Social Worker Charged After Trying to Protect Herself from Autistic Child's Insane Meltdown! 

Retired after 40 years of nursing, a good majority of which was in mental health, which included children and adolescents. When dealing with autistic children, you are not to physically react to their aggression, as that only escalates the situation, and you NEVER strike a child going through a crisis. The bear hug is taught to be ONLY from behind specifically to avoid being kicked. You take their arms in yours, cross them so that you are BOTH giving the child a hug, then ease them to the ground in a seated position, and you wrap your legs over theirs to keep them from kicking. Any time you slap someone, it is assault.

The prosecution was on a witch hunt with this one. Shame on them

This is the most ridiculous waste of the courts time. I’m not sure why the DA would ever have charged this.

SLAP is not OK because it teaches violence as an ok response!!! Come on judge violence in response to violence is NEVER the answer

If Mom doesn't appreciate the help, then she shouldn't ask for it. These workers are overworked and underpaid. Sometimes, the work is dangerous. Thanks, Judge Simpson!

These parents are going to cry all sorts of foul and waste even more tax payer time and money when it becomes clear they won't be getting any more help with this child from these services, and it'll be all their own doing.

What has a 11 year old gone through at home that caused a diagnosis of PTSD!?!?!?!?

This prosecutor is going to send a innocence person to prison one day, I don't trust her

So much education needed to happen, failure on all sides. My granddaughter is autistic, if someone puts their hands on her the cuffs will be on me

He made the right call. I have an autistic child and I myself am on the spectrum. It did not damage him or injure him in any way. It times it is used to get a small distraction or attention. If he is trying to Injure her naturally you are going to use the path of least resistance and maybe that was her path. What I personally think this about potentially is the parents looking for a payday.

That prosecutor needs to be fired and not be allowed to be a prosecutor. She is trying really hard to put this lady in jail imagine what she would do to railroad other people with more serious charges

She was called in to control him when his family couldnt.

Why wasn't local Social services/Crisis team employment policy of "how to handle Autistic Crisis/meltdown" read out in court? If a patient kicks or tries to, you step back! Firstly, create a hands off, safe zone! Back off & call an ambulance & psych team to get the child the correct help he needed! Slapping will only escalate emotions & more potential violence! The Social Worker & Crisis team obviously need better de escalation training! You NEVER hit/slap a child/patient! De escalation, talking down, restraining safely via medical/psychologist intervention!

Parents hoping to get money out of this smh and the prosecutor wasting tax payer money.....lord!.... Idiocracy

The mother was looking for a payday. IMO.

This sounds more like a coaching opportunity for the worker, not a crime.

I was a nanny for an 11 year old boy (who wasn't autistic) who used to punch me in the arm while I was driving. After putting up with it for a while, I smacked his in the arm. I told his father (who was an attorney) what happened. His response was, "Why didn't you smack him sooner?" I didn't lose my job or get in any trouble but he also never tried to hit me again after that. I never intended to hurt him but to stop his actions in order to keep us and everyone else on the road safe and I feel like this lady's intentions were the same.

That worker's mom self kicked in.

In California when I worked in school with teenager autistic children we were not allowed to ever hit them. It might mean 2 or 3 of us would sit down next to them & hold their arms & legs to keep them from harming us or themself, But in no way were we to hit them not even a slap. Sometimes these children come to school upset and a slap will incite them. We are to remain calm & not yell at them.

DA is really inept. Seen her 4-5 times now and she's really bad

Great judgment judge! The defendant did not need to agree with the prosecutor. GOAT closing as always 😂😂😂😂😂

That persecutor is an idiot. Should be fired.

I certainly hope this prosecutor never has children

If this kid is this bad and a clear danger, why not put him in a residential treatment?

The first thing that crossed my mind was if a civil suit was filed or in the making. If this defendant had been found guilty the agency would be liable. Maybe there were dollar signs as opposed to actual assult of a child. The prosecutor was really stretching it and the big question is why? It didn't make sense.

Wow, what a great video, thank you!!! So glad it went the way it did, though really disgusted it got that far. WTAH?

The adults in charge of this child could not control his outburst calls for help and then DA charges her for assault...wow! Slapping g his leg while attempting to kick her...really??? This is mind blowing, I worry about this kids actions in 5, 10 years if no corrective action is taken.

These parents wanted a payout. They should never receive social services for this kid while in their care going forward. They can get a job and get insurance and stop relying on the state.

DA not answering Judges question, poor choice to prosecute this case.

Idk how this ends but I worked with this population of people. It's almost impossible to calm down someone having a full on melt down. The other Social Worker said she tapped his ankle bc he was flailing and out of control. This is ridiculous. Perfect outcome

In the 90's, I worked in Residential Treatment Center for teen girls. Back then, we were trained and certified to use a 2 man hold on clients who appeared out of control and signs of possible harm to self or otgers. I was so surprised to watch this work over and over. After 30-45 minutes that child's entire demeanor and body language was entirely different.

Good luck getting any government worker to go hands on after you've charged this defendant. "I'll intercede from the car!"

Da taking this to court is crazy no wonder so many people are leaving the profession

I've been axnurse for 15yr and I've seen a large amount of over diagnosising due to needing the right diagnosis for billingmothis is due to the mothers inability to control their child, and very likely lack of discipline of said chilshehell soon be in jail and she'll blame everyone but her and his sons own actions

As a bus driver and part time cafeteria worker we are told to never put hands on pupils no matter the situation, you will be arrested if you do so.

I live in Oregon and had a job where I worked with developmentally disabled adults who frequently had angry outbursts that involved physical contact. We were told that attempting to stop a person by restraining them in any way was considered abuse. We were allowed to try blocking kicks or punches, but that was all.

Wait she slapped his leg???? I’m thinking she slapped his face 🤦🏾‍♀️

What an absolute waste of time and money, truly a joke.

Thank you Judge S!!

So the family has a child with violent out tendencies who tried to throw a bottle at his 1 yr old sister during a fit of rage and they expect the social worker to stand there and not block a kick. Unbelievable. The mother couldn’t handle him, nor the grandmother and in fact I bet she was afraid of her son. Shame on the mother. She should be thanking the mother for taking on such a tough job that most people would never consider. Big shame.👎

Crisis team in my state is hands of but for self defense. Have to call PD and EMS. In the ambulance, we can prevent self harm and protect ourselves. PD will only ride along if patient is significantly violent. Our crisis teams do a great job and are Autism and Aspergers trained.

CMH rules say gentle touch you’re not supposed to have any forceful action against an individual.

What is wrong with these people

And a waste of tax payers money! I’d like to see some of these attorneys do the social workers jobs! They go running and screaming!!!!!

Appreciated Judge Simpson’s question to the People that should the worker have allowed that child to kick her or the defensive action resulting in a slap above the ankle… I’ve dealt with worse behavior where a male came up behind after my hand was hit by an iron bar swung at me. The male tackled the child and had to use his whole body over the child’s body to contain the near super human strength. It was a difficult day to say the least.

Jude Simpson needs to do a Ted Talk. He listens and observes and takes notes.

Oh Judge Simpson I absolutely love watching you and have seen how fair, patient and just you are. Having said that, you completely got this WRONG!! Common sense os what tells you that woman ASSAULTED this poor child. He was not behaving the way he was yo be mean, he is mentally unwell. My children without autism have kicked and or hit at me before. I promise if I were (which I would NEVER do) yo attack one if them, I would and should be jailed. She as a grown trained adult had ZERO right to strike that child. He was already in enough torment in his mind and then to have a stranger come in his home and assault him breaks my heart. The poor mother reached out for help and instead a preditor disguised as help assaulted her child! How disgusting and how sad that you chose yo protect and let loose a child abuser. You too have failed this baby.

The D.A. seemed completely out of her element! Sad to see. Seemed political to me.

I agree. Holding his hands so he decided to kick

They said Miss Donald was telling him, do not hit, then she hit him.😒😏

This hits close to home as I have a 16 year old autistic daughter.

I don’t think she did anything wrong and that kid probably is a nightmare to deal with but I don’t know the whole thing

Having a child with a disability, there are times when you have to redirect their thought process. Usually a 'stinger' will get their attention and the flailing stops long enough to address the issue. If the lady had intent to assault, she would have continued and/or she would have used much stronger force. This appears to be a money grab. Sad.

I've seen this prosecutor several times now and I'm not at all impressed. She's nowhere near the level of Prosecutor Kirby or Prosecutor Blanche. Having been in a similar situation, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

If you think this is bad, as a nurse I can lose my license and be criminally charged and civil lawsuits if I try to defend myself from being attacked. We're supposed to talk to them and wait for security. We have less rights to be safe than criminals

I did this work for years, we never forced a child to do anything. We just turned our backs and took it. You went home black and blue, but it works. Never give eye contact, ignore the the behavior.

Good decision

That prosecutor is an idiot she needs a reality check .

She should never have been charged. I think the judge was wrong in not throwing it out at half time but the defence was absolutely right in not calling the defendant. The prosecution’s case usually gets better when the defendant has been cross examined. The prosecution was constantly trying to reverse burden of proof. Poor advocacy and judgment by the pros. I used to try and avoid letting a defendant give evidence. Sometimes it’s unavoidable. This was the exactly the type of case when you don’t call the defendant, you sit down and let the judge (who is clearly on your side) make its own verdict. The defence attorney was a far better advocate. Hands down.

Facts !

Not judging people choices but if you have a child with these difficulties why have another that’s no fault of either child but will be second and in danger of older child

I agree with the prosecutor, but it was very poorly argued.

Mr Fieldz are you have another part of jerome vs. cassidy case?

You can only do so much. You have two arms you're holding his two arms and you might get a quick chance to hold both his arms with one hand for a quick second to swat his leg so that maybe that would stop the bottom part while you kept the top part restrained. I have seen what it looks. And I know exactly how a child gets restrained and what I've seen is absolutely scary. But people are left with very little choices when kids are high emotions and have certain issues and they are left with very little choices. I've seen one child have to be held down by 7 people. That's how bad it can get with an autistic kid who has I don't know how to describe that type of anger and strength and being the size that they are. And then stuck in a room that's padded from wall to wall and ceiling to floor. It's a scary situation and you are left with very little and it's best that the child was placed in a hospital and out of the care of the grandmother who sounds like she's taking Xanax and the mother who clearly has no idea how to handle this

So she slapped the bottom of his leg, that was with intent, it wasn’t for self defense, she knows how violent these people get, it’s something they are trained in right, so restraining is one this, it’s an 10 year old child, she is a pretty size lady

Don’t feel it was forceful more blocking his kicking her. The mother and grandmother could not handle his behaviour.

It took longer than necessary but the judge made the correct call.

Commonsense wins.

I'm not crazy about the fact that she smacked his leg, but it's certainly not criminal. A reprimand vs a criminal record is all this needed. My 11 y/o granddaughter hasn't had violent dysregulation in several years now, but it used to be really bad. She even tried to bite the school principal when she was 8! I suspect that mom and grandma were hoping to be able to sue CMH over this.

Looking for payday 😢

I don't know what's wrong with you people. This woman SLAPPED the child! Clearly she had not idea what she was doing! I work in a hospital and have seen this situation before. NO ONE would ever slap a child!

Frivolous lawsuit, just to look good.

So many comment blaming care worker just because it’s her job does that mean she has to take being hit or kicked . Don’t think she handled it best way Sounds like the child need more full time help

TLDW

if your wish is to educate and raise awareness then you should stop describing disability/mental health symptoms as "insane" or "crazy" or any other derogatory terms

Get some hearing aids old man. When everybody else can hear her fine and you're the only one complaining maybe the problem is you

This case should have resulted in a conviction, However, I agree with Judge Simpson's ruling; the state did not meet the burden of proof. This prosecutor has failed "the people" over and over by making the same error each time. I am surprised to see how many people commenting the casr shouldn't have ever made it to trial and it was a waste of the court's time and resources. I disagree. The defendant struck the child out of anger. That is assault. Her response was not an attempt to prevent him from injuring either himself or her (BTW, I think it is ironic how the defense attorney tried to use the child's size as justification. I have no idea why the state did not challenge this. It was the elephant in the room (figuratively and very close to literally). They should have argued that his stature was not relevant. One, he could have been the size of a much older child and you still could not convince me the defendant was in fear. He is a child and she is an adult who is considerably larger than him and much stronger. Which one of the two was more likely to have felt intimidated wfear of the other? He was 10! He was not defiant or calculating. He was experiencing a crises and lacked the mental capacity as well as emotional maturity to understand the complete chaos going on inside his mind nonetheless have the experience and training needed to find his way out. Do you know who supposedly has the training and experience - on the micro level - to assist a child who has significant limitations and disabilities with overcoming their chaos and -:on a macro level - successfully resolving the crises? Striking someone, whether they are a child or an adult, is assault He was 10 years-old. She She was angry with his refusal to submit. Even more, she was emotionally triggered by the child's racial insults. Parents are charged with assault or abuse for the same exact response. Spouses are charged with domestic violence for the same exact response. She is a professional who has received training on approved methods for restraining special needs children. Her comments about expecting to be fired reveal she knew her actions were wrong and severe enough to warrant charges. The prosecutor failed. They should have subpoenaed the defendant's supervisor (to explain their policy and legal boundaries for crises response and specifically for a child with Keaton's limitations. The state obviously thought they could simply argue their case anf they did not need to provide any evidence or expert testimony.

The sound is horrible!!! Bye!!!

that social worker looks like she could be related to attorney Jennifer Reed lol

Does anyone know anything about autistic children? She shouldn't be working with children with disabilities.

51:29 🤔🗯️ Does the State have nothing better to do then to attempt to destroy a career and or possibly end that same person's entire life situation? I mean if she's guilty of this then she's now possibly liable for money damages, jail time, losing potential custody of a family child if grandkids parents pass away or are incapacitated for a lengthy duration whatever reason!!! I'm also sure that there are many more potential negative ramifications from a guilty verdict for what, defending herself from a violent child regardless if the kids on the spectrum or not, she was defending herself and everyone in the room too!!!

First time I disagree with Judge Simpson!! Ive heard in US Courts that any unwanted touch is battery. Im a nurse + to slap a patient for any reason is wrong!

I usually like this judge but I don't like him at all right now he's not being fair. She's a worker he's a child she uses violence instead of what she was taught he has a disability that she's supposed to be trained to know how to deal with her I don't know what you're talking about judge but this is clear as can be she should be charged. She's an adult hitting a child was a disability.

Judge Simpson usually has good judgment on these cases, he failed miserably on this one.

As a mother with both autism teen and one teen on the spectrum I have called these people and rarely do they call back and much less come. But, they are there to assess the situation not interfere but assess who needs to come to intervene. People should have looked up the procedures the workers should have followed. Most are not allowed to restrain but that perception of a slap on the leg probably made things worse. The child kicking means back up in their language when they don't have enough thought for verbal communication. This worker handled the situation very poorly and should not be allowed to continue her job. I am firm that child perceived the slap as a threat. Importantly this is a person the child did not know. Perception verses intention in the autism world, is a totally different situation. Not happy with the people for not being more prepared. If the procedures of what these workers should have followed would have been brought before the court this case would have been an easy win.

VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THESE COMMENTS. NOBODY HAS A RIGHT TO HIT A CHILD. SHE IS IN THE WRONG JOB IF SHE CANT DE-ESCALATE THINGS. ITS HER DAMN JOB

Where and when is it ok for a grown ass woman to slap a child. It is their job to de-escalate not hit.