A sixth grade boy, who suffers from severe autism, was expelled from school for allegedly touching his classmate. Those who witnessed it said it was an accident: the boy fell as his partner passed and his hand grazed her. However, the girl cried uncontrollably and soon her parents went to school asking for action to be taken. The manager would suspend the 11-year-old boy for five days, with the obligation to attend, assisted by two support teachers, who would in turn cry at the punishment. Several local newspapers wrote about it. The boy’s parents asked the Disability Guarantor, Tiziana De Maria, and the former Child Guarantor, Angelo Fabio Costantino, to challenge the principal’s decision.
Parental opposition
The parents of an eleven-year-old child opposed the school’s actions: “I absolutely cannot justify my child’s actions – said the child’s mother – And I put myself in the position of the girl’s parents. I also have a daughter. But my child was humiliated and discriminated against. And tomorrow morning I will go to the prosecutor’s office and the police to report what happened to my child. We will oppose the actions of the principal and the school”.
School director
The school director convened an extraordinary council following a report from the girl’s parents. “The measure – which we read in the resolution – has an educational objective. In the spirit of strengthening students’ sense of responsibility and awareness to ensure the restoration of correct relationships within the school community. This disciplinary action, accompanied by the educational actions of teachers in collaboration with families, is expected to lead students to serious and constructive reflection.” However, the family believes that their son, given his condition, cannot understand the inappropriate nature of the act committed or the meaning and severity of the punishment: “My son is 11 years old but he thinks with the brain of a 3-year-old – explains the mother -. He even wears diapers. He doesn’t realize anything. My son has the third level of the autism spectrum. He is also hyperactive. He is humiliated and we parents are also humiliated”.
Guarantor
Childhood and disability guarantors, Giovanni Amante and Giacoma De Maria, asked the principal to lift the suspension, explaining that the eleven-year-old would make instinctive movements, consistent with autism spectrum disorder, completely devoid of sexual connotations. Amante and De Maria cited two decisions of the Court of Cassation, in 2020 and 2021, which excluded the criterion of intentionality in the behavior of those suffering from cognitive or neuropsychological disabilities. And they underline that MIUR guidelines stipulate that problematic behavior should be managed through personalized strategies and not through punitive measures.
