It's been on my mind as part of a broader phenomenon due to this case from Texas. A paraprofessional at a school was videoed (by a surveillance camera) shaking and otherwise abusing an 8-year-old boy with Down syndrome. I, too, have an 8 year old boy with Down syndrome, although it doesn't take such a proximate cause to be outraged.
The para has been fired. The DA has declined to charge the individual, though, because there's no evidence of pain. A petition has been started by the boy's mother, asking for the case to be taken to a Grand Jury. Here's a Facebook page from the local TV Station with links to the story. Here's a quote:
If it wasn't for a surveillance camera at Spring Branch ISD's Wilchester Elementary, Maggie and Raphael Suter believe they would likely never have learned their 8 year old special needs son was assaulted on February 11th by an educator responsible for his protection.So here's where we are.
"When we saw the video and saw the para-professional grab him and start violently shaking him and choking him we were both crying, just devastated," said Maggie, a former public school educator.
"Who could ever do anything to an innocent child, let alone a child who can't speak or even tell us that something has occurred? I was heartbroken," said Raphael.
In addition to the choking, the Suters say they watched in agony as their son William was shoved violently to the ground by the same classroom aid.
1. The school waited 8 days to tell the police about the abuse. They are legally required to inform authorities within 48 hours.
2. They DA says that there's no evidence of physical or psychological harm, as the boy seems happy enough and didn't scream in pain while being shaken or thrown to the grown. So he won't charge the para.
I don't really know where we go from here, other than to share the petition and to talk about the fundamental problems with these kinds of protections and how they are executed for people with disabilities. If you can't say, "It hurts" or "I'm upset," then the law shrugs.
