'His voice is not heard.’ Non-verbal Brooklyn child comes home from school with missing teeth, bloody shirt
The report later states that the aid claims that he got the days mixed up and that King did take the bus and that he gave him water when he saw the blood but didn't report it to the nurse or the school. Raqibah Smiley says she wasn't notified.
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New York City Public Schools is investigating after Raqibah Smiley says her son King came home from P.S. K721 in Sunset Park with missing teeth and a bloody shirt.
“I'm hurt because my son can't talk. I don't know what someone did. I don't know what he was feeling at the time. I don't know if he was looking for me. I don't know what he felt. So to not know what happened and to see blood. Even if he trip in a park. My heart is racing," said Smiley.
King has autism and is non-verbal and works with a paraprofessional throughout the day. According to the school's incident report, the paraprofessional initially claimed that King came off the bus in the morning without his teeth.
“That's not possible. I drove my son to school. I physically walked my son in the school. I have a photo of my son in my hallway," said Smiley.
Smiley says she took the photo in the morning before school and it appears to show King with no blood on his shirt. The report also says school video shows King walking to school with no blood on his shirt.
The report later states that the aid claims that he got the days mixed up and that King did take the bus and that he gave him water when he saw the blood but didn't report it to the nurse or the school. Smiley says she wasn't notified.
"That's not normal. Everybody's like, ‘Well, he's at the age teeth come out.’ Sure, no worries. But, at the same time, blood stains on his shirt looked like they tried to clean it up. I looked in his bag. There's no note, there's no teeth. I don't know what happened. It's just his bloody shirt," said Smiley.
She says she hasn't taken King back to school because she doesn't feel comfortable.
“It's not fair to him. It's not fair that he can't be around his friends. Be around and do activities that he should do as a child now, because I don't feel safe. They failed me. They failed my son. And I just can't trust nobody," said Smiley.
A spokesperson with New York City Public Schools says the Office of the Special Commissioner is investigating the incident.
“He cannot vocalize what he feels. He can't tell you what happened to him. So his voice is not heard. He's non-verbal, but his momma is not," said Smiley.
