And on other news in special education issues, mother of an 11-year-old autistic boy is fighting for better teacher training.
Mother of an 11-year-old says that her son is the victim of school bullying for displaying his symptoms at school.
The boy himself, Robbie, addressed this issue on his YouTube channel and made an animation describing his daily problems with his classmates and teachers. He made it clear that this video was to demonstrate how unhealthy bullying was and what challenges he faced every day, going to school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig39Kvdrkzo&feature=share
He even made it clear that the video didn’t serve to point the fingers and changed the names of the other participants of the story.
In this video, he speaks about his classmates but also addresses the issue with the teachers who single out him and discipline for uncontrollable movements, mouth sounds, and fidgeting, which are the symptoms of his autism.
As a result, Robbie has built a wall around him, and can’t generally socialize with his peers. Due to the treatment he receives every day, he’s forced to change school the next term.
Awareness of Autism in the UK
Child Autism UK commented on Robbie’s case by saying that the teachers and schools lack the understanding of autism, and don’t know how to address such children.
Robbie’s mother, Jenny, says that her son is not the only one being treated like this. It seems like it’s a widely-spread case that needs treatment. Both Robbie and Jenny want to raise awareness of autism.
The school (where Robbie goes) supports Robbie’s decision and has planned to show his animation on YouTube channel to address the issue. They also support Robbie’s and Jenny’s campaign to raise awareness of autism.
Academical achievements of children with autism
Mandy Williams, the CEO of Child Autism UK, addressed the mentioned issue and said that teachers would often mistake the behavior of children with autism with misbehaving. These kids, in the eyes of teachers, weren’t able to achieve the set standard.
She also added that children with autism could perform high academically if teachers would only be able to recognize their condition.
The support of the campaign is coming from the teachers as well. They ask for more background and education about autism to be able to handle children with autism in their classes. The teachers addressed this issue to the National Education Union and are waiting for further instructions.
