This is the email I sent to our superintendent regarding some Autism fun on the bus.
Dear Superintendent,
On or around November 5, 2015 an evacuation drill was
performed on Bus [00] that included rear evacuation procedures. My son, [The Middle Son], a 7th
grade student at [Your] Middle School was on the bus and participated in said drill. [The Middle Son] has Autism. During this drill, he fell from the back of
the bus and injured his knee. [The
Middle Son] struggles with depth perception and has difficulty with steps. Students laughed at him. No one assisted him in his exit. He was certainly the laughingstock. No one attempted to address the silver dollar
sized, bleeding scrape to his knee. He
was wearing shorts that day and there was a substantial amount of blood in his
sock when he got home. It was noticed by
a teacher later in the day. Still, not
so much as a bandage was administered.
When I got home from work, I noticed the injury and cleaned and
bandaged it. On Saturday, he fell at
home and broke the scab. We continued to
clean it and monitor it but it started to show signs of infection. On Monday, November 9, 2015, I received a
telephone call from the school nurse. I
was chastised for the wound and its care.
She explained that she was able to clean it up and apply another
bandage. My next telephone call was to
Mrs. [Principal]. I explained what went
on to that point. She assured me that
she would call the transportation department and see what she could find
out. I was then told that I would
receive a call back. It is now ten days
later. I was told on Monday, November
16, 2015 by Mr. [Principal], during our annual IEP meeting that the bus driver
did not know of [The Middle Son]’s diagnosis and that they do now. This is my “assurance” of my son’s safety
during future drills or a real life emergency.
This is not acceptable.
[The Middle Son] has attended [Your] schools since
kindergarten. He did take a brief hiatus
during half of 4th and 5th grades and attended an online
school as there were extreme difficulties with staff at [Your] Elementary
school. Upon his return to the district,
a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder was presented with his enrollment
documents. It was actually required
before they would complete his admission.
I would go into the 6 months that it took for the district to start
preparing his IEP after I requested it, the 3 years it took for his Gifted
services to begin because they were “overlooked”, the being told that “we would
rather other students think he’s just ‘quirky’” rather than let him explain his
Autism, but those are complaints for another day. The bottom line is that [The Middle Son], his
diagnosis and needs are not unfamiliar to the district by any means. Also, bus forms were filled out stating his
diagnosis.
Section B of 3301-83-15 of the ORC “Emergency and evacuation
procedures” states that “The superintendent or designee shall organize and
conduct three emergency exit drills for all students who ride buses to and from
school”. It also states in (B) (2) that
all drills shall be arranged and scheduled by the transportation
director/supervisor in cooperation with building principals. The drills shall be supervised by at least
one staff person other than the driver assigned to that route. I was told that there were two staff people
at the time of the drill. Section (B)
(7) states that Emergency evacuation drills of preschool and special needs
children may require modification of the procedures listed in paragraph
(B).
In the Ohio Preservice School Bus Driver Training Manual,
pages 81-84 covering Emergency Drills and Evacuations – it is suggested that a
“buddy” be assigned for special needs students.
A helping hand support method for rear door evacuations is also
suggested. Following these suggestions
could have spared an injury. I would
expect a scraped knee during an actual emergency. Honestly, I would welcome that over severe
injury sustained during a fire, accident, or other disaster. But this was not an emergency. This was preparedness. The driver was not prepared and, somehow,
lacked essential knowledge to effectively ensure the safety of a student with
special needs. The school failed to
properly communicate and coordinate with the transportation staff to
accommodate a student.
I take comfort in knowing that this could have been much
worse and that now the staff and [The Middle Son] are more prepared in the
event of an emergency. What bothers me
is the blasé attitude about informing me of what measures were taken to assure
his safety during another drill, returning a phone call, and addressing an
injury that required medical attention.
Has someone actually apologized to my child? He is a student that struggles with social
propriety and we use as many opportunities to teach good manners as
possible. All that I received was two
spoken sentences during an IEP meeting.
Is this the norm for all students in the district with special
needs? Is this part of the reason that [Your
School District] has received a “C” rating on servicing students with disabilities? What is being done to remedy that? What is the barrier here for touching base
with a parent who expressed concern for their child? What can be expected for [The Middle Son] and
other students like him when it comes to bus safety?
Thank you for your time,
Angry Momma Bear
