Autistic child pulled from N.B. school

A New Brunswick grandmother of a young autistic boy is calling on the province's schools to eliminate isolation rooms.

Jean-Michel, 7, was pulled out of his Grade 1 class at Ecole Sainte-Bernadette in Moncton after Claire LaBelle saw the isolation room — also called a time-out room. She's now teaching her grandson at home.

School has proved difficult for Jean-Michel, who has Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism, and Tourette's syndrome.

'You are not supposed to go into something like that. You are supposed to go in the office that peoples go. But for me it's different.' — Jean-Michel, 7

Last month, he started complaining to his parents about being put behind a door.

"So I had to take care of him one night and he was having nightmare … I thought something was wrong," LaBelle said. "That night he threw up and he was very anxious the next morning."

LaBelle, a social worker and executive director of the Greater Moncton Family Resource Centre, said she understands her grandson can be difficult and can have, what she calls fits.

LaBelle said she went to the school with Jean-Michel and she saw the room, which she described as "the little jail." There are three walls bolted to the floor and a door, which is held shut when her grandson is inside.

There is also a small window so his teacher's assistant can make sure he doesn't hurt himself.

LaBeller removed Jean-Michel from the school with the support of his parents.

She said she knows his parents agreed to the confinement room but she was still shocked when she saw it.

When asked what he thinks about being put into the room, Jean-Michel said he feels "bad."

"It was just like a centre where people go in where you don't do something good," Jean-Michel said.

"You are not supposed to go into something like that. You are supposed to go in the office . … But for me it's different."

The boy's grandmother said the parents didn't know what the isolation room would look like when they agreed to let Jean-Michel be taken there during the day.

LaBelle has taken her complaint to the Education Department, the province's human rights commission and the Office of the Ombudsman and is waiting for a resolution.

Rarely used

Luc Lajoie, a spokesperson for School District 1, said all schools in the district have isolation rooms, although they are rarely used.

"But sometimes it helps him to be in there because it's a silent place, he's going to be able to let [out] this frustration or this behaviour," Lajoie said.

'They told me when he misbehaved they throw him in there and they were holding the door until he got better ... I stayed in there for just a few minutes and I started to feel anxiety.' — Claire LaBelle, grandmother

"When he's tired somebody comes and talks to him. But on the other way, as we mentioned, we have to have a classroom where the other students can study and can learn, and if there is always a disturbance then there is a problem."

Lajoie said isolation rooms are a last resort and usually used only when parents have agreed.

To get a sense of what her grandson went through when spending time in isolation, LaBelle said she went into the room herself.

"They told me when he misbehaved they throw him in there and they were holding the door until he got better," she said. "There is nothing in there. I stayed in there for just a few minutes and I started to feel anxiety."

For years, the Department of Education has had a policy of classroom integration, which means students of all abilities are placed in the same classroom.

Both of Jean-Michel's parents have full-time jobs, so his grandmother is reorganizing her work schedule to teach him from home.

Home-schooling a seven-year-old is not designed to be a long-term solution, however.

LaBelle said she and Jean-Michel will visit new schools to try to find one he'd feel comfortable attending.