BELLINGHAM, Wash. (WOWK) – A middle school in Washington State was alerted that one of their students has special needs and does best in a quiet place, but his mom says the space they moved him to is definitely not a room for rest no matter what it’s called.
Danielle Goodwin took a photo when they came to school on Monday to find her son Lucas’s new quiet learning place in a functioning bathroom. The 11-year-old’s desk was over a toilet. She says the teacher also gave him a camping mat to nap on the bathroom floor. “I was so shocked I just took the picture because I didn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Lucas has autism and an autoimmune disorder. When they found the desk in the bathroom, Goodwin says she asked if there was another option, but that the teacher said no. “It’s not an appropriate place for anyone. Especially for Lucas, who with his Pandas condition can’t be around germs. That’s something that can really affect his body,” said Goodwin.
Lucas says he doesn’t want to go back to Whatcom Middle School, “Oh yeah, well just put them in the bathroom. Perfect space. That’s not fine.”
A Bellingham School District spokeswoman says the desk was set up last weekend.