An autistic child needs a quiet place to study and his teacher proposes an unused bathroom

There are increasingly more school-age children who are being diagnosed with attention disorders or autism and who are in need of special education and attention.

Of course, their special needs cannot be ignored and the public school system should first of all guarantee children and young people the necessary support when and where it is possible.

An American mother, Danielle Goodwin, however, feels that she did not receive the right support from the public school that her 11-year-old autistic son was attending.

The woman was very surprised when, in response to her son's special needs, a teacher decided to move a bench desk, chair, and also a small pallet for naps into a quiet and unused school bathroom.

via Facebook / Danielle Goodwin

It all started when the 11-year-old autistic boy's mother asked the teacher if it was possible to put her son in a quiet place by himself so that he could concentrate better on his classwork.

The previous year, the boy had been allowed to stay in the school library, which was denied to him the following year, for undisclosed reasons. In any case, the child was attending a transition course between primary school and secondary school, which is an important moment for every student.

To find a quiet place for him, the teacher decided to move the bench desk and chair to an unused school bathroom. Faced with such a provision, the mother was astonished: "I was stunned. I was in shock. I took a picture because if I hadn't done it, no one would have believed me."

In response to the woman's indignation, the public school administration replied that the space had been chosen because it was not occupied and it was a quiet space that was never used. 

However, according to his mother, with all the practical solutions that perhaps could have been found, it was surprising that someone working in a public school could have thought that offering an autistic child an unused bathroom as a quiet place to study was a good idea.

"My son was humiliated, mortified and disappointed," the woman said, "in 15 years, this is the worst thing I've ever seen happen in a public school."

Greg Baker, the school administrator, offered the following explanation: "'As far as we know, that space is used as a warehouse. And due to the lack of funds from the State Board of Education, public schools often have limited space available for special socio-emotional demands. I think the idea had no bad intentions."

Hopefully, in the future, both the school administration and parents with special needs children can come to an agreement that will be a win-win situation.