Autistic preschooler assaulted by teacher in classroom

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A teacher was fired in New Jersey on Wednesday after allegedly holding a 4-year-old student upside down by his ankles.

His mother is outraged and speaking out as she wonders why someone would do this to her son.

Daylan Wilkins is an adorable 4-year-old with a pair of sparkling brown eyes. But the cute child with autism was allegedly victimized in school.

The principal contacted the Department of Children and Family Services with a disturbing admission.

According to Wilkins, on March 28th, her 4-year-old son, who is nonverbal, was grabbed by his ankles by his pre-school teacher and hung upside down because he did not want to do school activity.

Another teacher inside the classroom alerted the principal of the school.

"He had frequent visits to the nurse's offices with some injuries," she said. "Some of them were explained, some of them were not. So, I began to worry."

Family members are understandably upset that the 4-year-old child was treated like a rag doll and not given the special attention a parent should expect.

The school district issued the following statement on the matter, stating: "Health and safety of our students are the highest priority for the South Orange and Maplewood School District. We are cooperating with the appropriate authorities and are unable to offer further comments due to the confidentiality applicable to student and personnel matters."

Dozens of protesters gathered Saturday inside the South Orange train station to demand answers about the status of a teacher who allegedly held Daylan Wilkins, an autistic, non-verbal Black toddler, upside-down by his ankles as he dangled in the air last month.

The Wilkins family was not notified of the incident when they arrived to pick-up the toddler that day, according to reports. Instead, the family was told about what happened more than 48 hours after the alleged incident took place. The family said they still have not heard additional information from the administration in over a month, despite making multiple requests for updates about the teacher involved and any additional discipline handed down.

The name of the teacher involved in the incident also has not been released by the district.

In a previous statement, South Orange and Maplewood superintendent Ronald Taylor said the district is “cooperating with the appropriate authorities,” but the district would not comment further due to confidentiality concerns.

During the rally Saturday, community leaders, educators and a host of supporters expressed anger and frustration over the situation, chanting “Justice for Daylan!” and “We demand transparency!” Devena Wilkins, Daylan’s mother, stood to the right of protestors, her face visibly anguished, as Daylan sat on his grandfather’s lap during the rally.

Others also are demanding answers from the school and district. Felisha George, a community organizer in South Orange, is set on getting to the bottom of the situation.

“The list of demands are simple,” George said in front of the protestors. “We want Daylan to be placed in another school, full transparency about the policy when it comes to a child being harmed and the name of the teacher to be released.”

“This type of thing has become a pattern of this school district having issues with teachers and students of color,” said TJ. Whitaker, a teacher at nearby Columbia High School. “There was a lawsuit filed regarding a teacher in the district [Nicole Dufault] for assaulting some of her students years back.”

Family members say they are taking it one day at a time.

“This has been the hardest thing we’ve had to deal with,” said Candie Wilkins, grandmother of Daylan. “At the most recent board of education meeting, we received no answers to what’s the status of the investigation. The board members just looked at us with blank stares and shook their heads.”

South Orange Village Chief of Police, Ernesto Morillo, also released a statement about the incident, calling the allegations “particularly troubling where a child may have been the victim of physical abuse. No parent should ever feel that their child is anything but safe when left in the care of faculty at any school.

“That being said, it is also important that everyone receives due process when accused of any act, especially one that may be deemed criminal,” the statement continued. “The family of the alleged victim and the public can feel confident that a thorough and complete investigation is being conducted.”

A group of parents and activists held a protest outside Heber's Dogwood Elementary School on Thursday, April 27, after local education authorities refused to investigate an alleged case of abuse by a teacher against a Kindergarten student with autism.