The Timeout Box (2)
The “timeout space”—timeout box, as some Olympia School District parents call it—has become the “symbol of what they see as the need for change,” according to an article in today’s Olympian (WA).
“If my daughter were ever put in this, I can’t even imagine how she’d react”
said Andryea Grazier, whose autistic daughter attends Olympia High School. Kelley McGearey, whose autistic son Corbin was placed in the “timeout box” and was left not only with bruises but also a lasting fear of school, notes that
“The box, that’s setting up a lifetime of failure for these kids.”
McGearey is now homeschooling Corbin this year after a “lengthy battle with district officials.”
Linda Ritter, parent of an elementary-school-age child, shared her statement regarding the Olympia School District’s autism program in a comment on Autism Vox. She says:
“It’s just unthinkable for me. It’s just wrong. It’s not appropriate treatment of autistic children.”
Not appropriate, and not good teaching etiher.
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POSTED IN: Disability Rights, Education, Safety
5 opinions for The Timeout Box (2)
Autism Vox » Public or private?
Jul 7, 2006 at 5:22 am
[…] So I read with interest about a non-profit in Olympia, Washington, The Wyatt Holliday Foundation , that is interested in starting an “alternative school for special education students,” according to an article in today’s Olympian. Parents have raised concerns about the school district’s “lack of knowledge” about how to educate autistic children; the use of a timeout box has been a chief point of controversy. […]
Autism Vox » The Timeout Box (3): The elevator closet
Aug 14, 2006 at 5:35 pm
[…] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Related Posts: The Timeout Box (2)…The Timeout Box…“He’s justlike any kid when they throw a tantrum”…Public or private?…Easy to Say, Not So Easy to Read…Engaging Floortime (5): Tantrums and “free speech”… […]
Kelly Isaac
Apr 20, 2007 at 10:21 pm
My 8 year old son was locked in a 4×4x7 foot time out booth at his school in the imotionally impaired classroom for over two hours. when I picked him up he was bloody and had urinated on himself.
If I treated our dog like this I would be put in jail.
Subsequently- the box has been dismanteled. God Bless!
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 20, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Did the school let you know that they used such a thing?
Hope your son is all right.
4 Hours in a School Closet
Jun 7, 2007 at 10:00 am
[…] other cases that I have written about here come to mind: the timeout box used in Olympia, Washington, and the elevator closet used for a timeout in Long Island, New […]
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