A classroom assault has led to “18 months of suffering” for one Special Needs Assistant.
It left Sophie Cole with complex regional pain syndrome in her left hand, one of the world’s most painful and incurable conditions that affects the nervous system.
A recent survey by the INTO has found that 58% of primary school teachers in Ireland have experienced physical aggression in the classroom.
On The Hard Shoulder today, Ms Cole said her assault happened when she was cleaning up some water that had spilled on the ground to prevent a child from slipping.
“They picked up my hand and slammed it into the table and everything changed in that instant,” she said.
“I’ve been left suffering with excruciating pain, burning pain.
“I underwent major surgery and suffered a post-op infection and I’m only just out of hospital.
"This is 18 months on and I’m left with this for life and facing surgeries in the future.”
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Ms Cole said she’s one of “thousands” of teachers and SNAs who have been assaulted at work.
“Others have had their backs broken, damage to done to short-term memory, injuries resulting in the loss of an eye, partial facial paralysis and PTSD,” she said.
“The injuries are really extreme in some cases and all it takes is just one bad hit or bad throw.
“You will see these injuries increasing too if early intervention isn’t put in place.”
'Government has failed'
The SNA said the blame lies in the hands of Government - not the children.
“The Government has failed to provide adequate access to multi-disciplinary teams and services for them,” she said.
“Their behaviour is a form of communication and it plays a wide role in the frequency and extent of the assaults we’re seeing – it’s not the children’s fault.
“There’s not enough early intervention and when a child is struggling to communicate, we see the behaviours escalate.”
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Ms Cole is calling on Government to make three amendments to help victims deal with classroom assaults.
“Number one, to provide immediate financial assistance to cover expenses relating to medical bills, therapy sessions and medication,” she said.
“Number two is to provide assault leave to teachers and SNAs for the duration of their medically certified leave.
“Number three is to establish a comprehensive support system for educators who have become victims of violence.”
'Struggle to concentrate'
Ms Cole said she is unable to work as a result of her injuries.
“I’ve lost the use of my left hand and with the pain I’m in, I scream, shout and rock,” she said.
“I have brain fog with the medication I’m on and really struggle to concentrate – I’m on huge doses of opioids and couldn’t do any job at the moment.”
The SNA said she is only receiving a weekly payment of €220 from Government following the assault, despite being on medically certified leave.
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Main image: A teacher in class with students. Image: Roman Lacheev / Alamy Stock Photo
