Strategies questioned in trial of Schaumburg special ed teacher

By Barbara Vitello Daily Herald Staff
Contact writer
Published: 12/9/2008 12:06 AM
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=256685

Strategies teachers use in dealing with autistic children underscored the opening statements in the trial of Patrick McCarthy, a former special education teacher charged with mistreating three autistic students at Schaumburg's Robert Frost Junior High School.

Schaumburg police charged the 32-year-old Palatine resident with three counts of aggravated battery and one count of unlawful restraint in the incidents which took place between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20, 2007.

Having a student wear a weighted vest or jump on a small trampoline are among the strategies teachers sometimes employ in dealing with special needs children like those in McCarthy's class, acknowledged Assistant State's Attorney Cathy Nauheimer in her opening statement Monday in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.

"But they are not used in conjunction," she said.

According to police, McCarthy made a student wear the vest while jumping for 40 minutes on the trampoline.

"That is not a procedure or strategy that is correct," Nauheimer said. "It is not used for teaching purposes."

Nauheimer also alleged that McCarthy tied a student in a chair with a jump rope and slammed another into a cabinet.

Defense attorney Thomas Breen refuted Nauheimer's comments in his opening statement, calling McCarthy a dedicated teacher and describing the Schaumburg police investigation as "horribly faulty."

"Patrick McCarthy never abused a child in his classroom," said Breen. "Never.

"He might be agitated from time to time, but he was a good teacher."

Breen described McCarthy's classroom, which in 2007 included six autistic students - three more than the previous year and twice as many as such a class would typically have. It was a classroom unlike the classrooms most people experience, said Breen.

Breen said autistic students manifest their conditions differently. Depending on where they fall on the autism spectrum, people with this condition may be unable to control their emotions. They might be disruptive, physically aggressive toward others or themselves, or they may lose control when angry or frustrated causing them to bang their heads or pull their hair.

"These students at any given moment can have a meltdown," said Breen, adding that a ringing bell or a sudden noise can trigger an episode. For that reason, the class is run differently than most other classes.

"It is special education, and special education comes with special tools," said Breen. "Problems are dealt with in special ways."

Calling the police investigation chaotic and selective, Breen suggested that investigators were unaware of such special strategies.

If convicted, McCarthy faces two to five years in prison. Testimony resumes at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Rolling Meadows courtroom 110.