Make Wendy Portillo Accountable of Emotional Abuse

To assist in getting "teacher" Wendy Portillo responsible for this OUT of her position of influencing young minds, making her realize that THIS IS NOT OKAY TO DO TO A CHILD and to make the school board of St. Lucie County realize that emotional abuse has a lasting effect on those who are victims of it:

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Autistic boy's mother says teacher led classmates to vote him out of class

By Colleen Wixon |Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
May 25, 2008

PORT ST. LUCIE - Melissa Barton said her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14-2 margin, the students voted the boy, who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism, out of the class.

Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the State Attorney's Office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.

Port St. Lucie police no longer are investigating, but police officials are documenting the complaint, she said.

Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.

Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.

Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.

Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. He began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.

Children diagnosed with Asperger's often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior. The boy has had disciplinary issues because of his disability, Barton said. School and district officials have met with Barton and her son to create an individual education plan to address his difficulties, she said. Portillo attended these meetings, Barton said.

Barton said Portillo asked the boy how he felt after the vote.

"He said, 'I feel sad,'" Barton said.

He left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office, she said.

Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse's office.

"He was shaken up," she said.

Barton said the nurse told her to talk with Portillo, who told her what happened. The boy hasn't been back to school since then.

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying, "I'm not special" over and over.

Barton said the boy is reliving the incident.

"He was incredibly upset," Barton said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."

St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident but she could not make any further comment.