**note: this is a bit more serious than what I normally share on here…but it really got to me…**

On page 2, of the Toronto Star, Friday June 20th, there is an article titled:

“Blanket suffocates autistic boy in Quebec.”

Article available Here, and a short written one here.

At first, after reading the title, and before reading the article, I thought, “oh no, another unfortunate death in the crib.” I read the first few sentences, and became confused when I read that he was 9-years-old. “Okay, then…how did he suffocate?”

Here is where apparently some one lacked some common sense.

This was my first introduction to a thing called the weighted blanket. A practice not only do I think is ridiculously unnecessary, but…extremely absurd. Of course this is coming from someone who doesn’t understand why in the world it was created in the first place, despite its means to calm down the child in their fits.

In any case, the article states..

who weighed about 50 pounds, was placed on his stomach with his arms at his side then wrapped from head to toe in the 39-pound blanket. The boy was left for nearly 20 minutes

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this, but back a few years, I was playing around with my cousins. I rolled over on my stomach, and cried mercy. My two cousins, aged 6 and 7, then came and sat on my back. I was laughing so hard from my play, that it was rather difficult to breathe. Because they were on my back, they were compressing my diaphram or lung expansion, leading me to take much more shallow breaths. Anyway it was a bit of an annoying situation, so I finally had to get them off of me.

I can’t say, for obvious reasons, that that is exactly what it must have felt like. But I can only glimpse into a tiny spectrum of what he much have went through. Except that Gabriel’s situation was so much more dangerous and unfortunately lead to his death.

But here is what upset me for several hours after.

50 pounds. On stomach. Arms at side. Head to toe. 39 pounds. Left alone.

I was working after reading this article, and it just kept playing back in my head, over and over.

I understand that it is not easy to be a teacher. Especially when tending to special needs individuals. I do give them respect for the fact that they normally have much more patience than I would ever have. A more calm mind to think things through. I don’t think that the teacher was necessarily wrong. Just quite unfortnately VERY misguided in her teachings, and VERY misinformed about the issues that may/and did arise from using a weighted blanket, and VERY unfortunately lacking common sense when dealing with the issue.

My heart broke, as my mind was angered. To think such a thing could have happened. When I was angered, all I could think was that this was no different then handcuffing “bad” and rowdy students to the wall in their classroom for a time out. Then add an unexpected fire that starts in the school.

Things desperately need to change. We cannot keep being so barbaric in or methods to “punish” students. We do need to be firm, but in a constructive manner.

I know not everything makes that much sense, reading this crazed writing of mine…but I really needed to get it off my chest.

I do hope that the parents are able to start something, to ensure a safer environment for their children.

I’m sick and tired of these things, that could have been avoided. Stop spending money unnecessarily, and properly fund schools so that they can provide more means to a proper, and safe educational environment.