My middle kid, a freshman in high school, has moderate-to-severe learning disabilities. She spends most of her day in self-contained LD classes but as we and the school strive for a least restrictive environment, she often has a class or two in the mainstream. In one of these classes (“advocacy”), she apparently had to complete some form which asked for her grade level. As she is aware of the new calendar year, she was a bit unsure if her grade level also changed and she asked for some help/direction. As she relates the story, the kids in the class responded with conflicting information and she became frustrated (and no doubt embarrassed) and crumpled the paper, tearing it and allowing some pieces to fall to the floor. The teacher then came over to her and they must have engaged in some sort of dialogue because somehow my daughter ended up standing and facing the teacher who demanded that she pick up the paper. At some point the teacher said, “That’s it! I’ve had it.” and pushed my daughter backward hard enough that she fell hitting her back and her head against the teacher’s desk (metal). She has several bruises today and is quite sore and her head hurts. She was also complaining of being “unfocused” which is an indication of mild seizure activity (her epilepsy caused her LD). Until now, proper meds and a surgically implanted device have cut her seizure occurrences and intensity dramatically so I am concerned that this injury might have exacerbated her condition.
I am a bit too close to the subject matter and it is too recent for me to completely trust my judgement. So I am asking for input from cooler heads: what would you do now? What do you think I can expect to happen?
Oh and regarding the veracity of my daughter’s report of the incident…although she is an LD kid she is extremely honest at least as she perceives the world. The problem is that her disability may skew her perceptions sometimes. Regardless, she is bruised and sore. My wife took pictures of the injuries but I have not yet seen them myself.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
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