JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Brieanna Martinez, a mother of five, said she is always aware of challenges that come with raising an autistic child, but nothing could prepare her for what would happen last Wednesday.
Shortly after starting her work day, Martinez said she received a call from her autistic son's school informing her that he was showing COVID-19 symptoms.
"I get a phone call very early, about 10 a.m., that I need to come pick him up, that he's showing signs of COVID[-19]," Martinez said.
Quickly, Martinez said she put two and two together and realized his tics had been mistaken for the virus.
As she left her job to head toward Oceanway Middle School, Martinez said she relayed to school staff that her son, 12-year-old Juleus, has certain tics related to his autism.
"The clearing of the throat, his coughing, it's just something that he does when he's anxious or overwhelmed," she said. "They know his tics, they know what he does, and it was just really frustrating to have to go to the school and deal with it when I know it's not COVID[-19] related."
When Martinez picked her son up from school, she said the principal suggested Juleus continue his learning online. Martinez said she and Juleus were sent home with a laptop.
After getting Juleus into the car to head home, Martinez began taking a video of his explanation of what happened at school.
"It was a little cough.. just normal.. to clear my throat," he said through tears. "All the students just screamed and just run away from me.. like they think I'm infected."
This led students nearby to become vocal. He said the teacher told students to move away from him, and sent him out of the room.
"The whole classroom and the classmates started screaming and laughing. And this girl said, 'I don't want to get COVID!' And I just said, 'I don't have the virus.' It made me sad," he told First Coast News. "Heartbroken."
Juleus said he was sent to the office, evaluated by nurses and placed in a containment room before Martinez arrived at the school.
"It really broke my heart that he was treated that way. That the teacher didn't step in and calm the other students that were picking on him," Martinez said. "Nobody, adult wise, stepped in and let the kids know he's different. Not every student is cookie-cutter when it comes to dealing with what's going on right now with COVID."
First Coast News reached out to Duval County Public Schools for comment, and school district provided the following response:
"In situations where a child is sent home with COVID-19 symptoms, the child would be allowed to return with written documentation from a licensed medical provider that the symptoms were caused by a condition other than COVID-19. If one of the symptoms was fever, the child would also need to be fever-free for 24 hours.
For privacy reasons, we can’t address this individual family’s situation in the media, but school leadership has been in continual communication with the parties involved to address her concerns and explain the solution. And the solution is both simple and in the best interest of safety for all involved. In cases such as these, fever-free and an appropriate note from the doctor is all that is needed to return to school."
Martinez said she is trying to enroll her son in a different school, but that she has not ruled out Juleus returning to Oceanway.
She said after the incident, she hopes to raise awareness of autism and its associated behaviors as a way to stop other children from being ostracized.
"Everybody handles their anxiety and things different. It's not controllable, and we try to make it where it's a little bit more socially acceptable," Martinez said. "But some things, when you try to focus on controlling it, you just have no power over it and it can actually intensify it and make it worse. He just has such a kind heart and is so forgiving of all situations that he can really look past things that happen. And he's just ready to move forward from it because he loves school. He loves learning."