Three Educators Assault Autistic Child While In Care

Three Perth women have had their child care supervisor accreditation cancelled, and one faced a criminal charge after a six-year-old autistic boy was smacked and had soap put in his mouth.

Kathleen Anne Burton was charged with common assault in circumstances of aggravation or racial aggravation.

She pleaded guilty in Joondalup Magistrates Court and was fined $700, with costs of $100.

Another woman, Tammie Bell, had her accreditation cancelled after it was alleged she held the boy while Ms Burton put soap in his mouth.

A third woman, Jessica Peters, also had her accreditation stripped after she failed to intervene or report the incident.

A notice on the Department of Local Government and Communities website said: “the certified supervisor (Ms Burton) smacked and put soap in the mouth of an autistic six-year-old child as a form of punishment and lesson for behaviour management.”

Ms Burton failed to report the incident to the child’s parent, the approved child care provider or the regulatory authority.

It saddens me to hear that a child with additional needs has been treated this way! Educators should be trained to deal with the challenges of a child with additional needs. It does not give Educators the right to assault a child no matter how a child behaves. It is completely unacceptable and it's illegal. Educators that are rough with children should be warned and put on probation or in certain circumstances removed from working with children.

Reference:
Three Perth Childcare Workers Stripped Of Accreditation After Assault On Autistic Boy, Joondalup Times, March 7th, 2018