Melodi
Disaster Cat
I put this under insanity because even if this child were not autistic (and he is) he is FIVE YEARS OLD! You can't be a "sex offender" at age five, not legally; a few years ago an unsupervised five years old accidentally killed an infant sibling by hitting them with a toy truck - that child wasn't charged with murder - though adults were charged for lack of supervision.
Now if the child was really causing class disruption (the article says he hugged another child but that may only be one side of the story) then removal from class, calling in the parents and assigning to a special needs class if warranted are all proper responses but "legally" giving him a "record" as a "sex offender?"
Either this story got garbled on its trip over the water or the school has gone insane and I hope the judge awards lots of cash to the family if they decide to go to court (to be put in a trust fund for this child when he's older).
I mean this time no one was even hurt that we know of, and anyone whose ever been around five-year-olds knows they hug things - pets, parents, toys, siblings and sometimes classmates and teachers.
Again very likely something we don't know but still totally inappropriate and beyond the pale!
Five-year-old autistic boy ‘put on record as sex offender’ after hugging classmate
‘He comprehends and functions very different than your typical five-year-old,’ says his grandmother
Corazon Miller @c0ra_z0n
A family in the United States says their five-year-old son with autism has been labelled a “sex offender” after he hugged a fellow classmate.
Nathan is a nursery school pupil at East Ridge Elementary in Chattanooga, Tennessee. School officials said he was warned several times but overstepped his boundaries in hugging another child.
Summery Putnam, the young boy’s guardian told a local TV outlet, News Channel 9, that she received a call from her son’s teacher at the start of September.
She said Nathan’s teacher told her he had been accused of “sexual activities” for hugging a child and kissing another on the cheek.
But Ms Putnam said the five-year-old was unaware he had crossed any kind of boundary.
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong,” Ms Putnam said.
Ms Putnam told the TV outlet her son has now switched classrooms and teachers. He is enrolled in special education services.
In a private Facebook post shared with News Channel 9, Nathan’s grandmother, Debi Amick, questioned how just it was that the school would not listen to the family or their doctor about the challenges the five-year-old was facing.
“It was disclosed that it will go in his record for the rest of his life that he is a sex offender,” she said. “This child is autistic, he comprehends and functions very different than your typical five-year-old. What do you do?
“Who do you turn to for help when the school will not even listen to the child’s doctor when he explains the child’s difficulties in his comprehension of simple things such as boundaries?”
Spokesman for the Hamilton County Department of Education Tim Hensley said, in a statement, schools were entitled to report any concerns they had regarding a child.
“School personnel are required to concerns regarding children to the Department of Child Services (DCS). It’s up to DCS to determine if those reports are acted on by DCS and what form those actions may take, “ he said.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...elementary-united-states-nathan-a9119391.html
Now if the child was really causing class disruption (the article says he hugged another child but that may only be one side of the story) then removal from class, calling in the parents and assigning to a special needs class if warranted are all proper responses but "legally" giving him a "record" as a "sex offender?"
Either this story got garbled on its trip over the water or the school has gone insane and I hope the judge awards lots of cash to the family if they decide to go to court (to be put in a trust fund for this child when he's older).
I mean this time no one was even hurt that we know of, and anyone whose ever been around five-year-olds knows they hug things - pets, parents, toys, siblings and sometimes classmates and teachers.
Again very likely something we don't know but still totally inappropriate and beyond the pale!
Five-year-old autistic boy ‘put on record as sex offender’ after hugging classmate
‘He comprehends and functions very different than your typical five-year-old,’ says his grandmother
Corazon Miller @c0ra_z0n
A family in the United States says their five-year-old son with autism has been labelled a “sex offender” after he hugged a fellow classmate.
Nathan is a nursery school pupil at East Ridge Elementary in Chattanooga, Tennessee. School officials said he was warned several times but overstepped his boundaries in hugging another child.
Summery Putnam, the young boy’s guardian told a local TV outlet, News Channel 9, that she received a call from her son’s teacher at the start of September.
She said Nathan’s teacher told her he had been accused of “sexual activities” for hugging a child and kissing another on the cheek.
But Ms Putnam said the five-year-old was unaware he had crossed any kind of boundary.
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong,” Ms Putnam said.
Ms Putnam told the TV outlet her son has now switched classrooms and teachers. He is enrolled in special education services.
In a private Facebook post shared with News Channel 9, Nathan’s grandmother, Debi Amick, questioned how just it was that the school would not listen to the family or their doctor about the challenges the five-year-old was facing.
“It was disclosed that it will go in his record for the rest of his life that he is a sex offender,” she said. “This child is autistic, he comprehends and functions very different than your typical five-year-old. What do you do?
“Who do you turn to for help when the school will not even listen to the child’s doctor when he explains the child’s difficulties in his comprehension of simple things such as boundaries?”
Spokesman for the Hamilton County Department of Education Tim Hensley said, in a statement, schools were entitled to report any concerns they had regarding a child.
“School personnel are required to concerns regarding children to the Department of Child Services (DCS). It’s up to DCS to determine if those reports are acted on by DCS and what form those actions may take, “ he said.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...elementary-united-states-nathan-a9119391.html
