Inclusion Daily Express -- State Says School Improperly Restrained 3-Year-Old In Chair

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State Says School Improperly Restrained 3-Year-Old In Chair
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 2, 2008

RACINE, WISCONSIN--Hasmig Tempesta learned on December 22 that officials with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction agree with her: Her 3-year-old son Zachary, who has autism, was improperly restrained in a Rifton Toddler Chair at his school this fall.

DPI officials began investigating in October after Ms. Tempesta withdrew her son from the Early Childhood program at Red Apple Elementary School. She removed Zachary when an in-home autism specialist that visited his preschool classroom told Tempesta that teachers had strapped him in a Rifton chair for about 50 minutes.

The Rifton chair is only recommended to help children that have difficulty sitting up. It is not made to limit a child's ability to move.

Also, the practice was not included in Zachary's individualized education program, nor was it properly recorded or reported.

In its report, the department revealed that several schools in the Racine Unified School District had been using the Rifton chair in their special education programs.

"I already knew I was right, what I didn't realize was how widespread and severe the problems really were," Tempesta told the Racine Journal-Times.

The district says it has removed the chairs from rooms that do not have children who need them for positioning. School personnel have been directed not to use them for any reason other than for what they were intended.

Tempesta said she still does not plan to let her son return to a Racine Unified school any time soon.

"I felt disgusted, honestly. To me, it says (the Rifton chair) was used with children who can't tell," she said. "It makes me think, 'what else went on there?'"

Related:
"DPI: Unified teachers improperly restrained student with autism" (Racine Journal-Times)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/red/0102c.htm

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