My daughter was the victim of a teacher who withheld lunches and snacks (that I packed) for her as punishment for taking a single chip or a cookie from other classmates. My daughter is autistic and nonverbal. She was not able to tell me what the teacher had been doing. I did not discover this until the teacher bragged about it to my face at a meeting. When I voiced my displeasure, she wrote an apology admitting that she had been taking my daughter's food as punishment for taking a single item from her classmates at snack/lunch times. When I asked why didn't she remove my child WITH her food away from the other students, she stated she "didn't think to do it." When I asked if my daughter protested and tried to retrieve her food she said "yes." I thought, "Anyone who could do this to a small, helpless, six year old, non verbal child should be fired." That is exactly what I set out to do--have her fired. Although I fought for a year for her to be removed from children with disabilities so that she could never hurt them again, she was allowed to keep her job. The Dept of Education claimed that there was no proof that my child was harmed. Therefore, the message was clear: Teachers have the right to deny non verbal children the right to sustenance so long as they are protected by unions. And yet...how ironic is it that there are laws against animal cruelty. I ask you, what is more important in the United States--the rights of a child to have full access to nourishment, comfort, and safety or the rights of an animal? When our forefathers wrote the Constitution and guaranteed the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, they did not exclude children with special needs. Currently, there are far too many stories in the media regarding children with autism being physically, emotionally, and psychologically abused by teachers, teacher's assistants, bus drivers, etc. They are getting away with it. Parents are being forced to resort to attach digital recorders to their children in an effort to obtain proof of abuse due to the fact that the children are physically incapable of returning home and saying "Mom/Dad I'm being hurt at school by someone whom you trusted to protect me." What do these parents receive in return for their efforts? A slap in the face from the school systems. These teachers are not arrested. They aren't being terminated. They are allowed to keep their jobs and simply transfer to other schools where they are free to abuse other children. The aides are allowed to resign, etc. Thus the cycle of abuse continues. There is no prosecution. No jail time. No community service. Nothing. How is it that this country sent a man to prison for dog fighting but we cannot send people to prison who abuse children with autism? We cannot allow this to continue to happen. We have a duty to protect innocent children who cannot protect themselves. I ask for your support in fighting for a bill that will hold persons accountable for inflicting physical, emotional, and psychological trauma on children with autism spectrum disorder.  We must take a stand and let our lawmakers know that we as parents, as a community, as a society, and as a nation will not stand for the safety of our children to be compromised.  In addition, we will not tolerate having our childrens' constitutional rights violated by people who fail to uphold the values of justice, beneficence, and non malfeasance. Autism robbed my child of the ability to speak. Therefore, until a cure is found, I must be her voice. I implore you to assist me and thousands of other parents who are in my position to protect our children. Advocate for and protect the rights of children with autism. Please sign this petition and impart your support for a bill to be enacted in Ohio that will hold public and private service employees accountable for abusing children with autism spectrum disorder.