Former Teacher's Aide Claims Special Ed Principal Abused Students

HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — A former teacher's aide denied tenure by Rockland BOCES is suing his former employers, claiming the principal of a special-education program physically and verbally abused students and later fired the aide for reporting the conduct.

Kenneth Egan

Kenneth Egan said he recorded Principal Kimberly Taylor at the Hilltop School special-education program in June 2011 as she allegedly berated students, cursed and called one of them the R-word during a graduation rehearsal with 250 students present.

Slur Wounds Mother of Autistic Man

LANSING, Ind. -- Julia Cox fears a speeding motorist one day will hit her 21-year-old son on her street.

"My son has autism," she said. "You picture a 21-year-old taking off like he's 3 years old, and I can't do anything about it. I don't want him to run out in the street, but sometimes he just does."
For more than a year, Cox, 46, begged the village to put up a sign to warn motorists to drive with extra care in the area. In January, a sign reading "Caution: Handicapped Person" was erected near the end of her driveway, in the 18400 block of Ridgewood Avenue.

On July 22, the sign was vandalized.

"Retard F U" was written across the bottom of it in thick black ink. Cox was hurt and angry.

Progress Seen Amid Battle Against Bullying

SANDY, Utah — At 12 years old, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., Hannah Gilbert sat down at the computer, chose a fancy font and, using short, simple sentences, laid out her life's dream in an essay.
"My dream is to help little kids with special needs like me," wrote the little blonde, who has Down syndrome. "Please treat special needs kids good and don't be mean."
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 85 percent of children with disabilities are targets of bullying. In a recent study conducted by Community Gatepath, a California-based nonprofit that serves people with disabilities, researchers found maltreatment wasn't isolated to verbal abuse or ridicule, but also included physical abuses like tying children up or force feeding them dog food and alcohol. Sixty percent of children with disabilities are harassed to the point of physical injury.