A child with special needs was allegedly thrown against a wall by an employee of a local behavioral center, prompting a lawsuit from the parents.
While it appears that no criminal charges have been filed, the lawsuit indicates the kid sustained injuries and another minor with special needs was stepped on during the purported altercation.
The incident reportedly happened in North Richland Hills.
In Dallas, assaults on children are not easily tracked on the City’s public-facing crime analytics dashboard. However, the victim demographic dashboard shows that more than 1,000 individuals under the age of 18 have been assaulted in Dallas proper this year as of August 5.
Here’s some of what KERA News reported on the incident in North Richland Hills:
A lawsuit filed Monday alleges a therapist threw a 7-year-old non-verbal autistic boy against a wall at a North Richland Hills behavioral center, resulting in a large scratch and several bruises on his face.
The boy’s parents allegedly noticed the injuries after picking him up from ABA Interactive in June.
KERA News reached out to ABA Interactive’s founder Kiara Henry and will update this story with any comment.
According to the lawsuit, the parents were told different versions of the story. Initially they were told the boy scratched himself during a behavioral episode. They were also denied permission to see surveillance video, but were later provided a copy by another therapist.
The video shows the boy patting a behavior therapist’s lap to get her attention, according to court documents. After the therapist walked away to tend to another matter, another employee allegedly lifted him from his collar and slammed him against a wall with her hands around his neck, stepping on another autistic child in the process, according to the suit.
The lawsuit was filed in Tarrant County by attorneys with Firouzbakht Law Firm.