What should be the punishment for teasing a student with special needs?

Question

I was surfing, and I found a question from a student about teasing a student in special education, and the principal telling her that she should be put in diapers and sent back to pre-school. She is facing expulsion for tormenting the student, and she feels that her actions shouldn't be punished. I fought to attend 'normal' school, and I was tormented mercilessly by my peers that could not understand what being autistic meant, and why I was always in diapers when the yhad their 'big pants' to show off. It took me until junior high to have some relief from the torment, when some of the kids that tormented me before began to change their attitudes, and eventually I was accepted as just another student, with friends that stood beside me against ill-mannered students that had to put others down just to feel big. So I want to know, just what would be appropriate punishment for verbally attacking another student because they are different, and have special needs?

Answer 1

Did the principal say this about the person who was teasing the student? If not then he needs to be educated about the students problems as well.

Her actions should be punished but they should be punished in a way that is going to benefit both her and the person she has been teasing. OK the person is autistic which means that they may not have really understood they were being teased (depends on how much they are affected by autism/asperger's and how much they allow insults to affect them.)

The diaper idea isn't really going to work because it's not going to help anyone.

You could try getting the person doing the teasing to do an extra essay or project on the other student's condition or get them to be the other student's buddy for recess/lunch so they can see how the special needs student is affected by their particular condition.

I know this probably hasn't been tried anywhere before but it's a good idea.

Answer 2

School employees should know better and YES they need to be punished.  There is no excuse for it  EVER!

Kids are a different matter, if they don't know it's hard to say PUNISH them to the fulleset extent you can (kids are kids and yes they can be mean) however, if they are aware that the child is disabled YES they need to be made an example of.

I watch my son and realize how hard it is for him and can't imagine someone teasing him about his disability.  Luckily he had a great group of kids in his class that took the time to be his friend and see past his shortcomings.  

I've learned over the years that people that make fun of others are so insecure with themselves that they do whatever they can to feel better about themselves.

Answer 3

They should be educated in what both Autism and Aspergers is...

I have a very mild form of Autism and it still slows me down in most things... I like to be on my own and yet people still bother me when I don't want to be...

Take it from me... I went though school and survived - just about...

Most of the people who teased me didn't really know why I was so different... they didn't think I had autism because they didn't know that much about it five years ago...

It was only like the year after I left school did they "change the rules of play" - in my opinion they should have done that ages ago... that way I would have received more help and so would many others that were, and still are, in the same sort of situation as I was...

I tried to fit in, seriously... but I was so upset that people didn't wanna be friends with me... people just hated me for no reason at all... but... some of the people who teased me have now moved on and don't really care if I have Autism or not because they know that it's what's on the inside of a person that counts and not what they are...

But... I still feel like it was my governments fault for this...

How?

I'll tell you...

They gave me this in the first place...

I know people will say that MMR jab and Autism show no signs of any connection but they are wrong! I am the only one in my family whose had the MMR jab and I'm also the only one in my family whose got Autism... so... please don't say "that has nothing to do with it" because it does with me...

it explains a lot that has happened in my life...

So... yeah... teachers should be taught how to properly deal with this and the students should not behave irrationally towards others!

[NOTE: when I was going to leave school they wanted to send me to the back of some school called St Luke's which is for people who are less mild with Autism... and so... I dcide to go to college instead... the cheek of it really was the school, after all my life in mainstream education, they wanted to shove me and my skills to one side thus I would have broken to pieces if the worst came to the very worst but fortunately for me and my skills that didn't happen so... I have only this piece of advice to you all:

BEWARE  OF  THE  SCHOOL'S  AND  THEIR  INTENTIONS  WHEN  LEAVING!!!

They might try doing to you what they tried to do with me if you have a MILD form of Autism/Aspergers... and believe me it took my dad ages to get them to understand that St Lukes was going to become a mistake...]

So... I hope this information is valuable enough for you... it certainly would be for me...

Answer 4

I go to a special school that has an ASD program.

The school needs to do training for the staff and students. They need to teach the students what autism is.

I don't think the diaper thing would be good really. They just need to be educated.

I got bullied a lot and that is why I dont go to normal school now.

Ask your school to get training for the students. A tolerance and understanding day like where they learn what its like to have autism, deafness, blindness, physical challanges and stuff. Teaching acceptance and tolerance is better.

Specific punishment like in school suspension would be good for that person along with the tolerance teaching. It is never ok to verbally attack someone no matter what they are like.