West Orange student with Asperger’s syndrome arrested after incident

A physical altercation on Thursday, March 2, at West Orange High School led to the arrest of a freshman. But his parents argue the school handled the situation inappropriately.

By Gabby Baquero
| 4:45 p.m. March 15, 2017

West Orange Times & Observer
News

WINTER GARDEN – Ashton Gelfand, a former ninth-grade student at West Orange High School, was arrested Thursday, March 2, after an altercation in his first-period class became violent.

Fourteen-year-old Ashton, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, is now facing four misdemeanors. But his parents, Erica and Bryan Gelfand, maintain that the school employees mishandled the situation.

“He’s 14 years old and he still plays with Hot Wheels, you know,” said Erica Gelfand, Ashton’s mother. “Most kids at 14 don’t play with Hot Wheels anymore. So he just doesn’t understand.”

According to the arrest report, the altercation began when the substitute teacher instructed Ashton to refrain from using foul language. However, Ashton refused and responded with more profanities.

The substitute teacher then came over to him and “smacked” Ashton’s hand, knocking the laptop out of his hands, Erica Gelfand said. However, the arrest reports stated the teacher simply tried to remove Ashton’s laptop.

“And Ashton got angry because, A, the sub hit him,” Erica Gelfand said. “And, B, he didn’t understand why the sub was hitting him. C, he knocked his computer out of his hand, which is something we would have to pay for if it had broken. … So he told me, ‘Mama I told him, Imma kick yo’ [expletive].’”

The front office sent Vice Principal Anthony Russell to the classroom. Vanessa Garland, the school resource officer, came in shortly after. Garland, who was aware of Ashton’s issues, called Erica Gelfand to alert her of the situation. Erica Gelfand, who lives about 10 minutes from the school, said she was on her way. But by the time she arrived, the situation had already escalated.

OCPS RESPONSE

1. Specifically, what are teachers trained to do when handling a child with behavioral disorders, (such as autism), who get an emotional or violent outburst?

"All teachers can receive training through OCPS in an international training program that specializes in the safe management of disruptive and assaultive behavior called Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI). OCPS also provides training in CPI's Verbal De-escalation Training and an online training overview of Verbal De-escalation Strategies available to all staff. Additional courses available to any school staff are Mental Health 101 and Trauma Informed Care."

2. What is done to ensure all teachers and staff are aware of how to properly handle those delicate situations involving autistic children so that no one gets hurt?

"The district offers all staff the availability of a two-day training and yearly re-certification process in Crisis Prevention Intervention, which addresses verbal de-escalation strategies, as well as, crisis intervention techniques. For students who exhibit a behavior that requires a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP), a Functional Behavioral Assessment is completed to identify the behavior(s) to be modified and determine the possible causes of the behavior. From this information, a BIP is created to utilize strategies to assist with the behavior. Once a BIP has been written and accepted, all of the student’s teachers and necessary support staff are notified of the plan for implementation."

“So as I’m coming into the school, all I see is an ambulance and a fire truck,” Gelfand said. “I walk in, and all I hear is Ashton screaming, ‘I told them to leave me alone. They wouldn’t leave me alone.’”

Russell and Garland were aggressive as soon as they arrived, Erica Gelfand said. As Garland tried to remove Ashton from a desk, he kept his grasp, which caused “the desk to go flying.”

However, the event as reported in Ashton’s arrest report tells a different story. According to the narrative, the SRO, while standing in the doorway, first used verbal commands to get Ashton to leave. He refused. She then walked to him and asked him to come with her, but he again refused.

The SRO then “used a touch to comfort or console” Ashton, followed by a “firm, strong touch prior to escalating to a higher level.” But Ashton denied to comply, leading the SRO to forcibly remove him from his seat.

According to the narrative, Ashton then picked up his desk and held it up in an aggressive manner.

“Because the desk went flying, the SRO said he tried to hit her with the desk,” Erica Gelfand said. “So through all of this, (Ashton) finally ends up being pepper-sprayed. And so they finally get him down to the front office after they pepper-spray him, and that’s when I come in and hear him.”

After the altercation, he was transported to the hospital because of elevated blood pressure. The following morning, Friday, March 3, a court hearing was held to determine the charges against Ashton. The charge of assault with a deadly weapon was dropped. The remaining charges are battery on a school employee, assault on a school employee, assault on a law-enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence and disruption of an educational institution.

Ashton now has a court date scheduled March 22. He has been suspended and will not return to West Orange High. Instead, he will attend Olympia High.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].