Parents Outraged Over Treatment of Autistic Son at New York School

The parents of an eight-year-old nonverbal autistic boy in upstate New York are angry after learning that a “boxy wooden dog cage” was allegedly used to manage him during class.

Rhonda Garrow, a 37-year-old mother of four from Franklin County, filed a notice of claim against the Salmon River Central School District on Thursday, signaling her intention to sue over the treatment of her disabled son. She seeks compensation and aims to prevent other children from enduring similar treatment.

“I feel betrayed,” Garrow expressed in a conversation on Thursday. “They exploited his disability, taking advantage of the fact that he can’t defend himself. The only way he knows how to react is through screams or tears, or by trying to escape. I think that’s why they put him in that box and closed the door.”

Garrow and the boy’s father, Jacob Sunday, assert that their son, referred to as MJS, began attending Salmon River Elementary School on December 12. It was just his second day in class when a former school board member exposed the situation on Facebook.

“This is terrible,” stated former board member Chrissy Jacobs in a post on December 15. “This is supposed to be a school for our beloved children, not a prison.”

She highlighted that the situation is particularly troubling given that approximately 60% of the district’s students, including Garrow’s son, are Native American, whose ancestors were once forced into harsh boarding schools.

According to Jacobs, there are at least three similar boxes being used in the district.

Garrow was caught off guard by the revelation. “My first thought was, ‘Oh, that’s crazy,’” she recalled. “I was hoping my son wasn’t there, but then someone told me they thought it was for him.”

“I felt sick to my stomach,” Garrow reflected. “I was out shopping for Christmas, my cart filled. When I got to my car to pay, I just broke down. I don’t even know what I was feeling; I just had to get out of there.”

Her lawyer, Greg Rinkey, commented that he had never encountered anything like this in his 28 years of legal practice.

“I was an Army attorney, and if a commander had told me a prisoner of war would be placed in a box like this, I’d say we can’t do that. It violates the Geneva Conventions,” Rinkey noted. “Putting an eight-year-old in a crate is simply outrageous, as if a janitor built it out of plywood.”

Officials from the Salmon River Central School District did not respond to inquiries for comment.

Following the uproar, School Board President Jason Brockway publicly apologized online and assured that parents would be kept informed while investigations by local law enforcement and the state Department of Education would take place.

The district announced on Thursday that the superintendent had been fired and a new acting school principal appointed during the Board of Education meeting the previous day.

However, Garrow feels it’s too little, too late. “I don’t believe it’s enough. It’s like a Band-Aid,” she remarked. “Just appearing to take action doesn’t resolve anything.”