Alex Barton’s Tie Dye Project

Mary P Jones — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:01:43 +0000

Image credit: Photo by
mobilene on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

It's been a while since I've posted an update about the case of Alex Barton. Alex, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's (a form of autism), was voted out of his kindergarten class last spring after his teacher, Wendy Portillo, became frustrated with his behavior. She decided to discipline him by asking his classmates to state what they didn't like about him and then took a vote on whether or not Alex should be allowed in their classroom. Alex was voted out 14-2. The St. Lucie school board suspended Ms. Portillo for one year without pay, suspended her teaching license and revoked her tenure status. She is currently in the process of appealing this decision.

As for Alex and his family, they are grateful for the support they received and are currently keeping busy forming a chain of connection to other kids on the autism spectrum through The Tie Dye Project.

Alex has tie dyed five shirts and is mailing them out to other children with ASD and related needs. When a child receives a his or her shirt, that child will then make five shirts of their own to send to five other children with autism.

The project still need participants. Teachers are encouraged to take part in this effort as well. If you would like to participate in the Tie Dye Project email your contact information to Melissa Barton at mommyofalex@justiceforalexbarton.com or visit Alex's blog at http://blog.justiceforalexbarton.com/ for more details.

Alex Barton

Mary P Jones — Tue, 27 May 2008 06:57:00 +0000

This weekend, Bev forwarded me a story about a little boy in Florida. Alex Barton is five, in kindergarten, and currently in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism. Since then, the story has taken off around the blogosphere*, so I'm actually coming to the party late.

For those who aren't aware yet, Alex's teacher, Wendy Portillo, apparently became frustrated with his behavior and decided to discipline him. Her chosen method was to shame him, Survivor style, by having the other children in the class say what they didn't like about him and then vote on whether or not they wanted him in the class with them. The children called him "disgusting" and "annoying" and voted 14 to 2 to kick him out of the class.

Of course, the decision of a bunch of five year olds isn't binding on the school district, but needless to say, Alex hasn't wanted to return to class (if one can even call screaming at the sight of the school building "not wanting to go"), nor has his family wanted him to return. Ms. Portillo has admitted that the incident took place. And in the comments on the news story, to my surprise (though it shouldn't be), plenty of people back the teacher, whom they feel -- like the leader of a gang of righteous classroom vigilantes -- should be free to take the law into her hands and use any means at her disposal to punish the disruptive little criminals that populate our classrooms.

My thoughts on what this says about our society's own particular brand of insanity is, unfortunately, going to have to wait. But I do want to say this:

I salute the two children who voted to keep Alex in the class. It takes incredible courage to stand up in the face of an overwhelming majority and say that you simply don't agree. (Courage I don't even have as an adult most times.) I ache for Alex, who at 5, can't possible understand why someone who was supposed to care for him would want to hurt him like this. (Frankly, at almost 40, I don't either.) I ache for the classmates who were taught that bullying and shaming others is acceptable behavior. And I ache for Alex's family -- especially (as a mama) Alex's mother -- who have to witness his pain in the wake of this event. What mama is not going to cry to hear her baby say over and over again, in that nightmarish perseveration, "I'm not special. I'm not special. I'm not special."

But I'm also trying to feel compassion for the teacher and the school district, because it is one of my most deeply held beliefs that hatred, however just or righteous it may seem, is toxic. And genuine compassion, however hard to muster, is healing. I know how difficult it is to be a teacher and an administrator, because I've done both jobs. I also know how frustrating it can be to balance the needs of an autistic child with the needs of neurotypical children and adults, because I live that every day. And I know that using shame as a teaching technique is a learned behavior, so someone, somewhere taught Wendy Portillo to use this tool the way she taught her students. And that's a terrible thing.

Still, compassion (and this can be very hard for us codependents to understand) does NOT mean tolerating abuse. The teacher participated in and sanctioned bullying, cruelty, and abuse. And that's true regardless of how frustrated she was, how bad or just incomprehensible Alex's behavior might have been, how cash strapped the school district may have been, how unsupported she may have been, how lengthy and arduous the diagnosis and IEP planning process is, or what messages she received from her upbringing or the culture around her that this was ok.

If you are as heartbroken and horrified by this story as I am, you can voice your opinions to the St. Lucie County School Board. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is tracking the response and has asked that you cc them at info@autisticadvocacy.org if you do write. ASAN asks that everyone use respectful language in addressing those listed.

Morningside Elementary School Principal:
Mrs. Marcia Cully
cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
(772) 337-6730St.

Lucie County Schools Superintendent:
Michael J. Lannon
4204 Okeechobee Road
Ft. Pierce 34947-5414
Phone: 772/429-3925
FAX: 772/429-3916
e-mail: lannonm@stlucie.k12.fl.us

St. Lucie County School Board Chair:
Carol Hilson
772-519-0397
HilsonC@stlucie.k12.fl.us

Vice Chair:
Judith Miller
772-528-4545
MillerJ@stlucie.k12.fl.us

Update:

E-mail messages of support to Alex and his family at supportalex@treasurecoast.com
Mail letters or cards to Alex and family through the Alex is Special card campaign. Deadline is June 20, 2008. More information is available at Mommy Life.

Updates on my blog:

In the news:

* Other blogs carrying stories on Alex Barton:

And discussion groups:

See, I told you all I was late to the party!

Update: additional posts I found after posting mine:

A Room of Mama's Own » bullying

Alex Barton’s Tie Dye Project

Alex Barton