Sometime soon - I'd like to openly discuss where the #safety line is drawn for other students, staff & educational volunteers when kid on kid violence happens & one of the kids is #ASD #SpecialNeeds. I haven't been able to figure this out. How can we keep kids like this in schools because we need to find ways to do that. Kicking them out doesn't help society, in the long run.
I support trying our best to help misunderstood ASD kids & helping them get more supports at younger ages. Many don't get enough supports.
I have tolerated a lot of physical abuses (being spat on, punched, kicked, getting scratched & hair pulled, etc.) because many #descalation methods didn't work on the job. I worked in an elementary school in North Saanich as a specialized teacher's assistant & all the students I worked with were ASD on varying levels.
We had 2 quiet therapy rooms. Those were the only safe sanctuaries for the ASD kids who felt overloaded & needed to be away from everyone else. Often, we had multiple kids having meltdowns & there wasn't any other sanctuary spots for them within the small school. I felt so helpless during those days but pretended everything was A-OK. I took kids out to the yard & to the gardens to try & distract them. Sometimes that worked. Other times, I had to deal with multiple screaming kids, having mass meltdowns at the same time - when we were constantly understaffed. That was a very difficult job. I was severely underpaid for it.
ASD kids needed more support staff in schools & they still do. They all deserve that investment from our government. They are all worth the investment.
#BCpoli #PublicSchools #AutismSpectrum #NeurodivergentKids #SupportASDStudents #FundingNeeded #Education #SchoolStaff #SchoolVolunteers #SolutionsNeeded #ADD #FAS #AutisticKids #EducationalSupport
