Mikey loves football and toy trucks; playgrounds and bicycles.
“Any type of ball, he goes ‘football,’” said his 29-year-old mother, Melissa Walker. “And he loves Spider-Man and SpongeBob — Man-Man and Bob-Bob he calls them.”
Walker said he loved to play with his friends at the College of the Redwoods Child Development Center, too. But he can’t go there anymore. Mikey is the central figure in allegations of five personal rights violations against a child by a teacher and the center’s director.
School officials expressed regret at the incident and are expected to complete an internal investigation this week. For the past month, they have tried to understand how an institution with resources and a program in early childhood education could find itself with a center under the microscope for allegedly failing to provide adequate staff training and mistreating a special-needs child.
A complaint investigation report filed by the state’s Community Care Licensing Division substantiated the allegations of mistreatment.
The community of child care providers and the parents who trust them raised their collective eyebrows at the wording in the CCL report. A CR staffer allegedly “used her foot to forcefully push a child away that was charging her” and allegedly used “his clothing as a handle” while another staffer “observed by several witnesses to restrain a child on the floor.”
When word spread that the first staffer was an experienced teacher and the second staffer the center’s director, despair, shock, incredulity and questions followed.
“The whole point of the CDC is to train teachers,” Walker said. “If they aren’t wanting to teach a special-needs kid, then what are they doing?”
The short answer: providing care for 70 children while their parents to go to school to make a better life for their family.
The early childhood major and instructors are not responsible for the CDC, although it is used for observations done by students.
Jude Power of the Humboldt County Office of Education said child care programs such as those run by Head Start and CR are “held up as examples in the community of excellent programs. In those settings, especially, they bend over backwards to try and develop behavior interventions for kids.”
“CR has access to resources for sure,” Power said. “CR routinely has special-needs children, and to my knowledge, nothing like this has happened before.”
As usual, extreme interpretations do justice to neither side. Mikey is not an out-of-control hellion in need of a little discipline any more than two staffers who spent half their working lives devoted to children are uncaring monsters in need of a little compassion.
“Maybe the kid was out-of-control and the safety of the other children should have been the concern, but no child should be sacrificed the dignity and respect he deserves,” said Anthony Curo, Mikey’s grandfather and a full-time CR student. “No kid deserves to get treated like luggage and taken out of the room.”
Nor should staff members be placed in situations where they are under-trained, understaffed and working longer hours than they should have been, said Siddiq Kilkenny, the director of the Head Start program that partners with CR by providing it $25,000 to $30,000 a year in cash and an on-site family worker.
“It has to do with leadership, or lack of it,” he said. “Too often, preschool and child care are often seen as a nice, quaint little add-on, not something that is absolutely vital and critical to the health of the community.”
With no assigned administrator supervising the center until Associate Vice President Keith Snow-Flamer took charge in February, and a failure in December to report and solve a heating malfunction as required by the CCL, there is reason to wonder if Mikey, his mother and the staff on the front lines will be paying the public price for the failures of the leadership above.
With the exception of Snow-Flamer and six members of the Board of Trustees, all of the people at the top when the CDC director started in January 2007 are gone.
So are the two staffers on administrative leave pending results of the investigation.
Also taking a beating: the morale of those left behind and tarred by the same brush.
Walker relied on the center to care for her son two days a week while she went to class. She’s now dropped out of school.
And then there’s Mikey.
“They just can’t handle him,” Walker said.
A month shy of his third birthday, Mikey has been in motion since the day he was born.
“He could push a chair up to the door and undo all my dead bolts; he’d use chairs to climb on the counters,” Walker recalled. “He’d turn on the oven. The safety cupboards — he got through them immediately, every one I bought. The plug-in covers — he pried them off.”
Twice, Mikey broke his toddler bed. Another time, his playpen.
Walker learned to wrap Mikey in a blanket when he has a total fit, which is what happened one day as they were riding the bus and Mikey decided to pull the stop wire over and over again.
“He’s three feet tall and 40 pounds, so he’s a big boy,” Walker said. “I put his arms underneath his shoulders and my arms on top of his arms.”
But he was on her lap rather than on the seat or floor.
“He was head-butting me,” she said to explain the black eye he gave her.
That type of physical restraint is considered improper if performed by a child care provider or teacher in the state of California. Unlike parents, they are trained professionals who are expected to have what three local child care experts referred to as a toolbox of options in dealing with children of various needs.
Walker acknowledges Mikey is a handful — sometimes an aggressive handful — who has many more needs than she has tools.
“I used to have bruises all over, up and down my arms,” she said. “If you say the word ‘no’ he throws a fit. That’s when he kicks, body-slams you or whatever. Another reason he would body-slam is he doesn’t know how to get your attention.”
Initially, Walker thought the first male child in six generations was just active.
“Then, when I looked at his (genetic) history, I thought maybe I needed to find out if something is wrong.”
Mikey may have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (see the Health Section). ADHD is thought to be a neurobiological or genetic disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention in children in the preschool and early school years. It has a strong genetic link, as it runs in families.
“ADHD is an overwhelming challenge for parents because it affects your personal life,” Power said. “It limits what you can do and where you can do it and what you can expect of them in special settings.”
“Also, it’s a problem because those children can be excluded from licensed facilities due to aggression.”
Power said exclusion is rare.
“Sometimes,” she said, “licensing will exclude kids if it thinks they are a danger to other kids. Also, centers themselves will do that if they feel their center isn’t equipped to deal with certain problems children present with.”
Mikey had become too much for the CR CDC.
“They had me sign a form that they would be kicking him out. He had two weeks,” Walker said.
It was two weeks too long. Walker said that not long after learning of his impending expulsion, she got a call to come down and collect his things.
“I saw him being restrained on the floor,” she said. “The director was sitting on the floor with his legs straight out. Her legs were on top of his legs, her hands on top of his hands. She wasn’t protecting his head at all.
“I was upset, he was upset, everybody was upset,” she said — and she didn’t hear of the allegations against the teacher until reading the CCL report in March.
Curo said a petition seeking the permanent ouster of the two CDC staffers had 100 signatures when he saw it three weeks ago, but he’s waiting to see what transpires.
“I’ve been told child abuse at College of the Redwoods, will not be tolerated,” Curo said.
For further information, visit: http://eurekareporter.com/article/080423-special-need-that-is-hard-to-di...
34 comments
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If this child is as difficult as described, I would hope the parents would stop blaming the Center when obviously the child needs to be restrained to protect himself and others.
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It's obvious that the parent knew this child was not suited for child care. Why would you do it anyway? Are you just looking for a lawsuit? This would have happened anywhere else. It sounds like CR was more than accommodating with this hyper child. They were already going to kick him out. The only one to blame is the parent. She put CR's CDC in this situation.
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Whether or not this child is out of control is not the overall question. The question is was this attack personal?
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"child abuse at College of the Redwoods"...give me a break!
If the mother has to physically restrain the child and has bruises to show for his "body slams" and "head butts", why is it wrong for those at the CDC to do something to protect themselves and the other children in their care?
If presented with the behaviour described in the article, I would be pulling duct tape out of my "toolbox".
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I have two children at the CDC and have loved the Staff right from the start. The center has helped both myself and my children grow. I have full belief in the CDC as well as CR that they are taking every step to make sure this doesn't happen again. My girls have had great experiences with the current staff, and I know that this type of positive experiences will continue.JS
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I just want to say that this article did not touch completely on what actually happened. Mikey was kicked and pushed down and picked up by his clothes and then dropped, he was held down on the floor by a woman that out weighed him by at least 200 pounds! Trust me I know! Also, he was restrained in a room as people watched and cried! IT WAS BAD! It is much worse then the reporter or anyone has reported and if people honestly think that it was ok because he was out of control maybe you need to rethink having your children. It is never ok to harm a child. Especially a 2 1/2 year old child. I think that if you want a child at a center where this type of thing is happening there is something wrong. This never should have happened and the mother should have been called because this is what they have done in the past but not at this time. Why? And why was it such a secret? They said in the article that they never told Mikey's mom about the incident. They only told her to get her things and leave!Please tell me when it is ok to abuse any child?
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I have had my child there at CR for quite some time now. i have been very concerned with what is going on and how secret it was. Parents were not informed until a month later and it is still clouded in secrecy everytime it is mentioned. The only thing we are told as parents is that there are no answers for us. I blame the administration for not supporting the staff at the Child Development Center. They are very understaffed and do not have the support system needed to maintain a stress free environment. There is no teacher support!!!!!!!!! This incident is directly related to understaffing and lack of adminstrative support. I am concerned about this incident happening again. This was very personal because if it could happen to one child it can happen to other children. Parents need to think, could this happen to my child? Yes, it can.
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Children who have not been given appropriate attention by the parent will seek attention in various destructive ways. This child has been living in a totally dysfunctional family since he was born. His “grandfather” is hardly a credible informant given his highly checkered past who should NEVER have had any contact with this child. The poor boys grandmother is also highly suspect as to being a child care provider. It really seems like the mother set everything in motion for this child to be labeled as he has been. In a family that is known for filing fraudulent lawsuits, embezzlement, child abuse and child endangerment, it is hardly surprising that this is her latest “get rich quick scheme.” And as usual, everything is to be financed at the public’s expense. Perhaps having both of her children placed in a good healthy home would serve this woman better then the community continuing to let her spin her tales of woe at her children’s and the taxpayers expense.
CR is a very valuable asset and the child care program is exceptional, it would be a huge disservice to the community to have this program penalized in anyway because of one woman’s dedication and expertise at living off the government at the expense of her children
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Interesting to here how the mother describes her son. I threatened to take my son out of pre-school because of a child like this-they immediately told the the child could not attend if he was causing harm to anyone else. This was a Head Start program. Good they took action, not good I had to get them to do it.
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This child has never had any parental attention. I have seen this child and he is usually begging for attention and mom ignores it. This is another excuse for a lawsuit that we taxpayers will end up paying for . I'm wondering if Mom even told the CDC that this child had this severe of a problem.
Put those teachers back to work!!! They shouldn't have to be to blame. Looking at the comment before mine maybe the children do need to be removed from that home.
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For the ANONYMOUS @ 10:44 AM...
It sounds like you have specific details of what transpired that day. Why isn't that in the report? Or are you making it up? I got a copy of that report like everyone else and it made no mention of what you are describing. Stop making things up to cover up for your friends. It's obvious that this child was a problem and that the parent wasn't paying as much attention to him as she should.
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Since we are into facts here. Here are some facts about misdiagnosing ADHD.
Misdiagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder...
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Agree with the poster @ 10:55 AM
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Unfortunately, the C/R CDC is nothing more than a free dumping ground for welfare mothers and fathers who don't give their kids proper care or discipline when at home. Respectable working parents trying to go to school can't get their kids into the CDC because of the high cost and the waiting period inflicted upon them. If Melissa Walker had taken proper steps as a parent this situation would have never come up. The petition going around demanding termination of said employees is nothing more than an uneducated attempt at firing two respectable persons of our community.
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Walker got word her child was being released from free child care and she figured she would get rich from an allegation. "They let my child go, I'll drum up abuse". Unfortunately for CR they will lose this battle as the courts are fast to prosecute cases like this. Parents have no control of thier kids anymore, I was disciplined by my parents and at school and I turned out great. However, kids can no longer be disciplined as someone will turn them in as a child abuser. We have a bad system and it's all the Baby Boomers fault.
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I don't want to start a big argument here....but what generation are you from?? Now it's the Baby Boomer's fault???
I am a baby boomer and I was raised to behave and that is how I raised my children. I have 3 daughters and I can say they NEVER acted like this child did in public OR in private. Baby Boomer's have nothing to do with this child. Children learn what they see in the home and how they are treated goes a long ways to how they act. This child was raised in his crib and playpen because Mom didn't want to deal with him or his sister. So she left him there to bang out his frustration and he did destroy the crib because he didn't get any attention. No one to pick him up and love him...no one to talk to him and tell him "It's okay". Don't blame Baby Boomer's for something one parent did to this child. Don't blame the teachers for trying to protect themselves from a child's internal rage because he couldn't get the love and attention from a parent that ignored him.
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You guys are saying some really harsh stuff for not really knowing anything that happened. Maybe you should have been there. Or maybe even talk to someone who was there. The petition was not made from someone who was uneducated and parents felt there was no other choice. If you had read the report from front to back given to parents from the state then you would have seen the part were it said " these allegations are substantiated" also, you would have seen the part were it said that, " these are not isolated incidents" It is amazing how it is ok because he has a disability to harm this child. In the report it states" kicked the child, pushed the child, picked child up by clothing and dropped child, restrained child to the floor, and restrained child in room," The state licensing gave us the report and if there are questions you can call them and find out that these allegations happened. No one is denying that it happened except for a few select parents that do not want to believe this happened! Also, not every child there is on welfare and not every child is free. This is not a dumping ground for welfare kids it is a great way to go to school and recieve an education while our children are in a great learning environment. That is so those welfare parents you speak of can better themselves and the lives of their families!
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For anonymous at 11:28 am:
Actually, I do not really know Mikey and his family. I know of them. However, if you read my comment it only states what is in the report. maybe you should open your eyes and read. It states very clearly the allegations and it states that all these allegations have been substantiated. It also, states that these allegations were not isolated incidents. Funny, if you got the same report why is it you know nothing?
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To anonymous at 11:55 am
Cr really is not just a dumping ground for welfare moms and dads. I am a hard working parent and I have my child at C/R daycare.It sounds like you are jilted because you can not get in and it sounds more like jealousy than anyhting. C/R is not set up to just drop your child off. The program here is set up for parent involvement not dumping. Oh, and I have everyhting to do with my children and go to school. I am more invloved in their lives than most parents. How dare you imply that I or anyone at C/R daycare is not respectable like yourself. I mean we can not all be as refined as you are.
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Every child deserves to be treated well but they should not be allowed to run wild and endanger other children. Ifcontrol was an issue maybe mom should have stated that at the time she placed him in daycare. Or maybe found an alternate resource if he required special care. To blame the baby boomers seems ridiculous to me
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I have a child in the CDC, I am also a paying parent. I witnessed several of these incidents and what is not known here is that Mikey was disliked by his teacher from day one. I do not know his mother except to say hi while dropping our children off. Mikey's mother knew nothing of what was going on until a month later when the entire family received the liscensing report. To say that his mother did this for a lawsuit is rediculious, to say she didn't inform the daycare of his adhd is ridiculous. Mikey's behaviour came out while he was in daycare, according to what I've read and heard from other mothers who know her, Mikey was diagnosed while attending cdc. And just to let you know if you've read the report. Picking a child up by the clothes and dropping him is child abuse. The teacher had been there 20 years she must have had "burnout"
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this is the person with the checkered pass, i don't know where people get this idea, you have people that will say bad things about other people, and be afraid to show there name, cuz of skeletons in there own closet, hello, i made my mistakes, paid my price how about you, you think cuz, you don't get caught doing wrong it makes it legal, and the person who made the comment about duct tape, this is the way of thinking that got america where it is today. why don't you put the duct tape on your mouth, and see if you can get another word of sense that comes out the other end,. take that to the bank, and this get rich, this is america, land of lawsuits, sorry to informe you no legal advice has been consider and the people making comments about my past, you must be joking,.11
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Mikey's story is all too common. He is the "victim" and the mean teachers are the problem. I don't buy it at all. The Mom needs an intervention, parenting classes, and respite care to get a break from her son. Maybe the Nanny reality TV show can send her some help. I have far too many Mikey's in my classroom and they terrorize the class, steal educational time and I am the only one held accountable. His Mom has him more hours in a day than the child care center. She needs to be a parent not a punching bag for him. Poor Mikey will never be held accountable. Why? Because we as a society do not want to face the awful truth of cruddy parenting and we will blame society, the system and others for our childrens behavior. Shame on Mom and Mikey. Please get some help before he ends up in my class or juvenile hall.
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Anonymous @ 7:40
I would just like to know where you got the facts that the teacher in question has been teaching at cdc for 20 years because I think that it was only 9 years. Maybe you just misunderstand and that is how long that person has been teaching in the child development field. Just an idea maybe you should get the facts straight before saying something untrue.
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Since we are into facts here. Here are some facts about misdiagnosing ADHD.
Misdiagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder...
foot wiggling? are you kidding? shoot, let's just medicate every child now. how ridiculous.
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Beware of "facts" that originate with the "Church" of Scientology. Especially "facts" about ADHD.
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I am married to a person with AD/HD. That is the proper way to write it. It accounts for those who have ADD or those who have the hyper condition that can go with it. These folks are charismatic, energetic, and unique thinkers. Einstein was one. Look at the treasures of this "disorder" in instead of disability. You will find gold.
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50 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion (for detailed information about each way, see The Myth of the ADD Child) Order book by calling: 1-800-247-6553.
Provide a balanced breakfast.
Consider the Feingold diet
Limit television and video games
Teach self-talk skills.
Find out what interests your child.
Promote a strong physical education program in your child’s school.
Enroll your child in a martial arts program.
Discover your child’s multiple intelligences (link)
Use background music to focus and calm.
Use color to highlight information.
Teach your child to visualize.
Remove allergens from the diet.
Provide opportunities for physical movement.
Enhance your child’s self-esteem.
Find your child’s best times of alertness.
Give instructions in attention-grabbing ways.
Provide a variety of stimulating learning activities.
Consider biofeedback training.
Activate positive career aspirations.
Teach your child physical-relaxation techniques.
Use incidental learning to teach.
Support full inclusion of your child in a regular classroom.
Provide positive role models.
Consider alternative schooling options.
Channel creative energy into the arts.
Provide hands-on activities
Spend positive times together.
Provide appropriate spaces for learning.
Consider individual psychotherapy.
Use touch to soothe and calm.
Help your child with organizational skills.
Help your child appreciate the value of personal effort.
Take care of yourself.
Teach your child focusing techniques.
Provide immediate feedback.
Provide your child with access to a computer.
Consider family therapy.
Teach problem-solving skills.
Offer your child real-life tasks to do.
Use "time-out" in a positive way. (time-in with your child)
Help your child develop social skills.
Contract with your child.
Use effective communication skills.
Give your child choices.
Discover and treat the four types of misbehavior.
Establish consistent rules, routines, and transitions.
Hold family meetings.
Have your child teach a younger child.
Use natural and logical consequences.
Hold a positive image of your child.
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You wrote "I am married to a person with AD/HD. That is the proper way to write it."
Well, I was diagnosed with "ADHD in an Adult" when I was over 40. Now I am old and testy. I am also set in my ways. I will never get used to calling it AD/HD.
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Where i am from "pushing with the foot" is called KICKING.
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Spare the rod, spoil the child.
What about the rapes that happen in the dorms on campus at College of the Redwoods?
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Looks like stupid is back! /\
Referring to Anonymous — Apr 28 2008, 9:57 AM
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Quote: Where i am from "pushing with the foot" is called KICKING.
Does that mean you kick the gas pedal in your car? Does that mean someone is kicking the floor when rocking in a chair?
"Kicking" and "Pushing" have very different connotations
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this is a comment to the person who wrote about that person with a checkered pass, you must be on the pipe, did you not read the paper or are you talking out your ass cause your mouth knows better, the grandparent had nothing to do what happen at the center, get your facts together, before you show the world how stupid you really are, and get a grip on your own life, being on afdc you are still takening from the county, you are no better than the person who say's i can do wrong, and don't get caught, it's okay only illegal if you get caught, that is want got pepole hating you, find a friend, or a hobby and find out what is going on in your own life, and stay out of grown folks business. stupid people, make me laugh, it's better to remain silent, and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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