Video Shows A Houston-Area Autistic Child Getting Beat Up By Another Student, While Three School Aides Seemingly Stand and Watch. The Aides Have Now Been Let Go

Three Texas middle school paraprofessionals have been fired after a video shows them watching another student physically beat up a special-needs student. The aides stood around as spectators as the child, whose mental capacity is equivalent to a pre-K or kindergartener, was hit, pushed to the ground, and kicked repeatedly. Veda Cavitt, the boy’s grandmother has advocated the Houston-area Aldine Independent School District (ISD) to fire three Jones Middle School aides for not immediately responding after witnessing an assault on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Sekai, an autistic 6th grader who happens to also be non-verbal, accidentally bumped a much larger student in the hallway, causing him to violently retaliate.

The school’s surveillance footage shows the older student mushing the 11-year-old child to the floor and kicking him as he crawled. Once the boy was able to get his footing and stand up, the older student is seen punching him until he drops to the floor for a second time.

Three adults are in the camera view during the video. In the video, it appears to be a male figure addresses the aggressor and seems to separate the pair. However, it didn’t stop the incident and the attacker kicks Sekai a few more times as the aides and other students watch.

As a result of the assault, Sekai missed two days of school according to the grandmother, is currently being evaluated by medical professionals.

“Those adults in that video stood there,” Cavitt said at a news conference. “They did not attempt to help my child get up off the ground. They did not offer him any assistance. They didn’t even check to see if he was injured.”

The grandmother became Sekai’s custodial guardian about ten years ago when his parents passed away. The severity of the child’s autism has hindered his development, stagnating his psychological growth to that of a 4- or 5-year-old.  Activist and leader in the New Black Panther Party Quanell X accompanied family during a press conference and said, “This little boy was three-times smaller than this big kid that was allowed to punch, hit, kick and stomp this mother’s child.”

He added, “It is a disgrace what’s on that video, but it’s an even further disgrace the actions of the professionals who are hired and paid by the taxpayers of Aldine ISD.”

“How can other special-needs mothers send their children back to this school knowing the same paraprofessionals are standing in the same classrooms?” he asked.

Dr. Candice Matthews, the Chair of the Rainbow Push Coalition’s Statewide Steering Committee is standing with the family. Matthews told Fox 26 Houston, “What we saw in this video was deplorable. It was horrid. It was unacceptable and inhumane.

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