"As far as we know"

Last week, Ashley came home from summer school with significant bruises on both her knees. One knee was swollen and needed ice applied. These bruises joined the other scattered over her body. No note came home from summer school and no phone call was received explaining the bruises.

I sent a note in the next morning asking what had happened. The response came home in the afternoon - "Ashley is doing so well in school. She is a joy to have around, and we are so glad she is a part of the program this year. As far as we know, she didn't fall, so the bruises must come from playing on the playground equipment."

Ashley is supposed to have a full time aide by her side at all times. A seizure can happen at anytime, and her aide is supposed to be there to assist, not to mention the fact that Ashley needs a sign language interpreter at all times. Yet, "as far as they know", Ashley didn't fall???

Monday afternoon this week, Ashley came home from summer school with a bad abrasion on the inside of her right arm just above the crook of her elbow. It was about the size of an egg. No note accompanied her again. I washed it and applied antibiotic ointment. But this time, I did not send a note in the next morning.

The next day, near the end of the summer school day, I receive a phone call from Ashley's teacher telling me that Ashley's aide just reported that Ashley scraped her arm going down the slide on the playground. They took Ashley to the nurse who applied "neosporin and a bandage." I mentioned to the teacher that the injury had occured the day before and her response was, "Oh." No explanation, no apology, nothing.

I'm just hoping Ashley makes it to the end of the summer school session without breaking a bone, getting stiches, or putting out her one good eye...

Cameras Needed

The student is a 6th grader, and besides having autism, she had bruises on her arms and around her nose. Being non-verbal, the child couldn't tell anyone what happened to her, but that didn't matter - the school had cameras in the gym where the incident happened. And the incident happened because an instructional assistant assaulted the student.

Things like this just fuel my fears - fears over what happens to my child at school and on the bus - fears over what will happen when she is out of school, riding special transportation, and at a work site. These are the fears of my nightmares.

Although I am comfortable with Ashley's school environment now (she has the world's best teacher and we communicate daily), I do have major concerns about the bus transportation. And her school years in the past have been rough.

First there was the broken nose from falling up the school stairs when she was only 3 years old; then there was the split lip that required stitches that happened in the school hallway and 'nobody saw anything'; then there were the two broken front teeth that happened on the bus and "'we're so sorry, that camera wasn't working that day"; then the day she came home without her g-tube and "nothing happened here, we're sure of it" (until the next day when the g-tube was found on the playground); then the catscan that was needed because she tripped over a rug on top of carpet in the classroom and fractured her eye socket bone; then the cut to her head that required two staples caused by "Ashley did that to herself"; and then all the bruises to her arms and legs that look suspiciously like fingertips.

All schools need cameras in all classrooms and hallways and lunchrooms and offices and buses. Nothing short of that...

Not Buying What You're Selling

So, yesterday I told you about Ashley's hand injury - the mystery injury that I got no note or phone call about. I sent an email, and here was the response I got:

I am very sorry to hear of Ashley’s injuries. Thank for contacting me and alerting me of your observations and concerns.

I have conferred with her assistant, the classroom staff as well as the bus driver and bus aide. No one, including myself, witnessed any accidents nor did we notice Ashley crying to indicate that she was in pain or distress. Neither I, nor any of the above mentioned staff, noticed any bruises on Ashley prior to her leaving our care on Thursday afternoon.

I took look at right hand today and did not notice any swelling but did notice that one of her fingers had a dark mark/bruise near the fingernail. It appears to be an old bruise and must have occurred during the injury you are alerting us of. I saw no other indications of injury anywhere else on Ashley prior to her leaving the classroom today.

Ashley is under the constant supervision of her 1:1 assistant thorough out the school day. The classroom staff, as well as myself, are also on hand to assist her as needed. Please be assured that Ashley’s safety and well-being is of utmost importance to us all and we will continue to work very hard to insure that she is safe and appropriately attended to.

Please let me know if you have additional concerns or questions.

I still have no explanation for the mystery injury, but I guess I'm supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy knowing just how safe she is while at summer school. Tell me, would you feel all warm and fuzzy after reading that email????

(Oh, and btw, Miss Summer School teacher, I think that the word should be 'ensure' not 'insure' in your last full paragraph...unless of course you are writing an insurance policy for Ashley, which given the mystery injury, might not be a bad idea.)

No Note, No Call, Nothing

Last week was the first week of ESY/Summer School services for Ashley. I'm used to getting a call from the teacher the week before school starts so we can chat about what I feel the teacher needs to know about Ashley. I know that the teacher is sent a copy of Ashley's IEP, but that doesn't really define who Ashley is. This year, I got no call. So, the first day of school I sent in a document that listed what I felt were important points for the teacher to know and understand.

I expected to get something back that first day - maybe a note from the teacher introducing herself, maybe a list of supplies the teacher would like help with. But I got nothing. In fact, I got nothing until the last day of school last week, and that was a quickly handwritten note from the teacher asking for spoons and wipes, and of course, the same medical form that I am asked to fill out every single school year and ESY session.

But something else of significance happened that last day of school last week. Ashley came home with three fingers on her right hand very swollen and black and blue. No mention of that was included in the note from the teacher. (The picture above was taken just as Ashley got home from school. The swelling and bruising got much, much worse as the night went on...)

I know whatever happened didn't happen on the school bus that day. The summer school bus driver and aide are wonderful beyond belief. The would have mentioned anything that might have happened to Ashley. So, it had to happen during the school day.

And just to add to my concern, Ashley has a fulltime aide with her at summer school. No note from that person either???

The injury was pretty significant. I'm sure Ashley would have cried when it happened. It looked like she had shut her hand in a door or something similar. It was so tender to the touch that it was difficult for me to get a good look at it. And no one at school felt it was important to mention this to me?

I took pictures and sent an email to the teacher asking for an explanation. I haven't heard back from her yet, but expect to today. If I don't, I will make a personal visit tomorrow.

All this - no call from the teacher, the injury, little to no communication - does not bode well for this summer's ESY services...

How Did That Happen?

What do you do if your child comes home from school with bruises, scrapes or other injuries that they didn’t have when they left for school?

When my son without disabilities was in elementary, middle and high school, I would just ask him if he came home with injuries – and he would tell me what had happened.

But for my children with disabilities, it’s a different story.

Jessica, for instance, can relate a story, but often that is just all it is. It’s difficult for her to remember what happened an hour before my asking, much less earlier in the school day. And, if someone at school or on the bus tells her to stop being a baby, or that the injury is not a big deal, she will say nothing at all.

I also have a tough time getting an answer from Ashley. She’s so used to bruises from running into things, that I don’t think she thinks twice about it. But very often the bruises I see at the end of the school day are obviously not from running into things. And then there are the scrapes and sometimes even cuts that I never get a call or note about.

So what do you do if that happens to your child who can’t tell you what happened? Do you send a note to school the next day asking for an explanation? And what if no one owns up? If your child is supposed to have an aide by their side all day in school, do you accept the answer that no one knows how the injury happened? What recourse do we parents have?