Student turned away from special needs school

A mother is upset that her child has been turned away from an institution that is geared towards helping persons with special needs.

Following an incident on Monday, where her mentally challenged daughter threw a fit after a disagreement with another student, she said her daughter was forced to sit in the sun for two consecutive days because she was prevented from entering the building.

She said that it isn’t unusual for her 20-year-old daughter to throw a tantrum.

“That’s a part of the behavioural problem, that is why she attends the school. So her behaviour would have been out of whack and that is one of the major challenges for me, plus she is slow learning,” she said.

She admitted that her daughter has been suspended from the institution on a number of occasions in her five years there. 

“If you stop her from doing what she wants to, she will become very abusive verbally and like be cursing, throwing down herself. She is not going to hit people but she is going to be making a lot of noise,” the parent said.

But she feels that having her out of school is not the right way to go.

SAFE HAVEN

“Mi use school as one of the safe havens for her because there are trained persons there that can deal with her. Her being out of school puts her at a disadvantage because she is exposed to things that could harm her,” she said.

Also troubling for the mom is that the principal told her that her daughter was placed in a dark room as punishment.

When she quizzed her daughter about the dark room, she found out that it was a empty space without cushions in which she had to stay alone.

“She went into the dark room two weeks ago and this week they called the father to tell him that she is suspended until I get a letter from the doctor to tell them how to deal with the child when she throws a tantrum,” she said. “But how can she be turned away from a special school that is supposed to help her?”

Even though her daughter has outbursts even at home, the mother said she continued to send her to the institution, to which she pays $120,000 per term, because she has seen improvement in her child’s development.

When THE WEEKEND STAR contacted the principal, she said that she could not speak about the matter as the issue was being discussed by the board and the mother was given a letter to attend a meeting.