Framingham Mom Angry After Son's Tooth Was Pulled At School
FRAMINGHAM (CBS) - Ten-year-old Chris has lost some of his baby teeth before -- but never quite like this.
Last Tuesday morning, Chris, who is autistic, went to his special needs classroom at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Framingham. His wiggly loose tooth was still intact.
After lunch, the 4th grade teacher sent his mom an e-mail, saying that his loose tooth was very distracting, since Chris kept putting his hands in his mouth.
Chris' mom, Sabrina Grant, read part of that e-mail to WBZ. It said, "We pulled [the tooth] out today and had him checked by the nurse immediately after. He is fine. You will be receiving his tooth this afternoon when he arrives home. If you are bothered by us pulling his tooth, please let me know. I apologize for this in advance."
Grant was beyond bothered; she was enraged.
"I was so upset. I was so worried," she says. "It was obviously someone who wasn't medically trained. Clearly he's a special needs child."
But then Grant took a closer look at her son's mouth, and got even angrier.
"I noticed that the loose tooth that was in his mouth was still in his mouth. And a molar behind his loose tooth [is what] they had pulled out," she explained. "They pulled the wrong tooth!"
Grant says she has since spoken to the school's principal, who has apologized, but she feels like that isn't enough. She wants to pursue criminal charges of assault and child abuse, once she figures out exactly what adults were in the room at the time. She says she does not feel she can send her son back to that school; he hasn't been in class since this happened.
"I feel like I need to follow through," she says. "This is something I can't just let go. I need to advocate for my child and other special needs children."
The superintendent of schools tells WBZ they are investigating this incident and hope to have all interviews completed this week.
