Kissimmee, Florida – Despite school districts appeal, Florida teacher accused of giving crayons to a student with autism that was soaked in hot sauce will be reinstated.
Both the school district and the parents are upset by the decision. Lillain Gomez had been fired from her job at an elementary school back in February 2012, when the incident came to the attention of the school.
In a report published yesterday by ABC News via Good Morning America, the teacher Ms Gomez denies force-feeding the student. Thomas Egan, Gomez’s attorney stated she was only trying to help her student by preventing him from eating art supplies and in no way force feed him the crayon. They had been left in a plastic bag with his name on it for a number of days.
Speaking with ABC News the National Autism Society of America’s spokeswoman Ashley Parkerthat explained that there many alternative ways to readjust behaviours in children with autism without resorting to treatment that is abusive.
“There are also hundreds of school teachers and professionals across the country who can handle challenging behaviors such as pica [eating inedible objects] in a sensitive, human manner that upholds the dignity of each child. A behavior like eating crayons in a child with autism should not automatically be viewed as a delinquent behavior.”