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After a crisis, when returning to class after his meal, Olivier, 10, an autistic child educated in a Lyon establishment, was excluded from the establishment’s canteen for an “indefinite period”. After the mobilization of his mother to make things happen, the child will finally be able to return to the refectory to eat with his comrades.
It’s a story that shows how children with disabilities can be victims of decisions that are as unfair as they are unusual.
Excluded from the canteen for an “indefinite period”
Olivier, a 10-year-old autistic boy, is educated in a school in the 9th arrondissement of the city of Lyon. On November 24, after a panic attack in the absence of his school referent, the little boy had been excluded from the canteen “for an indefinite period”.
It was the third time since December 2021 that Olivier was thus deprived of a canteen. Reason given by the establishment: the lack of competent extracurricular staff to manage a student with a disability.
Daily trips to eat with his son
Since the end of November, his mother had to travel daily between her workplace and school to have lunch outside with her son, under the school playground and in the cold. A room was then found for them so that they could eat in the warm, but what Cécile wanted was quite simply equal treatment for her son: to eat in the canteen in the same way as her classmates. So she had the idea of sharing her story on social networks, and the little boy’s misadventure quickly went viral.
A solution has been found! Olivier, a young child with autism and excluded from his school canteen in Lyon on November 24, will be able to return to his canteen on Tuesday. A new AESH has been recruited to accompany him. pic.twitter.com/CDnEZqiHBo
— BFM Lyon (@BFMLyon) December 5, 2022
The mayor of the city “regrets” the situation
The story reached the heads of associations like Handicap.fr or Bleu Network, who largely supported Cécile. She was able to share her anger and outrage on their networks. “My child, who has a disability, is excluded. The 2005 law is not respected, the inclusion of children with disabilities is not respected”, she also lamented on the antenna of BFM TV. “I would like to eat inside with my friends because we can chat, then we can play”explains Olivier.
The mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet was quick to react, regretting this situation, which “is not isolated” according to him and recalling “the massive commitment of the State to welcome all the children of the Republic with dignity”.
For Florent Chapel, co-president of Autism Info Service, “this story illustrates the more general problem of the reception and care of autistic children during extracurricular time and in the canteen. These children need to be supervised throughout the day, with specialized educators. And it is the role of the State and the mayors, to put in place this supervisory staff”.
Reintegration and recruitment of AESH for Olivier
It is precisely to honor this commitment, largely flouted in this story, that the City of Lyon and the National Education took the decision yesterday, Monday, December 5 to reinstate Olivier in the canteen of his school the next day. The city of Lyon explains in a press release that it has recruited a new student assistant with a disability (AESH) who will intervene in extracurricular time. “A new meeting will be organized in January with all the actors concerned, including National Education, to find an appropriate and lasting solution to Olivier’s situation.“, continues the city which calls the State “to closer cooperation work on the status and funding of AESH“.