"Therapy Bag" and the Social Media Response

Social media are responding to the case in Kentucky where a school used a duffel bag for seclusion and restraint. Laura Shumaker writes at The San Francisco Chronicle:

Lydia Brown, an 18-year-old university student who also has autism , learned about Chris from a story on Landon Bryce’s blog ThAutcast.com and launched the petition on Change.org calling on the school to fire the teacher and institute a comprehensive training program in the school district.

More than 7,000 people have joined the campaign in the first 24 hours.
“Clearly there is anger over the alleged treatment of this boy, and the growth of this campaign is quite remarkable,” said Benjamin Joffe-Walt, director of communications for Change.org, the world’s fastest growing online campaigns platform. “Armed with only a laptop and without any funding or support, an autistic 18-year-old has recruited some 10,000 supporters in less than 24 hours, with dozens joining every minute.”

There is no doubt that teachers and aides that work with students with autism spectrum disorders need training (Click HERE to learn about the program at Alliant Universtiy, and HERE to learn about the program at Dominican University.)

Working with students with autism can be confounding and exhausting, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Thanks to petitions like Lydia’s, more teachers and aides will be better equipped to work meaningfully with our kids and reap those rewards.

To learn more about Change.org, CLICK HERE.To sign Lydia’s petition, CLICK HERE.To learn about Landon Bryce and ThAutcast, CLICK HERE.Need to explain autism to someone? CLICK HERE for a primer.