DETROIT (WXYZ) – We often talk about video going viral on social media but when it’s your kids and they’re facing a possible health crisis, it can upset you When watching.
That’s what happened to a substitute teacher in Detroit when someone recorded a video of her severely autistic son on the school bus screaming for help. Now she wants answers to what leads to what. We have to warn you about disturbing videos.
Imagine a mother horrified to learn that the video you see circulating on social media isn’t just your child’s without any authorities alerting you to this happening on a bus of their own. school.
“My family, we found out through social media that it was a trending video on Facebook,” says mother Talysha Oldham.
Six-year-old Adriel Oldham was returning from school on the bus. Another kid on the bus recorded a video of what was happening. It looks like Adriel is being held by the bus driver as he screams.
“When he got home, the bus driver told me he couldn’t take my bus anymore, he couldn’t take my bus, he had to find another transport,” Oldham said.
Oldham, who has been a substitute teacher in Detroit for 10 years and was a teacher at the Detroit Public Schools Community, was shocked when the video began going viral on social media. Adriel’s father was the one who told her this was their boy with his feet in the air screaming.
“The first thing I heard was my son screaming, then I could see this woman sitting on top of my son hitting him,” Oldham said.
His mother said that he could barely speak.
“He can tell you his basic needs whether he is hungry or has to use the restroom, he cannot tell you if he has been harmed or someone has done something to him. or not,” explained Oldham.
This incident occurred in November 2021. Oldham attended meetings at her son’s school twice in the same week to discuss Adriel’s behavior and his Individualized Education Program (IEP) to ensure that the boy receives care appropriate to his disability.
“Have you ever seen him have a crisis?” Carolyn Clifford of WXYZ asked.
“I’ve seen him debilitated, yes, but it’s easy for us to fix because he has weekly treatment,” Oldham said.
She also said that normally when picking up or dropping off her son, there are only a few children in the car. But on this day, it seems there are a lot of children on the bus.
Oldham said the bus driver told her he assaulted her on the bus.
When getting off, the bus driver did not mention what happened on the trip home.
“Even if she had a hard time with him, she could have handled it differently,” Oldham said. “She could have pulled over the bus, she could have called the dispatcher and let them know she had a problem.”
We contacted the Detroit Public Schools Community school district the same week this happened.
They promptly responded to us with a letter stating that the bus driver and her assistant, who are not employed by DPS and work for a privately contracted bus service, were unable to transport the school. give birth to DPSCD again.
Here’s what it says:
The county became aware of the incident and the video went viral on social media. Both bus drivers (bus company employees) and service personnel (district employees) have been removed from serving DPSCD students and schools pending an investigation into the incident.
Chrystal Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools
“That bus driver and the assistant are gone. Does that bring you some comfort? ‘ asked Clifford.
“When you work with children, especially children with disabilities, you should be trained,” says Oldham.
Oldham filed a police report, and she transferred her son to another school. They saw several doctors to make sure he wasn’t injured and had no lingering problems. Currently, he is studying at home.
“What else would you like to see happen?” Clifford asked.
“I want to see legal action, I want to press charges against her,” Oldham said.
