Room 3

There are 5 children in Room 3, and 2 teachers. This is a room for children with Autism. It smells like diapers because only J. is toilet-trained. The lights are off because R. is sensitive to the flickering of fluorescent lights. There is no art on the walls or decorations of any kind. Each classroom at this school is supposed to have a teacher with a credential in Special Education, and other aides. Because this teacher has 10 kids--two of whom frequently attack each other-- the class was divided into two rooms. The credentialed teacher rarely visits Room 3.

T. has Autism and is non-verbal. He can communicate using a PEC book, but we don't know where it is. When we go to the gym in the afternoon, he enjoys bouncing a ball from atop the stage, careful to let it bounce on the corner. He wants someone to return the ball to him, but he doesn't interact with them. For severely autistic people, other people are tools to get what they want. They don't understand that other people may have feelings that are separate and different from their own. When he is happy he toe-walks and puts his thumbs in his ears and tousles his hair. He vocalizes nasal and vowel sounds. When provoked, he is likely to grab another person hard around their arms and grit his teeth, looking distressed. He does not like to wear shoes. When he cooperates with us when we try to run goals with him, he gets Cheetos. He mostly eats Saltines for lunch.

B. is one of my favorites. Many children came to school in various stages of neglect and disarray, but B. always has on a clean 'fit, and he smells good. He is non-verbal. If he has Autism, it doesn't matter; his severe mental retardation eliminates any chance for development. At 12 he still wears a diaper, and he always will. B.'s main behavior is "mouthing." That means he puts thing in his mouth and chews them. It was B. who bit me on my second day at the school. My future co-teacher failed to warn me. When available, he has a chew-toy tethered to his belt loop. Because of his low muscle tone, he is not very strong. He can't clap his hands. When we put on Tele-Tubbies, he makes happy retard noises and spins around and flaps his hands. He prefers Skittles as a reinforcer for good behavior. He is able to feed himself chicken nuggets.

S. is six years old and weighs well over 100 pounds. He is non-verbal and has Autism. When he is aggressing, he can pinch you so that it draws blood. Changing his huge diapers is quite challenging. He enjoys rolling Play-Doh into small pills, and lining up cars. He is fat and has eczema because of his diet. Many people with Autism are highly sensitive to certain sensations, especially when it comes to food.

F. is the oldest in the class at 13. We're not sure when they'll put him in a different class. We never run goals with him. He is very strong, and is extremely dangerous when provoked. And when dealing with people with Autism, any demand can provoke them. He sits in a corner all day and "stims." That means he does self-stimulating behavior. F. enjoys the sensation of a toy car rattling in his hand, so he does that all day. We do not change his diaper. He eats rice with cut up hot dog. He will hunt down every grain of rice that escaped his mouth and eat it. One teacher makes up data so that it looks like we've been running goals with him.

K. does not have Autism. He does not have a diagnosis. My best guess is that he is psychotic. His clothes are dirty and don't fit. He is dirty. He is highly verbal and enjoys making other people uncomfortable. Once when trying to get out of working he declared to the teacher that his nipples were hard. He also pinches people's noses. He bolts, and he can run fast. He is terrified of rats. He burned his house down at age 6, or so I heard. When the school notified his mother that he needed more meds, he came in bearing a dirty Advil box with pills of different colors and shapes. No one was taking care of him, and because of his disturbing behavior, he was unable to make connections with any staff. Although his behavior was the most disruptive and dangerous in the class, he was only given a 1:3 aide. Oakland Unified was unwilling/unable to pay for him to get 1:1 care.

In Room 3 I saw the worst of special education. I saw incompetent and possibly abusive teachers. I saw schools powerless to help needy children. Ultimately the school has to act in its own (financial) interest, which meant leaving 5 severely disabled children with 2 aides lacking any formal training in special education. Since two of the kids were 1:2, and three were 1:3, that means that theoretically one teacher can work with one child and supervise the other, and the other teacher can work with one child and supervise the other two. That is just not possible. I saw the school at its worst, parenting at its most dysfunctional, teachers with no motivation or training, and kids with no grown-ups to care for them. It was a dark and smelly room indeed.