I read "TCPalm" as "FacePalm" which, somehow, seemed more appropriate.

Once again, St. Lucie County proves its well-deserved stupidity.

God, they're embarrassing.

McManus_brothers: Once again, St. Lucie County proves its its' well-deserved stupidity.

FTFM

Sounds fair to me.

/Wapner's on at 5. Definitely at 5.

Isn't this a show on FOX?

That is so sad. God bless that child.

Democracy in action.......Now aren't you glad that Bush removed democracy a while back...

/Medication. It does wonders for some kids.
//And if momma's around to administer it on a daily basis.

Not all that surprising from kindergarteners. Even if the vote were about throwing him into a woodchipper they probably still would get a majority in favor in it.

"who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism"

There's no such thing as a process of being diagnosed. When you word it like that, you make it sound like there's a diagnosis you want to be real and that you're skewing the evidence for. You diagnose symptoms, not a disease.

If you've got a tumor, you don't go through the process of diagnosing cancer. You diagnose the goddamn tumor to see if you HAVE cancer.

This is precisely what is wrong with this society. Parents will do anything to ensure that their kids have something that guarantees them preferential treatment for the rest of their youthful lives.

Absolutely sickening.

Whether the kid should be "mainstreamed" is another issue, but letting kids vote is silly.

Aspergers... a little different than full on Autism. Still, that's pretty messed up. I dont care what's wrong with the kid. YOu dont single them out and do something like this. That's beyond cruel. Poor kid. Has it hard enough as it is I bet.

He probably was very annoying and disruptive to the rest of the class, but damn, there are better ways of dealing with it than this.

This is absolutely disgusting. I work with autistic children every day, and even though this child is high-functioning, he still has a disability. Even if he didn't have a disability, there is no way in hell a teacher should be allowed to treat a student like that. ANY student.

McManus_brothers: McManus_brothers: Once again, St. Lucie County proves its its' well-deserved stupidity.

FTFM

Um ...

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.

God! If only we could get every kid in America to recite that every night like praying the Rosary!

The other students said he was "disgusting" and "annoying."

I wonder what it was he did, and why we're not allowed to know. Perhaps it might upset the journalistic rule of creating good guys and bad guys for news articles; make things too complex.

"in the process of being diagnosed with autism"

I'd like this cleared up, how long does it take to diagnose with autism?

Also, aspergers syndrome seems like such bullshiat. I'm not one of those people who think personality and learning orders don't exist, but I'm fairly certain most people I know have exhibited symptoms of this disorder.

This teacher should actually die in a fire. Really.

So, the "teacher" is a fan of Survivor?

I'd like to hear all sides of this story, including why they needed to take a vote in the first place.

While there may be a case made for over-diagnosis of Asperger's and autism (in other words, sometimes it is just discipline and diet issues, and not some underlying mental problem, that causes your precious snowflake to misbehave) this is no way to treat a child, with or without the mental condition.

Sure as hell he's gunna have a issues now.

/how does one become a early-shildhood teacher and still think this a good way to handle the situation?
//and when did primary school become Survivor Kids Edition?
///If I'd have known I could have gotten voted out of Mr Henderson's class, that would have saved me a hell of a lot of mental issues in Grade 6!

meddleRPI: "who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism"

There's no such thing as a process of being diagnosed. When you word it like that, you make it sound like there's a diagnosis you want to be real and that you're skewing the evidence for. You diagnose symptoms, not a disease.

If you've got a tumor, you don't go through the process of diagnosing cancer. You diagnose the goddamn tumor to see if you HAVE cancer.

This is precisely what is wrong with this society. Parents will do anything to ensure that their kids have something that guarantees them preferential treatment for the rest of their youthful lives.

Absolutely sickening.

If I had to hazard a guess, though I can't say for certain, I'd take this to mean the child psychiatrist has a suspicion that this is it and is in the process of unleashing the autism test battery on him. If not, then it does indeed sound like the parents forcing a diagnosis.

I see fault on all sides.

If the kid was acting out, the teacher should have alerted the principal who should have had the child transferred to a special-ed class.

The mother knew that her child was acting out yet had no problem sending her son back to class so that he could disrupt school for all the other children.

The kids are young enough that they can throw rocks at the weird kid and still get off easy, yet they didn't. Now they'll have to deal with him for the next 12 years.

Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism

How is this a process? Is she one of those parents who think their child must be bipolar/ADD/Autistic/Asperger's?

gold6: This is absolutely disgusting. I work with autistic children every day, and even though this child is high-functioning, he still has a disability. Even if he didn't have a disability, there is no way in hell a teacher should be allowed to treat a student like that. ANY student.

You think for $7.25 an hour they get someone competent?

If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.

My 12-year-old is autistic.

If this happened to him, so help me God....

insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.

"THIS" won't cover it. May I suggest "AMEN!"

Suicidal Writer: How is this a process? Is she one of those parents who think their child must be bipolar/ADD/Autistic/Asperger's?

You can't just look at a child and decide, you have to do multiple types of tests to see how the child performs to determine if he/she has problems, you insensitive prick.

Can we please, please, please go ahead and sink Florida, California, Alabama, and New Jersey???

insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.

"Normal children"? "Dump your special kid into the public school system"?

You farking twat.

That's one of the more farked up things I've heard. Of course I have no idea why he's showing symptoms of autism...could be his upbringing (or lack of socialization) or something he was born with, either way it's not like the kid has a choice in how he is. Nobody should be punished for this, but society needs to change.

Where's Bush's compassionate conservatism?

14 to 2, eh?

Those 2 kids are the hope of the human race.

The other 14? The ones that will do anything to try and stop them.

Suicidal Writer: Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism

How is this a process? Is she one of those parents who think their child must be bipolar/ADD/Autistic/Asperger's?

An autism diagnosis requires massive amounts of testing. It's not like strep throat, where you take a culture and wait. You have to do social testing, etc. It's just not that simple.

Ringtailed79: "in the process of being diagnosed with autism"

I'd like this cleared up, how long does it take to diagnose with autism?

Also, aspergers syndrome seems like such bullshiat. I'm not one of those people who think personality and learning orders don't exist, but I'm fairly certain most people I know have exhibited symptoms of this disorder.

Most people exhibit symptoms of some disorders at some point, yeah. Asperger's is one that passes by really easily undiagnosed.

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.

This particular snowflake is a quick learner.

There seems like a lot more to this story. I really hope there is.

This just reminds me of the South Park episode (why does everything in my life go back to cartoons, damnit?)...

Generally, doctors like to be sure they are diagnosing someone with a serious condition like Autism because it might just be normal hyperactivity or any number of other things. The reason so many people are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD is because the doctors are too quick about it... how do they know the first time they meet with the kid (if they even do meet with the kid) he's not just naturally hyperactive?

The kids 5 and the other students we acting like other 5 year olds. The teacher should be fired for letting their kids get so out of control.

Step 1) Shout: SIT DOWN AND STUDY!
Step 2) Strike students who fail to listen.
Step 3) Repeat Step 1) and 2) as necessary.

Optional steps:
i) confiscate all cell phones and PDAs
ii) be loud and dangerous looking
iii) never shower.

Ringtailed79

Also, aspergers syndrome seems like such bullshiat. I'm not one of those people who think personality and learning orders don't exist, but I'm fairly certain most people I know have exhibited symptoms of this disorder.

I've been teaching for 2 years now, and I've had 3 kids with some form of PDD. Aspberger's does exist. I'm sure kids in past would have just been labeled as "weird", but these kids really have limited social skills, and can't read someone's body language at all.

Would the class be easier to teach/learn in without the kid? Maybe... but that's no reason to vote a kid out.

This teacher should be nowhere near any kid.

Akbar the Trappiste Monk: My 12-year-old is autistic.

If this happened to him, so help me God....

And I'll be damned if I wouldn't be applauding you after.

How the hell can you even DO that to a child? What is wrong with people?

insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.


Yeah, can't have those sub-human inbreds mixing in with our normal children, now can we?

Akbar the Trappiste Monk: insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.

"Normal children"? "Dump your special kid into the public school system"?

You farking twat.

Amen!

Ringtailed79: "in the process of being diagnosed with autism"

I'd like this cleared up, how long does it take to diagnose with autism?

Also, asperger's syndrome seems like such bullshiat. I'm not one of those people who think personality and learning orders don't exist, but I'm fairly certain most people I know have exhibited symptoms of this disorder.

I'm guessing he's been diagnosed with autism but is being evaluated on the subject since it's a wide spectrum of disorders.

Asperger's is one of those things that has the potential to be thrown around at a large number of people (like ADD) but is a real thing and you'd know if it you saw it. I know an adult with it (though he's never been formally diagnosed, nor is he aware he has it) but it's more than obvious. Some friends got him to take one of those little online test things and he scored about 90% positive while the rest of us (as a control) were something like 20%, so even though a lot of people may have some traits, it's far more obvious when it's really present.

Autism is a growing problem that I hear more and more about, and I don't think it's one of those BS psychological things that gets painted on every kid with a little behavioral issue. However, I understand your skepticism.

Akbar the Trappiste Monk: insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.

"Normal children"? "Dump your special kid into the public school system"?

You farking twat.

NOT a farking twat. I see this stuff all the time when I visit classrooms. There's one kid that's sucking-up 99% of the teacher's time, and the other kids sit around and twiddle their thumbs waiting for things to calm down again. Or, worse yet, they feel that the special kid has "upped the ante" and now they too have to act out to get some teacher-time.

A friend of mine was put in as a substitute in one classroom and was given a note "Do not make eye-contact with [a certain kid]." How the hell is any teaching/learning supposed to get accomplished in a place like that?

And if you're offended by the word "normal" then just go ahead and wipe it from the dictionary. That seems to be the way now.

sunshine_mcbihface: insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school. And you have no right to dump your special kid into the public school system and force them to spend 30 times what they spend on a normal child on your kid.


Yeah, can't have those sub-human inbreds mixing in with our normal children, now can we?

Seriously. Just wipe all the little twats out.

Ugh. I don't understand people who actually think like this.

Can I paint in broad strokes as to these children's religious backgrounds?

That doesn't sound too Christian of them...

I'd like this cleared up, how long does it take to diagnose with autism?

Getting a diagnosis isn't like walking in a clinic for a headache.

I went through this with my son. From start to finish was about 16 months. We were bounced between 3 doctors who guessed and eliminated other problems first, and finally refered to an outside specialist with a 6 month waiting period. He's definately on the spectrum, but nobody is sure with what. Unfortunately, the process takes time.

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.


The sooner he learns this, the better.

Our son had learning issues that we noticed when he was 3 and we wanted to put him into a special program (I forget what it was called, but it was something fairly common with young boys). It took several months for the tests to be run. Now he's in first grade and mostly mainstreamed.

insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school.

Squidgilum: "AMEN!"

So how many years did your parents get for abusing you?

GAT_00: Suicidal Writer: How is this a process? Is she one of those parents who think their child must be bipolar/ADD/Autistic/Asperger's?

You can't just look at a child and decide, you have to do multiple types of tests to see how the child performs to determine if he/she has problems, you insensitive prick.

Mental illnesses are not physical illnesses. You cannot jab a needle into bob and see if he has bypolar.

funsized: Seriously. Just wipe all the little twats out.

Ugh. I don't understand people who actually think like this.


THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

/but only the normal ones

damageddude: Our son had learning issues that we noticed when he was 3 and we wanted to put him into a special program (I forget what it was called, but it was something fairly common with young boys). It took several months for the tests to be run. Now he's in first grade and mostly mainstreamed.

insomniac8400: If your kid requires special needs and can't get along with normal children, it is child abuse to not put him in a special or private school.

Squidgilum: "AMEN!"

So how many years did your parents get for abusing you?

Read my post above. Disruptions in the classroom are counterproductive to teaching. If the kids are diagnosed with something that stops them from controlling themselves, then it's wrong not to put them in a special needs school.