Alex is “Cool”
Thanks to Bev for alerting me to this story about the emotional abuse of a 5 year old by his kindergarten teacher, Wendy Portillo. Portillo thought it would be a good idea to stand young Alex Barton, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, in front of the class and invite other pupils to say what they did not like about him. Then she conducted a vote on whether he should remain in the class. The pupils voted 14 to 2 to exclude him. He spent the rest of the day in the nurse’s office and has not returned to the school. He screams whenever he accompanies his mother to drop off his sibling at the school. The police have investigated and the district attorney has decided not to prosecute. The school district is still investigating the matter.
Bullying of children with disabilities is commonplace. But I was shocked to read that a teacher was leading the bullying when I read Amanda’s blog about Alex, which suggested that bullying by adults or the sanctioning of bullying by adults who should be defending vulnerable children is a regular occurrence. Amanda also provides a valuable perspective on a culture that not only rewards the “winners” but also sets out to deliberately punish the “losers” as well.
Statements by public figures suggest that we aspire to an inclusive society that embraces diversity. The reality is somewhat different. Amanda asks a very pertinent question.
I also want to know what on earth it means that it’s considered “good social skills” to learn to be one of the people that excludes. And autistic and non-autistic people alike can eventually learn to be that, even if we weren’t much like that to begin with. I’m not trying to say we can’t, I’m not going to pretend not to notice what happens to autistic people who gain the power to become exclusive. But it’s sheer ugliness that these horrible things are treated as normal, and being the target of them makes you seen as somehow worse than the people doing the targeting. And the people doing the targeting are seen as the ones to emulate, it seems like.
I think we owe it to Alex to let the school authorities in Port St Lucie know that this teacher’s behaviour is beyond the pale. There is another way. I am emailing this story, originally posted by Fargo on alt.support.autism to the school principal, Maria Cully with copies to Wendy Portillo and the St Lucie County School Board.
SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT BENJI
Once upon a time there was a Benji. He looked like a little boy. He had
brown hair and big brown eyes and a very sweet smile. But Benji wasn’t like
other little boys. Sometimes Benji was very quiet and the other children at school didn’t
think that Benji knew how to play.Sometimes Benji was very noisy and the other children didn’t think that
Benji knew how to be serious.And sometimes…sometimes Benji was very angry.
There was something very different about Benji.
But all the time, inside, Benji wanted to be like the other children.
He liked to watch them run on the playground. Sometimes they told him not
to stare.He liked to watch them go down the slide but he didn’t like to go down the
slide himself and they thought he was a sissy.He liked to play characters in movies and sometimes the kids said he was a
crazy guy.Yes, there was something very different about Benji.
Then one day, the teacher told the classroom what it was that was different.
Benji was Autistic.
Benji could hear and could see and could feel things. But sometimes he
didn’t know what was said. Sometimes he didn’t know what to do. Sometimes
there were things he didn’t like to touch or to taste.The teacher explained that while Benji was just like all the other kids on
the inside, sometimes things he heard or saw or touched or tasted got
confused before they reached his brain.And this could make him very angry because, Benji was waiting and wanting to
be friends.She told the children that each of them was different from the rest of the
class, just like Benji.Mary was the tallest girl and Angie was the shortest.
Billy had the most freckles, and Charlie had the longest hair.
She told the class that being different wasn’t a bad thing because being
tall or short or having freckles or having long hair wasn’t a bad thing.
Sometimes it was very special.She continued to go around the classroom telling each child something
special about them.Toby told the funniest jokes and Max was the best speller.
Tammy could run the fastest and Richard drew the best airplanes.
Each child was different yet each child was special.
The teacher asked the children to try to help Benji learn how to do the
things the other kids knew how to do. And she asked for them to each find
out the answer to this question.How is Benji special?
The kids decided to try to help Benji.
When Benji was quiet they would talk to him by saying “It is a nice day”
instead of asking him what kind of day it was.When he was loud they would say, “Benji, we have to be quiet now. We will
be loud at recess.”When he watched them run on the playground they would go over to Benji and
say, “Benji, will you run with me?”And when he was afraid to go down the slide, they did not call him sissy.
They told him things they were afraid to do.They played like they were characters in movies, too, and Benji joined in on
their games.But most of all, they stopped calling Benji a crazy guy. Because once they
got to know him…they found out what was special about Benji.Benji was “Cool.”
Alex is cool as well. I hope someone can tell him that.
