A woman in Connecticut is furious because she claims that her son, who has ADHD, received a so-called “award” from his middle school instructor for getting distracted often.
Tera Cooper, whose 13-year-old son Derek arrived home in tears after receiving the “award” from his teacher, said, “He’s embarrassed because he had to accept it in front of his entire class. I don’t know if she thought it was funny, but it’s not funny.”
The certificate is titled “#ADDaward” and reads “most likely to be distracted by…look something shiny!” a picture of a zombie being supported by a balloon is also depicted, along with the words “good work” written in a small gold ribbon.
Cooper noted that Derek, her son, is enrolled in school under a 504 plan that offers accommodations for him in the classroom so he may learn alongside his peers. The mother also asserts that the teacher is aware of the plan and Derek’s problem despite the fact that she has never met the teacher.
“He is on a 504 plan at the school, so she is aware of it. I don’t know if she thought it was funny, but it’s not funny. She’s the teacher. It’s supposed to be a safe place,” Cooper said.
ADHD, which stands for ‘attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a mental illness that greatly impacts an individual’s focus and the way you act.
The education plan strictly forbids any discrimination against people with disabilities. The same teacher did give Derek two other awards: one for social studies improvement and one with the hashtag “#BermudaTriangle” which reads, “Most likely to borrow stuff and it never coming back!”
Clearly vexed, Derek’s mom added “I don’t know if she thought it was funny but it’s not funny” and went on to say that other students had received “ADD awards” too.
And after learning about the incident, Principal Scott Gagnon met with the seventh-parent graders at the school, in a statement, he said, “At that time, parents were assured that, along with our central office administration, this matter would be handled promptly as we are acting on good faith in the interest of the student and his family.”
In order to “hopefully make change. Make the administration more involved in what teachers are doing and protect the students from having to deal with something like this in the future,” Cooper said, she said, she is going to talk to a lawyer about potentially taking legal action.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: Taphaps, nbcconnecticut, Yahoo
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