A 28-year-old mother, Emily Dive has filed a suit against the Australian Department of Education over the alleged ill-treatment of her eight-year- old autistic son by teachers of the department.
According to her, the boy, Lachlan was put in a plywood box by teachers to ‘calm him down’ and that his attendance had been restricted to just two hours a day.
She told Daily Mail, ‘The trauma that Lachlan has been subjected to within the education system is unforgivable.’
She also explained that the need of the lad was ignored by the school which has caused his symptoms to worsen. she made referrence to a particular school where a dark and isolated plywood box was built specially where they put Lachlan inside.
Lachlan’s IQ was too high to qualify him for a school designed for children with special educational needs, and was instead given funding for a teacher’s aide to come and help him for two hours a day
The mother also said that her son’s IQ was too high to qualify him for a school designed for children with special educational needs, and was instead given funding for a teacher’s aide to come and help him for two hours a day.
She explained, “The room was pitched to me as a ‘calm down’ room, If Locky began to show high signs of anxiety – which to people looks like defiant, disruptive behaviour – then he would be ‘encouraged’ to use the room.
“A condition on his behaviour contract – which was the school’s approach to assisting my son with his disability – was that if he couldn’t re-regulate in that room, I was called to pick him up.”
A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Education and Training said the Federal Government ‘recognised’ that students with disability have specific individual needs and education is not one size fits all’
“While over 90 per cent of students with disability attend mainstream schools, it is important that there are a range of educational settings available including specialist schools and specialist units in mainstream schools.
“Parents and carers are the best people to decide the most appropriate educational setting for their child.
“The Disability Standards for Education 2005, formulated under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, set out the obligations of education and training providers to ensure that students with disability can access and participate in education and training on the same basis as those without disability.
“The Government is investing a record $242.3 billion in school recurrent funding over the next 10 years as part of its Quality Schools reforms. Of this amount, an estimated $21.2 billion will be provided for students with disability.
‘This funding helps provide the resources schools need to enable students with disability to participate in education on the same basis as other students.”
