Well, I think for “normal” kids, the main problem isn’t the teachers or the “system,” but the other kids. Who, unfortunately, have to be there too, or it wouldn’t be school. There is no “equipping” that could be done that could change the fact that a lot of kids are cruel, xenophobic little creeps.
Ah, a show of hands please that this “teacher” should be voted off the planet …
CNN Video interview of parents who want to "vote out " the teacher.
Hey, my finger is a lot better…
Uh, rrrriiiiiighhhhht…a momma bear wouldn’t sacrifice one cub for the other 16 (not that a “real” momma bear would have 17 cubs to begin with), but the real momma bear is Alex’s mom; she’ll show her what real momma bears do. :rolleyes:
As a parent of a kid on the spectrum, you know what I would like to see done in this situation? A witchhunt? No. A public humiliation of Ms. Portillo? Not really…(well, maybe a teeny bit–she’s getting some of that as we post.) A lawsuit on the school district for millions of dollars for emotionally scarring a kid (millions that could actually help other kids)? Nope. National awareness through Dr. Phil? Ugh. NO.
I WOULD like to see an “appropriate” education of the educators…and Ms. Portillo can be student numero uno. She can spend this upcoming summer learning what autism is, how to recognize it, how to deal with it…how NOT to deal with it. When the first bell rings in the Fall of 2008, I want Ms. Portillo be a shining example of a truly supportive teacher, one who will not shirk from her duties on educating every child in her class room, not just the ones who are the most responsive to her voice. I want her to KNOW how to reach the ones who are virtually unreachable, to know how to find the path of reaching a kid who is on the spectrum and use that path instead of refusing to go on this particular path because it might be longer and harder. I want her to become an authoritarian on the matter…I want her to redeem herself. This is her chance to grow…instead of remaining a villian, I want her to become a hero born out of a tragic situation. If she was truly a good teacher in standing for the last 12 years, I want her to become an incredible teacher for the next 24. I want her to become a beacon for other teachers to not just push aside the hard-to-teach, but to become better teachers through tolerance and understanding. She claims to be a “momma bear”; she really could be one if she chooses to be by teaching to ALL 17, not just 16. Some see 94% as an A, but an A+ is reserved only for the ones who take time to study and understand every problem before them and KNOW how to solve it.
Lesson #1 for Ms. Portillo: Positive reinforcement for ANY kid is better than negative reinforcement for ANY kid. Ms. Portillo should already know this, but a definite review of this subject matter is mandatory. What is positive reinforcement? Simple things like…
“Alex, thank you for sitting in your chair and listening.”
“Alex, thank you for being quiet during story time.”
“Alex, here’s a <insert little knick-knack here> for displaying appropriate behavior for the last x minutes.”
“Alex, I appreciate your attempt at remaining still at nap time”. You have permission to do <insert activity here>."
Alex will respond…it may take longer than other kids, but it’s well worth it. Alex’s successive teachers will thank you…Alex’s parents will thank you. Even Alex himself will one day, might thank you.
My wife just completed this online course from Dr. Stanley Greenspan, and learned quite a bit from it. Our son’s teacher has also completed this course and the school district paid for it. Worth every penny of it. Our son’s teacher (who was already a loving and caring person with some skills in dealing with ASD) learned even more than she thought she would. This should be lesson #2.
Lesson #3: Everyone is not perfect, but we are all unique. Respect that uniqueness and identify it’s advantages and disadvantages and address those items of uniqueness in respectful manner. You’ll be a better human for it…and you just might find yourself being respected in the same manner. Fancy the thought!
For those who think that teachers already have enough on their plate: I think a change of attitude will save time and grief from such issues as this than just pushing the problem away and pretend it’s not your job. I can relate as a coach who in essence…is a teacher. Every season, I have one or two kids who are way below in skills and/or ability. Those are the ones I identify during the very first practice, and make it my personal goal to bring these kids up to the level of the other players on the team. I talk to the best players and explain to them that they can inspire the less able players by being positive and supportive towards them. This is the best environment one could have to succeed, in life, sports and also in the classroom.
Class dismissed. 
Also, I like this video from a blogger who gives a very simplistic explanation of what autism is. In his opinion, we are all on the spectrum.
One of the most difficult things about something like Asperger’s (which is difficult to diagnose and many other things need to be ruled out) is that a child’s outward appearance is perfectly typical. There’s no indication of developmental/physical disabilities or delays, because there are none in the classic sense. And without a specific clinical diagnosis it’s nearly impossible to get the correct services and supports in place to effectively deal with the behavioral issues caused often by neurological responses. Many children with Asperger-like symptoms have some sort of hypersensitivity disorder and cannot tolerate high levels of excitement, noise, physical touch and general stimulation. In a quiet, relatively enclosed environment with just a few people present, especially adults, they are perfectly capable of behaving absolutely appropriately. Bear in mind that cognitively, they are often rated at higher than average levels of intelligence - they aren’t the “slow kids” that other kids have been more socialized to deal with. These are smart kids who just can’t turn off the effect of a stimulus. A loud classroom is deafening; a scratchy shirt is beyond grating; an open gym with a lot of activity can by physically painful, so they’ll cry or scream or even sing to drown out the effect on their system - much in the same way that one screams on a roller coaster or hums for self-comfort. They are often labeled the weird kids or the cry babies because you look at them and see a typical kid and then they suddenly break into a behavior that’s beyond their control. Many older-school teachers do not understand and see the child only as a behavioral problem, able to control themselves and just not doing it.
What the teacher did was wrong. Absolutely, definitively and utterly wrong, regardless of the situation or the child. If there are behavioral issues with a child, then the teacher needs to seek support that includes the parent’s, admin’s and behavioral clinician’s involvement and there should be an approved clinical behavioral plan in place to deal with the targeted behaviors. I don’t believe that public shunning is a clinically approved behavioral plan for anyone under any circumstances in an educational setting. EVER. It is quite likely illegal in many states for her to have taken it upon herself to deal with an identified clinical situation in that manner. It goes beyond reprehensible.
Yeticus Rex, I am very interested in what you have to say, and I want to subscribe to your newsletter. 
Seriously, that is a great idea - turning lust for revenge into something productive. I love this board!
This has not been my experience. I’ve had three students with Asperger’s and they do not present like “typical” kids. They are socially very awkward, and have a lot of trouble relating to their peers. In fact, IME they tend to get along better with adults than other kids because adults are calmer and more understanding of them. They have difficulty completing tasks because they perseverate on something that hinders them from being productive. They have a very low threshhold for stimulation and frustration, sometimes acting out in anger in ways that put other children off them.
However, all of them were also bright, sweet children with a lot to offer. They need a lot of TLC and reassurance. As an adult, I understand that and I want to help the other kids understand it too. Unfortunately, a lot of kids (and probably plenty of adults, like Ms. Portillo) see a weird, sometimes disruptive, highly reactive child who draws a lot of attention, much of it negative. The kids don’t know the other child has a medical issue; they just see a kid who has problems and who is freaky and weird. It’s up to the adult to be sure the child with autism is treated with compassion and respect.
I agree with Yeticus Rex-- more education of teachers is needed. Dealing with kids on the autism spectrum is not something most people just know how to do naturally. This is not an excuse for the teacher, btw. No way should a child be treated that way nor his peers enabled to participate in ostracism like that.
I think you missed the point, Rubystreak.
It read to me like **Salem ** was saying that aspie kids tend to look “normal” until their behaviours start. So on your first day of class, you might have 30 kids who all look exactly the same, and look exactly the same to each other, until the one kid starts obsessing over the fact that his pencils aren’t sharp enough to draw a proper line or that his classmates are all too noisy and chaotic and that he can’t concentrate. And then he starts acting out, because he’s getting over-stimulated.
I think this was made in comparison to (to pull an example out of my hat) something like Down’s Syndrome where there are physical features to let someone know at a glance “This child has a disorder”, and so they adjust their expectations accordingly.
No, I disagree with the point somewhat, though not completely. Some of them look physically “normal,” others don’t. I had one student with Asperger’s who had trichotillomania and other compulsive behaviors that go along with it that altered her appearance. The other kids, as soon as you speak to them, or even if you observe them without speaking to them, you can tell. They don’t “seem” average to anything but the most cursory scan.
Also, even before the first day of school, you know if you have a student with a disability because the school tells you and has you read the kid’s IEP so you know what his situation is. There’s no excuse for ignorance of the child’s needs or lack of recognition of the situation.
While this is true of the other kids (they just know the kid is weird and possibly annoying), any adult with half a brain, even without an IEP, can tell something’s different about the kid. A teacher especially should be able to recognize this and act accordingly.
But you weren’t making that point with your response. You focused solely on how the kids related to others, not what their physical presence told you about them, which is to me what **Salem ** was focusing on.
You’re right. There’s no excuse for ignorance, especially on the part of the teacher. Again, what I read from Salem’s post was the fact that if you’re not given this information first, if you see all 30 kids sitting together quietly at their desks (like they would be at the start of the day), you’d be hard pressed to tell which were the aspie kids, until they started interacting/stimming.
Again, no argument here. But I still think you’re coming from a position of foreknowledge, whereas Salem seemed to be arguing that for someone completely unknowledgeable about Asperger’s Syndrome, and/or in a situation where the kid hasn’t been diagnosed yet, most of the time the kids look completely “normal” until something sets them off, and some people without that knowledge would probably assume the kid was having a tantrum/ spoilt/ mentally ill in some other way.
This is not a defence of the situation being discussed in the OP. This is simply clarifying what I took from Salem’s post and where I think you’re working from a position where you have this knowledge, vs someone who doesn’t have this knowledge.
And this Alex is not formally diagnosed as such, so there is no file of that, correct? I would think, though, given the timing of this, that the teacher had been kept abreast by the parents re Alex’s undergoing testing etc.
ISTR that there was one or more stories talking about formulating IEPs with this teacher for Alex, though.
From the OP’s linked article:
I don’t recall reading anything to contradict this assertion, either - which means that Portillo was aware of all that was attempting to be done with Alex.
Thank you, Sierra, you clarified correctly. I’m sorry, Ruby, I should have been more explicit in saying physically typical. There are most often (in the absence of other syndromes, so adding other syndromes as you did in your example, negates the point I"m making.) no clear physical characteristics or marked differences in physical movement that present in what is a more commonly held vision of a child with special needs. Yes, once you observe, you may see the stereotypical repetitive movements, but kids that have Asperberger’s and similar disorders with Sensory Integration issues are less likely to even show that in non-stressful situations. Asperger’s is not the same as full blown autism.
I’m not at all saying the teacher should not have been aware of the issues and how to handle them. My assumption would be that this teacher has had some indication from the parent and/or some member of the staff in a clinical capacity that the child is being tested for the underlying cause of his behavioral issues. What I’m saying is that when a child looks “normal” and then exhibits the types of behavior often seen with this type of syndrome, there are people who will refuse to acknowledge or believe that there’s a neurological basis for the behavior and will deem the child to be “spoiled”, a “brat”, a “cry baby.” Even by a teacher who should know better. The best way I can describe what I’m talking about is to think of a typical 2 year old. Their sensory and neurological systems haven’t been fully integrated and they will overreact to stimuli; they’ll cry easily, they’ll scream when it’s loud, they’ll repeat silly sounds, they’ll get mad and throw things. And other times, they’re perfect angels and sweeties and adorable, well-behaved kids. That’s fine and “acceptable” (as in, it’s a normal behavior) when the child is 2 or 3. But when parts of the child’s system don’t fully develop internally, yet physically and cognitively they develop normally, you can end up with a child at 5 and up that still reacts and behaves the way they did when they were 2 or 3, but their outward physical appearance and intelligence level is normal or above. Unfortunately, there are people, including teachers, that will not believe there’s something clinically wrong-at least not something that can’t be fixed by a little good old-fashioned discipline…
Yes, this teacher should have been aware of any clinical testing going on and during that testing, the child’s behaviors, if they had been that disruptive, still should have been addressed by a clinical plan of some type, even without a specific diagnosis. And there are just basic levels of acceptable consequences that should have been in place in the school’s policies, regardless of the child’s clinical situation. I’m sure public shunning isn’t on the list of acceptable classroom consequences for any student.
This apparent normality is even more confusing because, IME parents of these sorts of kids often don’t realize at first how much of a problem there is because they have adapted to their kid’s differences so well: they keep home perfectly predictable, they build in lots of time for transitions, they do everything they can to prevent surprises and over stimulation. None of this is part of an intentional plan, just a pattern that develops. It’s like parents sometimes show up to kindergarten unaware that their kid has a speech problem–they can understand their kid perfectly. However, that kind of placation looks bizarre to people on the outside, who then think the parents in question are just lax or indulgent, and people see it as the cause of the behavior, not the reaction. On the other hand, the parents have sometimes developed really unrealistic expectations about how much the world should be or even can be controlled for their child–he/she is really pretty good at home, and so they blame his/her problems on the teachers. It’s a recipe for conflict.
Well, that ends my attempt to bend over backwards for this teacher. She was out of line and deserves at the very least, a formal reprimand and some mandatory continuing education re autism and student/teacher confrontation skills. Or maybe should could be the greeter at Walmart.
I read page 1 of the linked report. I truly didn’t want to read anymore. I find this kind of stuff very painful. I hope Alex does well despite all this. 
You can thank my sliced up index finger. I was pretty much outraged just like everyone else on this board when I posted the first time, but not outraged enough to peck on the keyboard. That in turn gave me time to think about what happened, what went wrong and how to fix it instead of making BBQ teacher for dinner. I feel that most Dopers would have done much of the same if they paused long enough to let the outrage flow through them and then start tinkering on how to avoid such incidents in the future. I try to put this ideal in practice as much as possible, but no one is not totally infallible. Of course in a life or death situation, I will be more outraged, but in this instance, I want to see someone overcome ignorance and learn something from this incident…primarily Ms. Portillo, but there are other folks who erroneously think the kid is just a brat and villify him instead of dealing with the actual problem…lack of understanding. So, in my book, who needs to be more understanding…a teacher or a 5 year old boy?
What’s the best way to make a teacher (or anyone else for that matter) more understanding? Education.
I understand and appreciate where you’re coming from…I can identify with most of what you describe. We are in a fortunate situation that our son’s current teacher also has a son (13 y.o.) who is in the spectrum, and she knows how to deal with our son if anxiety issues crop up during the school day. Although his teacher is understanding, some of our relatives don’t get it, and think we are just giving in to our son’s demands for attention or things he desires without giving second thought on what actually triggers his anxiety over such things. It has caused a rift with some of our relatives on both sides of our family, and in turn between my wife and myself. Heh, more anxiety…now with more people in the mix. We somehow manage to nut up and keep plugging on even though our son is only 6. He even looks eerily similar to Alex. Our kid got the boot from a certain prestigious preschool in our area for having certain behaviors when he was 3…he wasn’t voted off, but the director of the preschool just didn’t want to deal with him or us anymore. Maybe that’s why when I first saw the story and his picture, it hit very, very close to home for us.