West Plains, MO: Teachers/aides charged with abusing autistic child

Oct 14, 2022, Springfield [MO] News-Leader: Lawsuit says teachers and aides at MO state school hit, kicked nonverbal child with autism https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/education/2022/10/14/lawsuit-mo-teachers-allegedly-hit-kick-nonverbal-child-with-autism/69563436007/

Criminal charges have been filed against four of employees of the Ozark Horizon State School in West Plains.

Missouri parents have filed a lawsuit alleging their 13-year-old child, who has autism and cannot speak, was repeatedly assaulted by teachers and staff at the Ozark Horizon State School.

The civil lawsuit, originally filed in Howell County, was moved this week to the federal court in Springfield.

The parents allege at least four employees assaulted their son in March 2022 and some of the incidents were reportedly caught on video.

The alleged abuse included kicking and shoving the boy, striking the boy's head against a wall, hitting him in the face with a pillow, striking the boy hard enough to knock him out of his seat, yelling at the boy just inches from his ear and pulling his hair multiple times while saying "Yeah? That hurts a little, doesn't it?"

Several employees also forcefully pinned the child by his head, neck and chest to a desk, the suit said.

The parents also allege in the suit that other employees witnessed the incidents or were aware of them and failed to stop the abuse or report the abuse to any appropriate law enforcement or child protective agency.

Attorney Dayrell Scrivner, who represents the parents, said they were motivated to file the lawsuit to make the public aware of the situation and "get changes made."

The boy, who has been diagnosed with severe developmental disabilities, was not able to speak, object to the abuse or report the abuse. He had attended the state school for "at least a couple years," Scrivner said.

The parents said in the suit that they were not told about the abuse. Instead, they said they were told by employees that their child had "destroyed" a classroom and needed to be removed from the school.

They were also told that even in-home educational services for their child were to be halted for the "safety of the school employees."

According to the suit, the boy was not violent and it was employees at the state school who threw items on the floor and overturned furniture to stage the classroom they allege the boy had "destroyed."

The parents met with law enforcement and were able to view video from the school showing the assaults, the suit said. They asked that charges be pursued against the employees.

"They were called to remove him from the school. That is how they found out there were problems," Scrivner said. "They had been told it was him. It wasn't until later that the police saw the video ... that they were even aware that there was another side to it."…

In response to a request, DESE, which oversees the state schools, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation….