Father Outraged At School For Failing To Assist Son With Autism

Sep 20, 2019 by apost team

Earlier this week, Trevor Hibbert from California took to social media to express his disappointment in his school's mishandling of his 11-year-old son, Abraham, who has Autism, during an incident which lead to him fleeing the school. 

According to ABC7, Abraham was having what his father describes as a "meltdown" with the school staff forcibly restraining him. The 11-year-old reportedly kicked a member of the staff while being restrained and ran away from the school after being "cornered." The school then proceeded to contacting the local sheriff's office to help track down the boy. 

apost.com

The authorities found him wandering around a mile away from the school. According to Trevor's Facebook post, this was not the first time that this type of incident has happened. 

"This is what happens to an 11-year-old, special needs, severely autistic child when he has a meltdown and is able to walk off the Lancaster School District, Endeavour Middle School “secure” campus almost a mile away, for a THIRD TIME in three weeks due to their gross failure to adhere to his IEP by the Administration and District," he wrote. "Thank God our Sheriff’s department was there to clean up your mess, but the damage is done."

"The damage you have done to my son and the years of progress that has been setback are irreparable."

Trevor blames the school's failure to follow the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) put in place for Abraham when he was still in elementary school for the incident. The IEP stated Abraham must have a trained one-on-one aide, which was at times reportedly replaced by untrained teachers. In a statement, the Lancaster School District superintendent said: 

"While we cannot comment on all of the details of this child's services, we all agree that the incident that occurred yesterday is highly regrettable for everyone involved and we will continue to work with the family to support this child."

According to Trevor, Abraham goes through "meltdowns" and thus requires space and time to recover from each incident. However, the school staff is said to have "cornered" him instead, causing the boy to flee the school through an open gate. 

"They need administrators, not just one-on-one aides, not just special-education teachers, but administrators who understand the scope of autism and what it means and how those children react," said Trevor, according to ABC7.

Abraham has since been suspended from the school and his father has contacted a lawyer.

What do you think of the school staff's handling of the situation? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!