BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Bakersfield parent is seeking answers after her 4-year-old special-needs son came home from school with unexplained injuries.
According to the child’s mother, Jessica Lewis, the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District refused to give her an explanation as to how her autistic and nonverbal son obtained bruises, knots, and a swollen face during his first week of school. The incident happened on Aug. 25 at Bill L. Williams Elementary School.
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“I literally had to turn my head from my baby so he wouldn’t freak out,” Lewis said about the moment she discovered the injuries. “Not knowing what’s going on through his head … How he feels — if he’s in pain — I was angry, fed up. It was so many different emotions just running through me at the same time.”
Her son, Brayden, is autistic and nonverbal. Lewis said that according to a medical report, her son experienced trauma — a hematoma and possible concussion.
“How do you handle that? As a mother, I’m supposed to protect him,” Lewis said. “I gave him to people that I trusted to protect him. And they failed. So it’s like I failed him. That’s how I felt. I felt guilty as if it were my fault.
17 News reached out to the school district and asked them what the protocol is when a child is injured on campus. The district was also asked what it is doing to resolve Lewis’ concerns. In response, PVUSD said, “We are actively investigating this matter. While we are unable to share the details of an ongoing investigation, we take all reports seriously.”
This comes amid a growing push for classroom cameras throughout the state.
“When you send your kid off to school perfectly fine, and then they come home with a big knot on their face and their forehead, how would anyone feel?” said Ashley Hopwood, a parent and classroom camera advocate.
“It’s not to blame it on the teachers. We’re not saying they’re the ones actually causing this. It’s just that we should be able to have answers when we’re sending our children off, especially if they can’t speak for themselves
As for Lewis, she won’t stop until she gets answers and justice for her son.
“We’re doing this movement for all of the other nonverbal and autistic kids out here,” Lewis said. “To prevent them from having to go through whatever my son had to go through.”
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