Chicago Special Ed Teacher Charged With Abuse
When my son has a difficult moment—-when he cries out, or grabs at a teacher or us, or throws himself on the ground—our strategy is to be as minimally physically restraining as posssible. The first order of business is always to keep Charlie safe and calm as soon as possible. Charlie’s teachers and therapists have been trained in how to use non-invasive methods to help him when he is frustrated—from sensory overload, massive communication difficulties and confusion—-and these have made all the difference in his education and our outlook.
It is very disheartening to read about special education teachers who do not follow such procedures: A special education teacher, 30-year-old Patrick E. McCarthy of Palatine, Illinois, has been charged with three counts of aggravated battery and one count of unlawful restraint, all felonies. McCarthy has been a special ed teacher for three years at Robert Frost Junior High School; in August, one of his students, a 12-year-old autistic boy who is non-verbal, came home with “horrible bruises on one of his shins.” As reported in the September 22nd Chicago Sun-Times,
Cook County prosecutors say McCarthy forced the 12-year-old boy onto a trampoline and made him jump for 40 minutes, even as the boy screamed and tried to get down. At one point the boy fell, smacking one of his shins on the trampoline’s metal edge, prosecutors say.
The other incidents have all been witnssed by at least one aide in McCarthy’s classroom and are equally hard to read about
On one occasion, McCarthy allegedly shoved a student’s face into a metal cabinet after the student had tipped over a desk. McCarthy is also accused of tying a student to a chair with a jump-rope. McCarthy also allegedly shoved another student against a brick wall and then pressed his body against the child.
The mother of the 12-year-old who was injured on the trampoline is quoted as saying “‘I’m in utter shock…….I thought [McCarthy] was a decent guy.’”
Another parent has noted that it might not be a bad idea to have cameras in some classrooms; though “Big Brotherish,” when special ed students have (like my son) minimal communication abilities, being safe is always preferable to being sorry. And to having to read about a teacher charged with abuse of his students.
Related story: In May 2007 at Mahopac Falls Elementary School in New York, a teacher, a speech therapist, and two aides have also been charged with child endangerment, as witnessed and reported by other aides in the class.
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POSTED IN: Crime, Education, Legal Issues, Safety
16 opinions for Chicago Special Ed Teacher Charged With Abuse
Cliff
Sep 22, 2007 at 6:24 pm
I read about this in the morning, was indeed disheartening.
Where I come from, similar incidents have occurred, the most recent I can remember when the school’s vice principle stomped on an AS child’s foot with a heel, causing a significant gash in the foot. The child was fairly traumatized.
Cliff
Kristina Chew, PhD
Sep 22, 2007 at 7:41 pm
What happened — any repercussions for the vice principal? If that sort of thing was done to a non-disabled student, that would hardly be allowed…..
Cliff
Sep 22, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Actually, no repercussions, right away, anyway. But the school kind of skirted those kinds of things while I was there (yes, I was an alumnus of this school), so I’m not shocked that could happen later.
Cliff
Kathy
Sep 22, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Disheartening, I agree Cliff.And downright despicable! I can only shake my head at such callous abusive behaviour..(Why????)
I am reminded of this poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns..
Many and sharp the num’rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And Man whose heav’n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn,-
Man’s inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!
amy
Sep 22, 2007 at 11:38 pm
I don’t think this problem is solely about disability. It also has to do with the economy in general. There’s an enormous demand for special ed aides and teachers, and while the money’s still low it’s attractive to people who’ve been unsuccessful elsewhere, or who don’t know what to do with themselves but think of themselves as generally kindly and giving. If they’re not expecting the stresses and exhaustion, and they don’t believe they can give up the paycheck, they’re going to find an outlet for the anger.
There’s a parallel in elder abuse at nursing homes.
You can lower the incidence by being more serious about it as a profession, but you’ll have to pay more and the training will take much longer. The training will also be more expensive.
For the reason Cliff alludes to, I don’t think that the cameras would do all that much.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Sep 23, 2007 at 12:46 am
The aides in Charlie’s school district do have the kind of training you describe, amy, and it makes a huge, huge difference—–having seen what happened with Charlie with aides with far less training and education.
Casdok
Sep 23, 2007 at 5:50 am
Still more training needs to be done.
Robin H. Morris
Sep 23, 2007 at 8:46 am
This certainly sparked a memory for me. When our son was in middle school, someone reported to me that she saw an aide slamming our son against a garbage container in the playground. Ultimately we had no proof, although I did report it…the aide was taken away from my son, but not fired.
He did not return to the school system the following year, but it was not clear as to why.
Kathy
Sep 23, 2007 at 10:25 am
Does anybody really think…. that specialist training would have stopped McCarthy from making that poor 12 year old boy jump on a trampoline?
For forty minutes….????
Clearly when the poor child was experiencing extreme distress!
This was not an expression of anger!
No… This was extreme cruelty in my book.
What everyone has overlooked here ,is whether a person is suited to this kind of work!
Training is of course important. But if one does not have the aptitude or patience.. All the training in the world will not make a difference.
For God’s sake, these people are only with the child for 5-6 hours per day.
Many people work under much more
stressful conditions for longer hours without exploding in anger!
More stringent criteria is warranted when evaluating potential aides!
Robin H. Morris
Sep 23, 2007 at 10:39 am
Kathy, you are right on target! I have always said that you can have all of the training and mds phds and lmnops, but if the instincts and humanity aren’t there, it’s all for naught.
amy
Sep 23, 2007 at 11:40 am
The trainers will often screen for the temperament. You don’t get into medical school without interviews. Professional schools require essays, often interviews, and the competition can be stiff. Someone who just wants $11/hr instead of $7.50 an hour isn’t likely to get in. Isn’t likely either to stick around for the years’ worth of training.
The downside is what you see in child psych. There’s a severe shortage of child psychiatrists, and medical schools do not work faster in response. Psychiatrists are also quite inflexibly expensive (and you would be too, if you had $200K in school loans outstanding, and you could get away with the hourly rate). So it seems to me you get one or the other: well-trained, expensive people who take a long time to get to the scene, or fly-by-nights who may not be suited to the job, let alone well-trained for it.
amy
Sep 23, 2007 at 11:50 am
Also, Kathy, don’t underestimate the stress. These kids are not the teachers’ own, and often they work with more than one child. The teachers also have their own problems to take care of, not to mention administrative pressures that you don’t see.
I had that “it’s only a few hours a day” attitude, too, when I was working for a woman who — well, something had obviously gone wrong with her. The abuse she dished out to everyone left me openmouthed. I thought, well, it’s only four hours a day, her own bosses are working on getting her fired, it’s a great place otherwise, I’ve got terrific benefits, etc. But I also had a seriously mentally ill husband and a baby. Those four hours daily with that boss were turning me into a shaking wreck. I left the job after five months, and frankly I still miss it — it was a terrific place, and that boss is indeed gone now.
You may spend much more time with your child, but you love that child more than life, and you’ll put up with a great deal more than almost any other person on the planet. I don’t think you can expect that of other people. It’s wonderful when you find it. But I don’t think you can expect it.
Melanie, Bobby's mom
Sep 23, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I think it’s Cobb County in Georgia (near Atlanta), that has cameras in some of their special ed classes, but the intent is for documentation. If you’re trying to keep ABA-type records and you have several students and teachers all interacting, it’s really hard to have accurate data for all your students. So, the teachers can review the tapes after class to finish documentation and in general review how the day went. But, it would be great for security purposes too to have that window on the classroom. It’s good butt-coverage for the teachers and aides, too, in case a situation is unclear.
–Melanie
pete
Jan 25, 2008 at 2:58 am
I THINK HE IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WHEN ON IN THAT CLASSROOM. I KNOW FOR ONE THAT WORKING IN FOSTER HOMES FOR THESE TYPES OF PEOPLE IS VERY DEMANDING. THERE IS SO MUCH REWARDING EXPERIENCES WITH THESE PEOPLE BUT THEY ARE ALSO DANGEROUS AT TIMES. WE NEED TO FIND OUT ALL THE FACTS BEFORE MAKING A CONCLUSION.
Regan
Jan 25, 2008 at 4:39 am
THERE IS SO MUCH REWARDING EXPERIENCES WITH THESE PEOPLE BUT THEY ARE ALSO DANGEROUS AT TIMES.
———————-
Even if someone did have dangerous behavior, I know of no behavior plan, even an emergency one, on the planet that prescribes jumping on a trampoline for 40 minutes with a weighted vest to the point of injury or seizures, getting your face smashed into a filing cabinet or being tied up with a jump rope and then put into a full body press. I’ll grant you that because there is no tape, it’s based on report at the present time and that the legal system defines innocent until proven guilty, but if Mr. McCarthy is found guilty in a fair trial in a court of law, I hope that the circumstances are that he never works with children or disabled individuals anywhere again.
Anyone who thinks that any of the above is permissible for some circumstantial reason even as a hypothetical shouldn’t be working with them either.
patrick e mccarthy il teacher arrested court trial
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:47 pm
[…] Abuse … A special education teacher, 30-year-old patrick E. mccarthy of Palatine, Illinois, …http://www.autismvox.com/chicago-special-ed-teacher-charged-with-abuse/Clarence Darrow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia … the latter representing teacher John T. […]
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