THE WOODLANDS, Texas – A mother here says teachers forced her young daughter, who has autism, into a closet and held the door closed. And the mother, Jennifer Clark, is demanding an apology.
She told CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV it happened at David Elementary School, in the Conroe Independent School District.
“They never told me that she could be forcibly put in this (seclusion) room and locked in,” Clark said.
Clark’s daughter, who’s in second grade, has autism and battles anxiety. People touching her triggers fight or flight.
Her first day of school in a program for special needs children with emotional issues saw her melt down at recess and earn a note for bad behavior.
“Shouting, kicking, and she knocked over a desk,” Clark said. “It didn’t mention anything about her being put in a room alone.”
Clark’s daughter claimed teachers grabbed her arms, put her in a closet-sized room and held the door shut.
Clark struggled believing it until the principal showed her video.
In a statement, school district said, “From time to time, it may become necessary to separate a student from other students for a limited period … for that student to regain self-control. These times of separation are in locations that allow for supervision by appropriate classroom staff and are implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others.”
In addition to the apology, Clark wants assurances that such an incident would never happen again, but says she got neither. So she plans to home-school her daughter from now on.
“I can’t put her through any more of these experiences. I just feel like she’s been through enough,” Clark said.
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