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Working with aggressive Autistic Children
We have a few high aggressive children in our classroom. I just found out I was pregnant 2 weeks ago. I got my hair grabbed by this student that I was not even working with last Thursday.. Very hard with both of his hands. He pulled me out of my chair and I dropped to the ground. I just kept putting my hands on top of his so he could not pull, but it was still very painful. I was also trying to block my stomach as I have seen him kick while doing the pulling. I was in tears and very scared and finally some other Teachers came over to help me out. But only one of them came over and asked if I was ok and made sure my head was not bleeding. I really do not feel comfortable being around this student with me being pregnant. It was very stressful for me and I am pretty scared to be honest. I do not even feel comfortable being around him with his behaviors and the fact that I am pregnant. Luckily he did not kick me or anything, but I just do not want to be put in that same situation. The problem is I have asked for a transfer and my boss has not gotten back to me. Should I go above him and send the request to a higher up person. Last year this student broke another teachers back as he flipped her over a table. I am very afraid for my baby. Is there any laws that protect my saftey and the well being of the baby?
Re: Working with aggressive Autistic Children
Have you told your boss you're pregnant? I know I didn't want to tell my principal I was pregnant until 12 weeks, but in this case I think I would tell her right away. You have every reason to be concerned about your baby's well-being given this child's past and recent behavior.
I am not sure about laws, but I hope your work place would have policies to protect you. May I ask what type of setting you work with this child in? Is it a public school or a private center?
Politics in the work place suck, and if not handled correctly can bite you in the a$$. So, before you go over your boss's head, take a breathe. Is there another teacher (maybe one who was pregnant while working there) you can confide in and ask for advice? They may be able to give you a better answer than we can in this certain situation. Also, go back to your boss and ask him again/check on the status of your request. Maybe in the past 2 weeks since you have talked with him, he's working to get you a transfer. Also, until your transfer comes though, ask to have an aid at all times with you in this class room to help prevent another attack. Or, is there a way to transfer this kid to another teacher?
GL - keep us posted on what happens. And congrats on your pregnancy!
So this gets even better. This morning at 8:30 I got bit, for the THIRD time in a month by this student and it broke the skin, so I had to go to the urgent care. About 30 mins after I got bit my boss responds saying this below. My OBGYN has now written a letter expressing the need to be in a classroom with non aggressive children due to me being pregnant. I informed my boss of this as well.
"I understand your concerns for the safety of yourself and your baby. It sounds like you were involved in a pretty stressful situation. At times it can be difficult and unexpected to have to deal with some of the aggressive behaviors that are demonstrated in the classroom. My first question is: Are you aware of any behavior plan/guidelines in place for **** behaviors? I know that the teacher had something in place last year. I would check with her if you are not aware of any current plan. This may help when trying to prevent or intervene with his aggressive behaviors. If everyone is not aware of the plans/ guidelines that are in place, individuals may not be consistent in responding to specific behaviors which could explain your observation of a recent increase in problem behavior. My second question is: Have you expressed your concerns to *****? If ***** is aware that you do not feel comfortable dealing with the students behaviors, she may be able to make adjustments to the schedule so that you are never alone with him, she may do some more training with you and the student or she may have another solution. I suggest that you talk to *****about your concerns. I will also bring your concerns to *****. Please let me know if you continue to feel uncofortable dealing with specific situations so that we can address your concerns."