Autistic kids can't hold a flag?

NH School Confiscates Autistic Boy’s American Flag
by Jonathon M. Seidl

DOVER, N.H. (The Blaze/AP) — A New Hampshire woman is upset that middle school officials confiscated her autistic son’s American flag because the rod it was attached to was deemed a safety hazard and, the mother claims, a possible “weapon.”

Theresa Stevens, of Dover, says her 12-year-old son, Shawn, brought the small flag to school to show friends. He had received it as a gift from a family friend whose son is in Afghanistan.

“When he saw how upset the mother of this boy is that’s going to Afghanistan, he wanted to do everything in his power to show support for her son,” Mrs. Stevens told WMUR-TV:

“He wants to bring patriotism back one person at a time, starting with his peer group and adults that have lost their way,” she added.

Stevens says a school official called Wednesday to say that school workers were concerned that the rod’s pointed end could have been dangerous.

“I got the phone call at 8:30 [Wednesday] morning,” she said. “‘This flag needs to be immediately removed from school because it can be considered a weapon.‘ I don’t understand how an American flag can be considered a weapon.”

Dover Middle school Co-Principal Kimberly Lyndes told Fosters Daily Democrat it wasn’t about discipline or patriotism, but about safety.

“A student came to school yesterday with a flag that was rather large and didn’t fit inside the backpack,” she added to WMUR. “A staff member felt that it could potentially be dangerous because of the pointy end and took the item and let the student know and the parent know that they took the item and could pick it up.”

The boy was not disciplined in the matter.

Stevens says she wants her son to know he did nothing wrong. She says students routinely carry around sharp-tipped items, such as compasses and pencils.

“So can pencils, so can protractors, so can any of the school supplies that they give to these children, and their stance is, ‘Well, we don’t let them wave them around in class, and your son has autism,’” Stevens told the station. “Really? That’s your stance?”

“When somebody shows up with an American flag on American soil at an American school, that’s his First Amendment right to do so,” she added. “Just because he‘s 12 doesn’t mean he doesn’t have constitutional rights.”

(End of story, my comments follow.)

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! Stop the presses and step back, Jack! I didn't sit up and pay attention until I saw this; ‘Well, we don’t let them wave them around in class, and your son has autism,’

"...your son has autism"

Oh. Really. Guess that means the mom should just meekly turn away and let her betters get on with the indoctrination of the kids.

Okay, I've two sons who are autistic and pointy objects ARE a concern at times. My boys are aged 7 & 6 but still use plastic forks to eat with. Forget about knives, ain't happening yet. Yes, there is a valid concern there.

But that doesn't mean they're using crayons instead of pens & pencils. It doesn't mean they don't ever pick up a stick to play with. Their behavior is monitored by the wife and I, as caregivers we know how to handle this.

Autism isn't synonymous with "completely stupid". My oldest son just got a grade report, he's got "A's" in all but one subject and HE IS MAINSTREAMED!! I want a bumper sticker that says "My autistic kid makes your "normal" son look like a dummy"

So citing autism as a basis for taking away the flag is BS. If the parents think the child can handle it responsibly (and by the age of twelve I've no doubt both my boys will be that responsible) then go with the parent's judgement.

Unfortunately that brings up another pet peeve, trusting parents with their own kids. Too damned many schoolroom chair polishers think parents are fit for breeding and that's it.

In this particular case the most the school administration should have done was monitor the behavior of the child (which they should be doing ANYWAY, even if he ISN'T autistic!) and act accordingly. Seriously, if the child didn't have special needs wouldn't the teachers STILL monitor his behavior, even without possession of a flag on a stick? I'd hope so, otherwise we've a "Lord of The Flies" scenario in the making. Maybe a lack of supervision of "normal" kids would explain some of the off-the-charts behavior that gets reported from various schools.

I'll stop now, my blood pressure meds are wearing off.