A mom in Long Island is distraught and speaking out after discovering that the “time-out room” for her special-needs son looked more like a jail cell. This made her feel “betrayed by the system.” Nicole Miller’s 10-year-old son, Cooper, was often sent to this room at North Ridge Elementary for behavioral problems. His drawings of the room, with bars over the door, confused his mother even more, per the New York Post. 

The mother told NBC New York, “I was under the impression that they took him to a separate classroom. Maybe there’s a beanbag.” 

The school informed Miller that her son had significant behavioral issues. They said they would need to use the room to assist him manage his emotions.

“They told me, you know, he’s very behavioral. Like he will rip up his papers or they were concerned about him being a danger to himself or to other kids… They said he has to stay in the room until he regulates and calms down. I didn’t know any better at the time. I listened to what they said.”

What The Mother Witnessed

However, the mother requested to see the time-out room and was stunned by what she saw. 

“A jail cell. It looked like a jail cell and I felt so betrayed by the system,” said Miller. 

Yet, State law states that time-out rooms should only be utilized when there is an immediate safety concern. Children must be observed, and the doors should not be locked. Miller has moved Cooper to a different school that doesn’t use time-out rooms, believing that the seclusion worsened his behavioral problems.

“He would have nightmares that he was in a building and all the windows were boarded and mommy was outside and he couldn’t get to mommy… I don’t think it’s that difficult to translate what that dream meant. And it was reoccurring,” the mother recounted. 

The Commack School District justified using the rooms. The district said “These interventions are outlined in the behavior improvement plan which is crafted by a team and discussed with a parent.”

#Clique, what are your thoughts?