‘Where’s the trust?’ Ontario dad demands answers after autistic daughter allegedly kicked by early childhood educator

An Ontario father is speaking out and calling for justice after his seven-year-old non-verbal, autistic daughter was allegedly kicked in the stomach by an educator at school.

Granville Mayers says he was notified of the incident last week when his daughter’s principal at Viola Desmond Public School in Milton called him and said his daughter had been kicked in the stomach by an Early Childhood Educator.

“They’re telling me a little boy witnessed the incident, and he did the right thing, and went and told the principal or his staff,” Mayers tells Now Toronto.

Mayers says learning of the assault was “a nightmare.”

“Especially knowing your child is non-verbal, wouldn’t even understand what that means. She might think it’s a game. She doesn’t understand what being kicked by an adult would even mean,” he said.

Mayers says he immediately took the situation into his own hands and called the police. Afterwards, he also documented what happened in a now-viral video, which he says has led other parents from the same school to come forward with similar incidents.

“Kids are getting assaulted on the buses, maybe sometimes by other students. They get made fun of every day, but so many things happen and then they kind of just brush it off,” he said. “Where’s the trust?”

In a statement to Now Toronto, the Halton District School Board says it is aware of the incident and that, for any concerns involving the safety of students, the board works with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and police.

“When this concern was brought forward, school administration immediately followed these established protocols. This matter has also been referred to the HDSB’s Human Resources Department and is being addressed through the appropriate processes,” the statement said.

The school board says the staff member has been assigned home pending the investigation.

Now Toronto also reached out to Halton Police, who say it is too early to provide any updates or information related to the investigation.

A letter was also sent out to students and staff from the school’s principal about the alleged assault; however, Mayers says he did not receive the email.

Communications Manager of Parents of Black Children (PoBC), Shannon Liverpool, says the organization has been in contact with both Mayers and the school board regarding the case, and says reported incidents involving abuse are rising among Black children.

“We have seen 57 per cent of our cases involve neurodivergent babies, and a lot of them have to do with abuse, a lot of them have to do with racial harm. And I know a lot of people wonder, why do we keep saying racial harm? Because if this wasn’t a black child, would it still happen?,” she says.

Liverpool says PoBC is calling for immediate action to be taken, including the suspension of the ECE’s license.

“She should not be around children period. As far as we’re concerned, our first priority is making sure that vulnerable children are no longer allowed around educators,” she said.

She says the organization is also calling for an investigation into all educators at the school due to the repeated allegations. She adds that legal action will also be pursued.

“We want to make sure that nobody feels comfortable to ever do this again,” she said.

Granville says justice will also include the installation of cameras in classrooms, especially in sensory rooms and anywhere there are nonverbal children. He’s also calling on other parents to speak up when needed.

“This is for your child. Do everything that you have to do for their safety, and don’t be afraid of anything,” he said.