AUTISTIC children have been repeatedly locked in a darkened room for up to 20 minutes for misbehaving at a special school, staff and parents claim.

Seven parents have come forward with the allegations and two are pursuing separate court actions against Marnebek School in Cranbourne East over restraint, seclusion and other issues.

Staff have told the Herald Sun that terrified children would put up a fight when being led into the “time out” room, while other disciplinary tactics have included teachers sitting on unruly students.

A GROUP of Bendigo parents are determined to start an autism-specific school, to ensure their children's needs are met.
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For some Australian children with autism, access to education is impossible … and Australian Governments just don't care.

A recent news item (see http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/2044236/parents-call-for-auti…) shows yet another group of parents calling for “an autism-specific school, to ensure their children's [education] needs are met”.

Benjamin Preiss 19 November 2013

She tells tribunal her child's behaviour deteriorated after attending special school.

A mother of an autistic child has accused a special school of using restraint and seclusion to control challenging behaviour.

The woman is suing the state government in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for her son's treatment at Cranbourne's Marnebek School, which caters for children with disabilities.

Nick Toscano November 13, 2013

A confused autistic boy who was engulfed in smoke during a house fire in Melbourne's south east has been rescued by two passers-by.

The pair saw smoke coming from the house on Were Street, Brighton, shortly after 1.30pm on Wednesday, and smashed a window to gain entry.

The teenage boy, who has Asperger's syndrome, had walked into the smoky kitchen but then froze and did not know what to do, according to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

By LIA SPENCER

A SPECIAL school in Casey has defended their methods of dealing with students who display challenging behaviours.

Several parents have pulled their students from Marnebek School in Cranbourne due to complaints about the school’s discipline policies and the “prison-like” outside settings.

One of the parents has taken her complaints to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on the grounds of discrimination, and use of seclusion and restraints.

Hello there, I am looking to speak with students in the Albury-Wodonga region who would be in their final year of secondary education and looking to transition to employment. I am coordinating a pilot whereby a group of students from the region with ASD are actively engaged in paid employment whilst completing their final year of school.

To be eligible, students must:

A FURIOUS father says his disabled daughter, 11, was tied up on a school bus, and is considering legal action.

Michael says Caitlyn was restrained by staff trying to stop unruly behaviour, including scratching at seats.

He said his daughter had told him force was used to bind her wrists with rope.

The principal of the Ballarat Specialist School said he believed shoelaces were used by bus staff to secure Caitlyn to her seat.

Police and the Education Department are investigating an August 29 incident.

A police spokesman said a Ballarat man was interviewed yesterday.

Kerrie Curtis with son Harry and daughter Isabelle.
Photo: Simon Schluter

Jewel Topsfield Education Editor for The Age, 24 September 2012

AS THE mother of three children on the autism spectrum, Kerrie Curtis is a veteran of battles with the Victorian education system.

Her latest fight is to get special VCE exam provisions for her oldest son Liam, who has Asperger's, an anxiety disorder and a learning difficulty. Ms Curtis' frustration is not with his school, RMIT, which she says has been absolutely superb.

However she says the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has been ''extraordinarily inflexible''. Just weeks away from VCE exams she is still trying to apply for him to use a laptop in exams.

Meanwhile, she is fighting to get her son Harry's primary school to pay for the speech therapy and assistance with emotional regulation and social skills that medical experts say he needs.

A court case is running in Victoria (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/481) about education for a child with a disability. So far the department has said that the reason for the young man’s failure to learn is that, he ate too many donuts.

An expert witness for the Education Department told the court said standardised assessments are not as good as unwritten teacher observations because, teachers have a special gift.

The department lawyers and their expert witness said that people with an intellectual disability don’t learn, so no matter what you do with them they don’t improve.