Today was the lowest point in my career. I was kicked by an eight year old student. He's autistic. He was disappointed and upset this morning and as I was attempting to communicate with him (to find out what was bothering him) he kicked me in the knee and I went down.

Last year I had emergency surgery on that same knee. I actually think I'm O.K. physically but it has certainly scrambled my brains. I am the first person to be able to communicate with him at all. I have taught him to read and he is at grade level in math. Before now, all anyone could do was try to deal with the behaviour. I'm quite fond of this child but I do have limits.

I called his parents and requested that they pick him up and keep him home for the day. Their 18 year old daughter screamed at me and told me that he had a right to be in school! I then asked the principal to contact the parents and remove the child from my classroom for the day. They showed up at noon.

I tried to teach the rest of the class but I couldn't stay focussed so I let them have extra P.E. time, read a story and we did Art for the rest of the day. I'm feeling very unsure of entering the classroom tommorrow. This incident has left me feeling drained and exhausted. I think I may need to seek counselling.

My questions are many:

Is this fair to the other students?

Should the student be suspended?

Should the student be expelled?

Should the student be transferred to a special class?

Should I call the Union?

Should I return to work?

Should I sue?

What do I do until this situation is resolved?