Sunday, November 8, 2009

School "gave autistic bullied boy stop sign"

A Queensland high school is under fire after a mother claimed staff gave her eight-year-old autistic son a "stop" sign to ward off bullies.

The boy was given the sign after he complained to Ipswich West State School staff that bullies had pushed him down a staircase and dangled him over a second-storey veranda, the Queensland Timesreports.

His mother told the newspaper the sign only encouraged bullies to further torment him.

"My son is terrified of going to school and no-one is helping him," she said.

"The situation is atrocious and I think that giving my son a card to wave at these bullies is completely inappropriate.

"It made my son feel terrible. He told me he didn’t go back to school because he had been told carry this sign about."

The sign was reportedly on a red card and measured approximately 10cms by 15cms.

The mother, who did not want to be identified, said she felt like she had "no protection or support from the staff".

She said she had previously bought stress balls to help him cope with his suffering, but they were stolen by bullies the next day.

Independent childhood behaviour specialist Dr Margie Carter said the use of the "stop" sign would make the child even more vulnerable.

"The mother has done the right thing is speaking out ... she needs to be extra loud in this situation so the child doesn’t become invisible," she said.

An Education Queensland spokesman told the newspaper the "stop" sign was one of many methods used to help children cope with bullying.

"Ipswich West State School implements a range of programs, including one that uses alternative communication methods, to help children — in particular to support students with a disability.”

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