Our disabled daughter was neglected by her teacher, and no one told us until it was too late. Our daughter is non-verbal, wheelchair-bound, and fully aware of everything around her. She’s always gone to school because we wanted her to have friends, stimulation, and as normal a life as possible. One year, she suddenly became withdrawn and depressed. We checked the school several times, and every time she looked fine: with other kids, doing activities, or outside during recess. We assumed the problem was medical or emotional. When summer came, she bounced back. We had no idea why.
Then, while shopping for supplies for the new school year, we ran into the teacher’s aide from last year. After we talked for a few minutes, she became upset, and said that she needed to tell something She said she couldn’t live with herself if she stayed quiet. Our daughter had been left in the corner of the classroom all day, wheelchair brakes locked so she couldn’t move. She wasn’t allowed to join the other kids for art, music, or group work.
During recess she was pushed outside only sometimes, and when she was, she was left alone by the wall. The teacher hid all of this from us. Whenever she saw us coming, she rushed our daughter into the middle of whatever activity was happening to make it look like she was being included. The aide was emotional while telling us.
I stood there shaking with rage. My daughter was abused right in front of us, and we never saw it. We immediately transferred her to a new school, and I told the entire administration exactly what had happened. I told them plainly that if anything like this ever happened again, I would sue the district and every individual responsible.
Our daughter’s new teacher had tears in her eyes as I explained what had been done. She promised to protect and include our daughter every day, and she kept her word. She’s still a friend to us to this day. What still haunts me is this: If I hadn’t had resources, connections, and a loud enough voice, the system would have buried this.
Families without resources get steamrolled. It happens every day. And it nearly happened to us.
