A father’s plea for help

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Stuart Chaifetz is a single father in South Jersey.  His 10 year old son, Akian, has autism.  He recently became alarmed when his son came home from  school with notes from the school claiming his son was being violent in class.  Mr. Chaifetz said he didn’t quite understand how this could be happening when his son has never exhibited such behavior before.  Mr. Chaifetz spoke to therapists and social workers.  None of them could replica
te the behavior the teacher claimed Akian was exhibiting in class.

Frustrated and concerned, Mr. Chaifetz decided to outfit his son with a wire.  His son went to school that day and the entire day was recorded.  Stuart then proceeded to listen to the wire tapings.  On the tape, over six hours long, the teacher and the aide tell Akian to shut up and call him a bastard.  They mocked him and egged him on saying he couldn’t see his father.  They discussed how hungover one of them was and alluded to their sex lives.  They also spoke ill of the children’s parents.  It was a textbook display of unprofessionalism.  He sent a copy to the school.  According to the school district, the teachers’ aide has been fired and the teacher has been transferred from the school.

Unsatisfied with the results, Stuart took to YouTube, Facebook and Change.org to try to obtain his desired resolution.  The YouTube video has garned almost 3 million views.  The Change.org petition has gathered over 144,000 signatures.  The Facebook page has almost 33,000 likes.

I cannot imagine how he or his child must feel with regards to this situation.  My daughter is only 3, so she is not school age yet.  The only memory I have of a teacher making an offhand comment was in the first grade when I told my teacher that my parents’ wedding anniversary was on Halloween.  She thought it would be funny and say, “That explains why they had you.”  The entire class laughed at me.  My response was simple, “Well, I was the ring bearer at their wedding.”  The conversation ended there.

I may not completely agree with Mr. Chaifetz’s desired results, but I do believe there needs to be some change in the school system.  There are some amazing teachers out there, but there is always going to be a rotten apple to spoil the bunch.  I wish he and his son all the best.  And specifically to Mr. Chaifetz… You’re friggin’ awesome, dude.  Way to stand up for your son and demand the dignity and respect he deserves!

You can watch the entire video below:

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