Stop using isolation rooms: bipolar boy

A Moncton boy, who has been diagnosed as bipolar and has Asperger's syndrome, is adding his voice to a call to eliminate isolation rooms in New Brunswick schools.

Marc (not his real name) fears repercussions from the school system for speaking out. The 13-year-old says he has been placed in isolation many times during his eight years at school.

The Grade 8 student said he would kick, scream and bang his head against the glass in the isolation rooms, also known as time-out rooms.

"You can't just go and lock little kids in a room like that it's not fair for them," Marc said.

"If you keep them in there too long, well you know, they might start crying, 'Say please let me out, please let me out.' And then the adult's the one with all the control. The adult's the one with the key. The adult's the one with the power to say, 'No you're going stay in there' for how long."

The issue of isolation rooms being used in New Brunswick schools was raised this week when the grandmother of seven-year-old autistic boy said she was now teaching him at home after witnessing the time-out room, which she called a "little jail."

The child's parents initially agreed to allow their child's placement in the room. That changed when Claire LaBelle saw the isolation room.

'No mercy'

Marc takes 13 pills a day to control his behaviour but that hasn't always worked. When he acted out in school, he said teachers showed "no mercy" when dragging him into the isolation room by his arms and legs.

"Sure I used to get up and walk around class a bit but it is not required to throw me in a room and lock me in there for 15, 20 minutes," he said.

"I felt sick. I can't be locked in a little room like that. It's more torture than a punishment."

He hasn't been going to school since the spring. Instead, the school district is sending a teacher to his home twice a week to conduct his lessons from his kitchen table.

He said he feels much better not having to go to school but he misses seeing other children his age and having friends.

Marc's mother said it's not a perfect solution but after failing to fit in at five schools in eight years it's better.

She said her son is no longer involved in any crises now that he's being schooled at home and she says so far Marc is transitioning well to the new teacher.

"He is so happy now. Now he can't wait to see his teacher. She is going to come here today, he has to do his test today, she is going to be here for two hours today and it is OK. He is OK with that," she said.

School inclusion

Luc Lajoie, a spokesman for School District 1, which covers francophone schools in southern New Brunswick, said the school system tries to accommodate students as best they can in the classroom.

"What we do is we are trying to work very hard with the parents. As you know there is a limit of the amount of resources we can put in," Lajoie said.

The Department of Education has a policy of classroom inclusion, which means students of all ability types are put into the same class.

Marc's mother said she understands there is only so much teachers can do. She also says home schooling is expensive, as one parent must stay at home and cannot work.