Damaging Children

Random is 11 years old, but looks about 8. He has the concentration span of a goldfish, and the communication skills of a particularly frantic chicken. Unfortunately for health and safety, he also has the acrobatic ability and disregard for danger of a monkey, and the mental health of, well, Eeyore. Random is clinically depressed, and the combination of this with his constant twisting and turning and above all shouting his every fleeting thought neural impulse to the entire class, makes him an interesting character in a class of 31 without a TA because, believe it or not, this child is not statemented. He is, however, profoundly disturbed.

His behaviour has deteriorated since he arrived in September as he seemed to lose the few coping skills he had, and resort to gestures, shouts of anger and lots of throwing things whenever he didn't like a situation. He was expelled from 2 primary schools. In my class, if he understands the work and I stand next to him, he will work quietly, with occasional breaks to say exciting things to the poor child next to him ('Willy's elephant's having a baby.' 'I like to break my teeth.' 'Why do you love education?'). If I remove myself so far as a meter, however, he cannot cope and will do no work whatsoever, but start his acrobatics and shout to the entire class.

Last week I had him removed from my class after a rousing rendition of a speech that might be entitled 'This is What Gay People Do', accompanied with quite astonishing actions and acrobatics, because blatant homophobia in front of 30 other 11 year olds is too much. On other days he will actually fall asleep on the floor if left to his own devices even briefly. Today, he informed me that he was going to kill himself.

I am beyond worried for this child and the situation that has produced him, and the 7 younger siblings at home, all now diagnosed with communication difficulties. We are damaging him by putting him repeatedly in situations which he so obviously cannot cope with. I want to allow him his coping strategies, destructive as they are, because it seems so cruel to take even that away from him and punish him for it, but I am worried for the rest of the class. It is disturbing, as an 11 year old child, to be exposed to ideas, language and behaviour like Random's, and I have no idea what effect it is having on the other children. That is why I try to contain him, and remove him, when his shouting and actions dominate the class for minutes on end. What does Ankle Socks, sitting quietly and working away at the back, think of all this? What is it doing to her? Can I stop it?