PICTURES: Autistic boy (6) returns home bruised, parents want answers
"I wouldn't want this to happen to another child in the future," said the father.
A BLUFF couple say they want justice for their six-year-old son who returned home from school with a bite mark and bruises all over his body.
The parents of the autistic Grade 1 learner, whose names are known to the SUN but cannot be revealed for fear of victimisation, want answers from the school as they do not believe the version of events they’ve been given.
The parents allege the incident took place at St Raphael School in Montclair on Monday, 3 February after their son arrived home in tears.
“There is a stairway leading up to our house, before he could even get to the top of the stairs, he started crying and lifted his shirt up to show his mom the bruises on his body,” explained the boy’s father.
He said he went to the school with his son the following day to identify the culprit in his class and found none. The class teacher and principal both assured the father that children at the school are always under supervision and that the incident could not have happened there.
“The principal tried to suggest that he might have fallen off the jungle gym but once I showed her the bite marks on his shoulder, she had to admit that it was done by somebody and not the jungle gym and said she’d investigate.”
“Either the teachers are on WhatsApp or Facebook when they’re supposed to be watching the children, but it boils down to a lack of supervision. I told her that it is impossible for another Grade 1 learner to inflict that damage. A five or six-year-old does not have the power to hurt another person to that extent,” said the father.
He said he was advised to keep his son at home while the police investigate as the child’s safety cannot be gauranteed. By speaking out, they realised that this is an on-going issue of which most parents felt defeated and let down by the system as nothing came of their grievances.
“I want the school to be honest about what they know and to remove that person from the school because they are a threat.”
“I did not want to involve the media or the police in this matter, all I wanted the school to do was to admit what happened and organise a meeting between us and the culprit and give them a suitable punishment.”
“But since they’re denying everything, and having heard stories from other parents, I wouldn’t want this to happen to another child in the future. We are not only doing this for our child but for all children with disabilities who are being taken advantage of because they don’t have a voice.”
“People automatically want to take advantage of them because they can’t speak but what they don’t realise is that they can still communicate in other ways,” he said.
The police confirmed that the case was registered with Montclair SAPS and was transferred to the child protection unit at Brighton Beach SAPS and is currently under investigation.
KZN spokesperson for education Kwazi Mthethwa said the case is currently under investigation.
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