Joan Naydich, the former teacher’s aide at Matanzas High School, described how Brendan Depa destroyed her life at 10 o’clock that Tuesday morning in 2023, when the then-17-year-old special education student rushed her as she was leaving his classroom–after he spat on her–knocked her unconscious and pummeled her, all on video.
“This whole affair has, through Brendan Depa’s action on that day, has caused me to lose a job that I had for almost 19 years, lost my financial security, lost my health insurance, lost the ability to take care of myself like I used to,” Naydich said. “I lost my ability to continue school–like everything was taken away from me that morning. At 10 o’clock that morning, everything was taken away from me.”
Depa looked at her from across the room, a forefinger pressed against the bridge of his broken glasses, to keep them in place. They used to be in the same classroom every day for months when Naydich was Depa’s teacher’s aide. Today was the first time the two were in the same room again since that February day in 2023. A courtroom.
Naydich was on the witness stand. Depa was at the defendant’s table. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins was listening and taking his usual reams of notes, preparing for Depa’s sentence. Depa was charged as an adult with a first degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. He won’t get close to that, but Perkins will decide how much prison time, if any, Depa is to serve.
He did not pronounce sentence today. The case is complicated. The prosecution alone got to make its case. The defense has a case just as long. The sentencing hearing started in early afternoon and was adjourned at 5 p.m., to be resumed later this month.
But the afternoon’s testimonies filled in substantial details about what had happened that day at Matanzas, on several levels: What happened on the most immediate and physical level to Naydich; what had taken place leading up to the attack that morning and since; and what had not happened, on the school’s part–what the school had not done to better inform and prepare Naydich about Depa’s case before it got to that point. In essence, Naydich was expected to be Depa’s assigned special education aide in what amounted to a black hole of information regarding his special needs.
Naydich revealed all that after describing that morning in detail.
Naydich had been working as a paraprofessional for about a year and a half, after 17 years as what she called “a lunch lady.” She changed jobs because of something she’d always told her children: “use your mind for a job, not your body,” she said. “After 17 years of being a lunch lady, as much as I loved it, it’s just a very hard job.” She wanted to do something different. She was also working toward her associate’s degree for 15 months at the time of the attack.
She described the self-contained room where she was assigned to Depa: students with behavioral issues did everything, including lunch, in that classroom. There were between three and five students in the room, with just Naydich, a teacher and another paraprofessional as staffers. Depa daily got to leave the self-contained class to take a cybersecurity class elsewhere, with Naydich.
There was a substitute in the cybersecurity class that day, a change of routine for Depa, who is autistic. While the substitute was taking attendance he had taken out his electronic game. The substitute looked to Naydich, asking for the game to be put away. Naydich asked Depa to do so. He did. “That day was not the first day that they had an issue with it, it was just a culmination of issues with it,” Naydich said.
Depa brought the game out a second time. She again asked him to pack it up along with all his belongings as the class was about over. They were to return to the self-contained classroom. He complied. As soon as they got into the classroom, his teacher, Barbara Buchanan, asked what was going on with the game, telling him he couldn’t take it out.
“He became riled, angry, upset,” Naydich said. Naydich did not say anything to him, or take the game. But Depa felt she was taking the teacher’s side. Naydich remembers him screaming obscenities at her (at Naydich), “one name after the other.”
That’s when Naydich grabbed her stuff, threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked toward the door to leave the room. He ran after her. She turned around. He spat at her. “Well, that’s an assault,” she told him. She doesn’t remember if he retreated. Her last memory was putting her hand on the doorknob. “The rest is on video,” she said.
Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark showed three videos of the attack, including one showing Depa running out of the classroom as he charged Naydich, and the one that was disseminated around the world, showing him brutalizing her.
She had five broken ribs, she said, three of them broken in two places. She said she also had a concussion, hearing and vision loss, vestibular problems, rotator cuff issues and a herniated disc.
She’d had breast cancer in 2017, when she was treated for radiation, and was already being treated for considerable hearing loss in both ears. That has worsened since the attack. She’s had headaches and dizziness–which persist to this day–and memory loss following the concussion, down to remembering how to use a knife or remembering where silverware was in her own house. “I had lots of issues to relearn what came naturally to me,” she said. She had to stop her college classes, having trouble concentrating and comprehending.
There’s been psychological issues: “Anger. I’m just not the same person I was,” Naydich said. She’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by crowds: “People behind me. Anxiety kicks in, my heart rate goes up, I get headaches from it,” she said. She had daily panic attacks, and has been seeing a therapist.
Clark held up pictures of Naydich’s injuries, as if she were showing them to a jury. She was showing them to Naydich, who said she could not recall some of the pictures being taken–only those taken of her when she went to the Sheriff’s Office the day after the attack.
She went back to work. She assigned to much younger children. That didn’t last. She did not specify what specifically led to her leaving the job, but described how she continues to see doctors on a regular basis, as she has since the attack–physical therapy, neurologists, orthopedists, testing at the Mayor Clinic.
Clark asked her what she would suggest regarding the sentencing.
“I think that Brendan should pay for what he did,” she said. “There are consequences in life to bad actions, bad choices. He made the choice that day to come after me.” She said she hoped the judge would adhere to the sentencing guidelines and “not give into pressure of any sort, that could be any external pressure.”
If details of the attack had not lost a sense of shock in the intervening months, the details about the context of the attack that Kurt Teifke, Depa’s attorney, elicited from Naydich were a shock of their own, if of a different nature. Naydich’s testimony indicated to what extent teacher’s aides are kept in the dark regarding the behavioral background and requirements of students they are assigned to.
Teifke asked her about her role in the classroom, and whether she’d agree that the more she was aware of a student’s issues, the more information about the students she would need to have. “I was not informed about anything,” Naydich said.
“Whose responsibility is it to inform you?” he asked.
“I am not so sure,” she said. The teacher, Naydich thought, would have to have informed her, in so far as she was allowed to know it.
“Isn’t it very important for you to know that about a student? I mean, are you at the mercy of a teacher as far as what you should be allowed to know?” Teifke asked.
“It would appear to be so,” Naydich said. She twice referred to “the real world,” suggesting that ideals and reality did not match up that day, or in the run-up to that day: she was not made aware of Depa’s disabilities or the limitations caused by the disability.
In sum, Teifke established that Naydich would have liked to have been aware of the complex information about Depa.
“No, I did not have this information,” she said. She was aware of Depa’s Individual Education Plan, which laid out what can be simplistically called the do’s and don’ts of his education at Matanzas. She was not provided the plan. “I was under the presumption that being a para, I was not–I didn’t have readily access, like that access was not readily available to me.”
She was not aware that Depa’s behavioral issue should not be discussed in front of others, that he should not be corrected, reprimanded or redirected in the presence of his peers–all occurrences that happened before the attack.
“I was unaware of that,” she said. She was not aware of the fact that as a strategy, she was to empathize with him when he would get worked up–or even that transitioning from one class to another could be a trigger. “I was not aware of that,” she said again.
Hunger was a common trigger, too, Teifke said. “Was it in the behavior plan, did they let you know that?” he asked. She was not told. He had told her that there was no food at his group home the night before. He wanted food as soon as he arrived the morning of the attack. Naydich told him to sit and wait, as by regulations.
“We could if’s all day long. He did comply and there were no issues until 10 o’clock in the morning,” Naydich said.
He asked her if she had been made aware that discipline surrounding electronics “was a known trigger” for Depa.
“I was not informed of that,” Naydich said.
Tim says
Lock him up. Future career criminal.
Laurel says
Well that was really thought out, wasn’t it Tim? Do you work for the Flagler County School system?
Jim says
Depa will probably get some jail time. Society demands it.
Joan Naydich apparently does not work in the school system any more. So, it looks like she was plucked from the lunch lady job and made an aide to autistic kids with perhaps no training and definitely without information as to how to handle Depa and what trigger points to be aware.
The only thing coming out of this unscathed as far as I can see if the school and school system. The student was failed by the school in not providing the aide the proper methods and procedures for handling his issues even though you’d think she was placed there to do exactly that. The aide has serious post-incident issues and it appears she isn’t getting any support from the very school system that put her in this situation in the first place.
This is one of the major problems with our society now. The systems that are supposed to handle situations like this fail – and not because they don’t have the resources nor the knowledge of what needs to be done – but because the leadership of the system fails to do their job and then just walks away without a rebuke of any kind.
Joan Naydich was a victim of the school and she deserves justice from them as much as from the court system – in fact, even more so. I hope she has a lawyer and sues them. This is incompetence and mis-management that should not go uncorrected. I wish her the best.
MeToo! says
Jim, I have said this all along. Flagler County School System employees should be held liable for NOT doing their job. So sad for her and for DEPA. I’m praying for this case.
Anthony Garrett says
I hope this woman sues not only the school district but superintendent if they have one for the schools because her safety should have been taken care of or that boy or man should not have been in that class with only 1 teacher & 1 aid it should of been another aid & a man at that
Dennis C Rathsam says
God Bless you Joan, Your courage & spirt will live on….Its unfortunate you had to suffer the beating from this mentally challenged young man! He had no business to be in class with normal kids! The failure of the Board of Ed is paramont. I hope you have a good lawyer!
MeToo! says
He wasn’t in the room with “normal” kids.
She described the self-contained room where she was assigned to Depa: students with behavioral issues did everything, including lunch, in that classroom. There were between three and five students in the room, with just Naydich, a teacher and another paraprofessional as staffers. Depa daily got to leave the self-contained class to take a cybersecurity class elsewhere, with Naydich.
What is normal?
The dude says
Jesus… add “reading comprehension” the list of MAGA deficiencies.
Maybe if the Flagler County Schools board had spent a teeny tiny amount of time on doing what they were actually elected to do, instead of endlessly waging culture wars, maybe this would not have happened.
I’m sorry for what happened to her, and him. I’m also sorry that McDonald, Woolbright, et al… will all walk away with no consequences for their abject and willful incompetency.
K says
So the district just sends these low paid paraprofessionals into classrooms with zero information about their charges? And they are made to feel that it’s not their business to ask questions? What kind of culture is this? How can any student feel safe, secure, or thrive in such an environment?
Jared says
“no I was not aware of all these things that were necessary for me to know in order to properly do my job, and even though this child’s mind prevents him from being able to fully control his emotions/actions I believe he should pay for what he did.” Maybe she should have used her mind for her job a little bit more
Bill Boots says
Jared,
Only a Fool would make your statement on public media, back under the rock!
Deirdre says
I’m so glad to finally hear what happened from the professional’s point of view, her injuries were way worse than have been reported before.
The one thing no one can argue about is she was victimized by the assault, I’m so sorry about the additional ongoing suffering she’s dealing with.
Regardless of what happens with Brendan, she has my sympathy for what is a very complicated situation, I hope it is resolved through the courts soon for everyone’s sake.
Duncan says
Special needs children are special needs for a reason! It’s shameful that there is not a formal briefing between the aid professionals at Matanzas High School before an aid is in direct contact with any special needs student. I would think that would be standard and even mandatory to keep both the aid and student safe. Reviewing a student’s IEP is not enough!
Knowing a little about autism, Ms. Naydich behavior, especially what seemed by a toned-down description of someone storming out of the classroom, is a clear indication that she did not have the training to cope with a teen on the autistic spectrum.
What happened is horrible, I remember watching the video when it was first reported. It was horrific, however, I was expecting a little sympathy from Ms. Naydich, since she seems to agree that she triggered his bad behavior, albeit unknowingly.
There are two victims here and the school should be held to account.
Concerned Citizen says
I get it that Autism is a mental health disorder. And that we are supposed to make sure their needs are met. I get it that there are ways they are supposed to be managed. But there was enough blame on failure to go around before Naydich was assaulted.
Depa is an individual that should have never been put in that school. Please keep in mind he had a violent past before coming to Matanzas And his parents were aware of it. They knew he performed better in a different setting. Yet insisted on change. The school knew he was going to have issues. And failed to do what was right.
I’m pretty sure Ms. Naydich did not go to work that day and say “what can I do to get beat within an inch of my life” Yet you all want to give this guy a pass. Because he got angry over being told no game in class. He didn’t just get angry. He was going to kill this woman if others hadn’t intervened. All over being told no. But hey he has a disorder so it’s OK right?
I’ve already pissed off people writing this. So I’ll close with this.
Yes individuals with special needs have the right to live productive lives. They don’t have the right to hurt or kill people. And you know what those of us without disorders have the right to a productive life without living in fear of triggering. And getting murdered.
MeToo! says
I wonder why any student can take games to school? Is that a learning technique? I get that his schooling may be different from fellow students, but if this could be a trigger why was he permitted to have one at school?
This is the fault of Flager Co School System. Yes, he is a fault and the school system did not make him attack her but they did not due their due diligence to prevent triggers which has resulted in this incident.
No Political Affiliation says
Bingo. Does any sane person believe that an untrained 59 year old, 100 something pound person, who recently survived cancer… can physically stop a 6’6, 270 pound teenager with severe anger issues? Someone dropped the ball, HARD.
Who assigned that clearly unprepared paraprofessional to that roll in that classroom? The school did. Period. It’s red flags across the board.
DMFinFlorida says
@ Concerned Citizen … nailed it.
Reading a couple of these comments makes me wonder if those criticizing Ms. Naydich have ever worked in any classroom, let alone special needs. Proper training is paramount and the school district apparently failed her miserably. If that is the case, I hope she is granted a large settlement. If the district hired her, they should bear the responsibility of making sure she was adequately trained and FULLY aware of the situation they were about to assign her to.
K says
Autism is not a mental disorder. It’s a developmental disorder. And Brendan was not in the custody of his parents when this happened. He was turned over to a group home by DCF when they claimed it could better serve his needs. The parents had absolutely no control over this situation. The state of Florida did and Flagler schools did.
It is not Brendan’s fault that he was born with a developmental disorder or that he ended up at a school that was ill suited to accommodate his needs. Mrs Naydich at least had autonomy over her choices. I wish her well but she needs to understand that Brendan is as much of a victim as she is. Her anger is grossly displaced.
Doogie says
“Could ifs all day long” This lady wants empathy but is totally missing the point. If he’s liable so is she.
She thought spitting was assault? l guess she figured out real quick what assault was. She wants him to pay, what does she think he’s been doing the past year? She wasn’t equipped to deal with him and he wasn’t equipped to be in that atmosphere. I want someone to track down the infamous footage of the sixteen year-old white male Matanzas student going straight UFC style on the now retired resource officer. First he’s caught on camera beating the snot out of a fellow student then proceeds to drop the cop wih a headbutt, had him all fetaled up whailing on him, nearly knocked him out. Dude got arrested, never heard anything else again. Craziest thing, is that same cop had a rep for years harassing minority teens in town over nothing. White kid nearly kills him and suddenly he’s as harmless as Barney Fife. Brendan Depa needs special, supervised help. All these hypocrites that want to see his head roll are able to do so because they can’t relate to him as human being not because of what he did but because of their own coping mechanisms of superiority and how THEY see justice just like their Jan 6th compatriots.
Jack says
The victim is at fault and liable? You are way off sir and clearly have not been in a high school for a long time. Did you see she was removing herself from the situation? She was walking out of the room ? What does he being liable have anything to do with her being “liable”? Please check the statutes- yes , spitting on someone is assault.
Doogie says
She’s liable because she triggered him and then scurried away. Of course spitting is assault! However spitting didn’t knock her out. Deal with your little Johnny school shooters, racists cops and your capital patriots then cone back and talk about justice. Brendan Depa is nothing but a polit al football for you people. Like l said, lets see the national attention the sane white kid got for doing worse?
Watch how fast she files a lawsuit against the school AFTER Bredan is sentenced. Right now its all his fault. We’ll see.
MeToo! says
I couldn’t have said it better. I’m glad to read that everyone isn’t blind here.
Atwp says
Wrong is wrong. Don’t like what he did. A similar event happened recently with a white young woman. Did she go to jail? Did she get any punishment?
Concerned Citizen says
Yes. Spitting is an asaault. Certain diseases can be transmitted by saliva. I am a retired FF/EMT. Had hostile patients want to try and spit all the time. Why do you think people do it. Would you want to be spit on?
Skibum says
Doogie, YES, spitting on someone definitely is a crime. It is actually battery, not assault.
Doogie says
You guys are nuts to believe l don’t know spitting is assault. It’s assault on paper. Like l stated before him spitting at her didn’t know her out. Don’t tell me about the system. You people have no clue.
Anne Smith says
I’m no Lawyer, but if this young man,(18). Was not put in a situation that he was in, and if they had Professional or skilled people that were trained to handle, Special Needs. This situation would not have happened. As I was always placed with teachers aides also. Teachers need to be able to pay more attention to those left behind. Let the teachers aides, work with the advanced students. Less bullying also.
Mary Smith says
This young man, was confused when they took something from him. As for the Teachers ‘ aide doing this, it was not her responsibility. The Teacher is in charge. Yes it was wrong for the young man to attack. He did not understand the situation. All he knew was something was taken from him. Why was he this class ? Everyone goes into defense mode when confronted and confused.
Jack says
The aide did not take it away from him. SHe was clear when she explained what happened.
The Sour Kraut says
Glad the victim has not been completely forgotten. More evidence the entire system is broken.
Brian says
I think that FlaglerLive has done a good and thorough job of laying out all aspects of this sad situation. The fact is, in my opinion, this is a dangerous individual, yes, a “ticking time bomb” (as he has been described). He needs to be removed from society before he snaps again and kills somebody, or ruins someone elses life, like he has Ms. Naydichs. I hope that Judge Perkins sentences him to prison, where just maybe he will learn that there are consequences for ones actions.
MeToo! says
You need to watch The Green Mile again or maybe you didn’t mean a jail type setting.
dave says
He needs jail and I don’t care what institution he goes to. And this lady a teachers aid, was just doing the job she was hired to do and almost paid for it with her life. Get a good lawyer and reap tons of money from Flagler County School system. They failed this teacher.
Mothersworry says
Have to make one point real clear.
The school dept. is obligated to provide a safe working environment for it’s employees. Was it safe?
The child is entitled to an education based on his/her abilities. Obviously based on his actions and lack of control the school, failed to do it’s job in recognizing the limits of his abilities..
I fail to understand how the aide is at all to blame in any of this.
John says
Why wasn’t this special needs child placed in a special needs class? Once again the Flagler County School Board has failed everyone as usual.
Our School Board is a JOKE says
The school board has more than a few idiots on it with no clue what education is – 3 out of 5 have no education training or experience. Chong, Hunt, and Furry. So there you go – they are in charge of the district – not surprised this happened under their ‘super’vision. Anything that happens in FCS is a direct reflection on their ‘leader’ship. I don’t see where that online nursing degree is helping anyone. ;)
Lol says
“Self contained” class as stated is a special needs class.
Ed P says
Please try to understand that some special needs individuals do not process things “normally”. They may not have the ability to control or ability to rationalize or even understand why they do things. Brendan may not, even, as of today, been properly diagnosed. I can factually state that in a liberal state (Connecticut) my family spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, brought law suits, and moved to different school districts before my grandson Sebastian was properly diagnosed and put on the right track. Multiple experts were just plain wrong. School administrators were clueless.
For the first 8 years of his life, the experts “thought” he was a troubled youth and kept him with similar children. Sebastian barely spoke. I hold a special bond with him. At one point I was the only voice he respected. Once my son and I set our sights on what ever it took, progress was made. Sebastian graduated high school without incident ( had a full time aide while in school). Today he bags groceries at Shop Rite supermarket and is flourishing. He is the unofficial mayor of Southbury Ct. He knows almost everyone by first name. On the surface he looks normal, but even today at 23 after hundreds of hours of trying, he can’t comprehend how to tie shoes. Wears slip ons. Can’t whistle or snap his fingers but he’s a social butterfly. Kind and loving, not a troubled person.
Brendan needs a correct diagnosis, therapy, and even maybe medication. Was Brendan afforded the same opportunities my grandson was, I suspect not because you can not expect the system to get it right by themselves. It was expensive and agonizing.
I am not justifying Brendan’s actions but it’s nauseating to read those of you who feel any child’s life if not redeemable and that he needs to be locked up. Maybe he does but maybe, just maybe, he is a confused and tormented child inside a 270 lb man looking body. I’m not an expert and I am not disparaging or criticizing those who keep posting negatively because you haven’t had the privilege of interacting with a Sebastian or Brendan.
Ray W. says
Thank you, Ed P.
Mothersworry says
My point is the child at 270 pounds is not at the stage of his development where he is able to interact with others. So should others be put in a position where this child loses control and beats another causing injuries? The aide could have been easily killed if others didn’t intervene. This child needs more help than what he is receiving.
Skibum says
As the disturbing facts are coming out showing just how disjointed and faulty the process was when placing Depa in a classroom environment given his many “triggers”, it is even more disturbing to me that the school staff who were assigned to work closest with and to him were left completely in the dark regarding those specific behavioral triggers, warning signs and documented (somewhere) guidelines of what to do and what NOT to do in order to avoid outbursts and potential violence from him. In my opinion, it was completely irresponsible to even decide on such an educational plan that might, and actually did put, not only Depa, but other students as well as the staff assigned to him in a situation where the adults who made that decision could NOT guarantee the safety of anyone in that classroom. Let’s review some of the more outrageous failures that led up to the very serious assault on the teacher’s aide:
• Depa’s guardians who know him best and knew his history of behavior issues and past violence allowed school administrators to make an untenable educational plan that from all appearances was NOT in his best interest due to his known behavioral triggers.
• School administrators appear to have taken the approach that they were just going to whip up some half-baked, impromptu plan using whatever staff were available on a given day in that special learning classroom environment.
• The school apparently for whatever idiotic reasoning failed to properly and fully bring those who were supposed to monitor Depa up to speed with his complete behavioral history, his known triggers that might result in outbursts or violence, and how the teaching staff should respond to his behavior keeping safety of everyone as the top priority, despite having that documented information at the school. Why were they hiding it from those who had a need, and a right to know that critical information?
There are many autistic students who do fit into a structured classroom environment with other students. From the information given in Depa’s sentencing hearing, it seems obvious and should have been apparent to those who made the poor decision to place him where they did that Depa was NOT one of those who would do well in such a classroom environment with several other students, especially in situations where he wanted to do his own thing and was known to act out if he didn’t get his way. Adults made a bad decision and as a result of their poor judgment there is one seriously injured assault victim, and I would also add that Depa himself is also a victim of the poor judgement and decisions of those same adults. There are a number of lessons to be learned. Parents and/or guardians of young people with learning disabilities and other behavioral issues need to do better and be very good advocates for their charges, not merely agreeing to untenable and inappropriate learning environments just because school staff want to pigeonhole someone into a program that is not a good fit for that individual. There are so many holes in the school administration’s educational plan for Depa that it seems more like Swiss cheese than an appropriate, well thought out and workable plan that would benefit him and his specific needs. Adults MUST learn from this debacle and do better in the future.
awreg says
Direct Service Professionals and Paraprofessionals have very different jobs. Whereas a DSP uses Applied Behavior Analytics while protecting personals freedoms/choice and a paraprofessional’s job is to give specific kids the best opportunity to succeed in an educational environment.
If you take an individual with autism AND a behavioral disorder and you berate them in front of his peers, it will end poorly every time.
You get into this knowing what the job is.
Jack says
“Berate”. no where did it say that Joan beratted this student. Stop sensationalizing the facts.
Skibum says
Thank you for your comment. One point, however needs clarification, and that pertains to what you said about berating an individual with autism and behavioral disorders. I didn’t see anything anywhere in the article that indicates the teacher’s aide or the teacher ever berated Depa. The teacher only told him he could not play with his electronic game in class, something that the school staff had to repeatedly tell him on several occasions, all of which he complied with and apparently didn’t become violent, until this latest incident when he started calling Nydach and his teacher obscene names. This is when the victim in this case picked up her backpack and without saying anything, headed for the door. Depa, according to the victim’s statement, got up and ran toward her, and spat toward her face. In that situation, it is certainly appropriate for a person to tell someone, autistic or not, that it is NOT okay to spit at them. Maybe that was another “trigger” for him, but if it was, it is just another indication that it was not an appropriate decision for the state and the school district to put him in that type of learning environment with other students. In any case, his behavior is on him, and the victim who received serious injuries due to his assaultive behavior is not at fault for what happened to her, especially when the school district had documents pertaining to his history and behavior triggers and failed to share them with the teacher’s aide who was assigned to him. That is, in my opinion, pure negligence.
awg says
the deescalation for being spat on is to limit eye contact and increase distance.
When it comes to the defense’s turn, and it will. They will go over his side of things. Like how he was treated in the classroom.
Personal opinion came into play cause guess what my job is:) LOL
[email protected] says
Lock him up. Special needs or not, you commited battery and caused significant injuries.
Laurel says
Her credentials for working with a severely autistic child was serving corn and collecting dishes.
Lunch lady. Are y’all serious? Wow, good thinking, Flagler County! BTW, how’s that clever school board coming along? Go back to school, please…a REAL school.
ASF says
Get ready for more of the saem and worse. I heard a report last night that placed Florida next to last (after West Virginia) in teacher compensation.
Mountain Momma - Take Me Home says
You could not be more right. From the article: “New data released today shows Florida’s average teacher pay dropped from being ranked #48 in the nation last year to #50 (out of the 50 states and D.C., only West Virginia ranks lower) in the nation this year.”
DUHsantis – there you go!
Ritchie says
This case touches me very deep.
I have an autistic son. He is super smart. He graduated from high school in Orlando and enrolled in college. He was moving smoothly until one day he gets quietly angry at home about something and was standing next to his loving, saintly, really saintly, grandmother. He pushed her out of her seat to the floor and broke her hip.
The ambulance get called, and eventually the sheriff folks, and the boy gets in trouble. UCF gets notified and the young man is no longer able to continue his education.
A huge loss.
I wish I had a solution for him as he still, about ten years later, refuses to pursue some education.
I think of this young man who hurt the lady subject of this article.
I would treat him kindly as he ‘didn’t know what he was doing.’
William Stonehocker says
I have autism, and what was your son angry about that caused his grandmother to break her hip? In all fairness, I kind of feel sorry for her.