A Long Island mother spoke out after learning that the so-called “time-out rooms” her special needs son was sent to at school looked a lot like prisons. He said that he felt “I was disappointed.”
Because of behavioral issues, Nicole Miller's 10-year-old son, Cooper, was often taken to what he called “the room,” a time-out room at his former school, North Ridge Elementary School in Commack. He went.
Cooper wondered why he had to be sent to a de-escalation room, but his mother was even more perplexed when she saw a drawing of a creepy space with prison-like bars above the door..
“I had the impression they took him to another classroom, a sensory room. Maybe there was a bean bag.” she told NBC New York.
The school had warned Ms Miller that her son was “very badly behaved” and would need to use a room to self-regulate.
“They told me he was very well behaved. He would tear up papers, they were worried he was a danger to himself and other children.” she said. “They said he should stay in the room until he felt better and calmed down. I didn't know any better at the time. I listened to them.”
But one day, when she visited the school, Miller asked to see the time-out room and was horrified.
“It's a prison. It felt like a prison and I felt so betrayed by the system,” she said.
State law explains that time-out rooms should be used “only in situations where there is an immediate concern for the physical safety of a student or another person” or as a last resort. According to the law, children must also be supervised and doors cannot be locked.
Miller, who has since transferred Cooper to a school that does not use time-out rooms, said she believes excessive isolation exacerbated her son's behavioral problems.
“He used to have nightmares where he was inside the building and all the windows were boarded up and mom was outside and he couldn't get to mom.” she remembered. “I don't think it's that difficult to interpret the meaning of that dream. And it was happening again.”
She also said her son wonders why he was the only one chosen. “Mommy, why are they forcing me into my room?” Miller said he asked her.
Michael Wilson, director of the Educational Discipline and Justice Group, agreed, saying: “Segregation inherently makes the problem worse, leads children to the point where someone is trying to isolate them, and creates even more anxiety and traumatic stress.'' “It provokes a reaction.”
The Commack School District used the time-out room 199 times over an eight-month period, according to records obtained by NBC New York.
In a statement to the newspaper, the district defended the use of the rooms, writing that “these interventions are outlined in a behavior improvement plan developed by the team and discussed with parents.”
“If a student is in a space for an extended period of time, it is because we have requested that the student remain in that location and work with a known and trusted adult,” the district added.
The newspaper said it was not immediately clear how many school districts in New York state are using isolation rooms because reporting requirements only became law this school year.
