teachers, The staff / administration has burdened them, but not availed resources. My career long Special Ed teacher SIL has now taught 100% 'On-line' Special needs for 4+ yrs. It saved her from the risk she faced in the classroom. This is too bad, as very few SN students can do 'on-line' so someone is still tasked with classroom management and risks.
Administrators are on easy-street... looks EZ from their office.
My five year old grandson was in trouble for wrestling with his friend on the carpet in his kindy class. DD was dreadfully upset but we all assured her that his teacher will likely work out strategies to get them all sitting up properly when needed. Teacher is a man who has worked much more on higher grades.That a five year old wanting to wrestle with his friend is not the end of the world.
It is so difficult with kids with severe behavioural problems. They drain the time and energy of everyone when they are in a normal class. In my state here we used to have to put in so much paperwork to keep extending the time granted for the integration aids. Which was bad for the aids as they did not know what work they would have the following semester.
I feel like there is more to the story. The school can not release information about it. I’ve had SE students mainstreamed into regular classes and assault staff, admin, and other children. It’s a balancing act to protect everyone involved.
Every child deserves an education and a safe place to be. Staff deserve a safe environment to work. These are not special schools designed to meet the needs of severe behavior problems.The fact that she attended multiple schools and is only 6 years old is pertinent. What happened at the other campuses and what is the frequency and severity of her outbursts.
A 6 year old child can seriously injure another child. I’ve seen choking, stabbings with pencils and scissors, pushing off climbing equipment, and just basic battery in children aged 4-9. I’ve seen teachers with black eyes and various wounds from children. I’ve had kids bring guns, knives, and box cutters to school in grades K-2. Kids can be dangerous to themselves and others. I’ve also had students talk of self harm and suicide under the age of 7. It’s scary for everyone involved.
The one thing to note is that the school was not involved in getting her committed. It was a mental health professional.
We have no way to judge the situation and only heard from the parent.
My five year old grandson was in trouble for wrestling with his friend on the carpet in his kindy class. DD was dreadfully upset but we all assured her that his teacher will likely work out strategies to get them all sitting up properly when needed. Teacher is a man who has worked much more on higher grades.That a five year old wanting to wrestle with his friend is not the end of the world.
It is so difficult with kids with severe behavioural problems. They drain the time and energy of everyone when they are in a normal class. In my state here we used to have to put in so much paperwork to keep extending the time granted for the integration aids. Which was bad for the aids as they did not know what work they would have the following semester.
I would tell your daughter that learning to not wrestle on the carpet is something that is not unusual. However, I have seen that mild rowdiness turn into more severe issues that can lead to more serious issues of its not nipped in the bud. I’m sure the teacher knows he’s just a kid and uses this as a teaching point inste as of just a punishment.
Duval Public Schools have issues. They hire people who are not qualified to teach special ed to teach special ed. I don’t think you can generalize about special ed in general based on this isolated incident. I knew someone who was starting in a special ed classroom a few years ago who had a background teaching history, then preschool. I am not sure how she was at all trained to handle special education students coming from a preschool. At least when I lived there, people were getting transferred all over the place and new teachers just got assigned to wherever, many outside their certification areas. The better option is not to move teachers around or routinely put them in areas outside their certification area. Many teachers there end up moving to adjacent districts.
The reason they have less qualified people serve these types of programs, because more experienced staff gets burned out or refuse to do the work. I’ve worked in schools where the staff rotates in and out, to keep the best teachers in these type of programs.
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