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Even if this bag were the "proper" lycra one, or whatever, as a parent, I want to know that putting my kid in this bag is or is not an option for the teachers. In other words, I don't want to show up to school surprised to find my kid in a bag, even the lycra bag. That's the issue, here. As a parent, I should be able to tell the teachers, no, don't put my kid in a bag, just call me, and I'll come get him.
We talk about teachers be ill equipped to deal with these sorts of things. Um. What if, as a private sector worker, I told my boss I was ill equipped to do my job? What would happen, do you think? I mean, they have special education teachers...these are the so called pros for this sort of thing. And they resorted to putting that kind into, as described by the article, a gym bag? Sorry, but seeing as getting a refund for these obviously unwanted "services" is not in the cards for the parents, then, you're god damn right some heads should roll.
The problem with your analogy is that teachers are hired with the required training, the government moves the goal posts, and no money follows to retrain and certify teachers to meet these requirements. Special education has changed drastically in the last 5 years alone, and it's incredibly hard to keep up with. Legislation has been passed that essentially tells a school system that they have to take and "teach" any child who isn't a physical threat...and even then it takes months of evaluations and cooperative assessments to make that determination.
Children with disorders or syndromes that affect their behavior are especially challenging. There are often not enough staff members to provide these children with the discipline and attention they need to avoid distractions and acting out behavior. Couple that with the fact that autism/aspergers is still a relatively new disorder that is still being investigated and evaluated, and you have a triple whammy.
Before jumping to conclusions here we need more information. Did the parent discuss the methods that the school would/could utilize to handle the child during the IEP sessions? Was this method listed as an option on the IEP program? Did the parent inquire as to what methods might be used at any point in time? Was this a random decision on the part of the teacher, made with no knowledge of the use of a restraint device or "therapy bag"? Did the method work without traumatizing the child?
I've been in SE classrooms, I've been integrated classrooms, I've spent a LOT of time talking to SE/integration teachers. I've observed the challenges these teachers and assistants face, and I've seen first hand how little support the teachers/staff receive from parents of these children. In one class geared towards 3-5 year olds, many of the SE children were not potty trained. Parents would drop their children off in regular underwear with no change of clothes and no pull-ups/diapers, only to come in RAGING at the end of the day when the child was picked up wearing a school-provided diaper and no bottoms. I saw parents drop of children with feeding tubes that were partially detached or dirty, I saw parents pick up their children and completely ignore them. I saw a lot of good, too, but I think attacking the entire SE system is ridiculous. They're fighting an uphill battle with no reinforcements.