Parents Sue North Texas Behavioral Center Over Abuse of Autistic Child
August 05 2024 - 6:23PM
Business Wire
Firouzbakht Law complaint alleges coverup by
ABA Interactive; police investigating
Attorneys with Firouzbakht Law Firm have filed a lawsuit against
a North Texas behavioral center after viewing a video that shows a
therapist throwing a non-verbal autistic boy against a wall.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare,” said trial lawyer Wesley
Gould. “This child doesn’t have the ability to vocalize what was
happening to him at that place. Someone has to speak for him and
that’s what we’re determined to do.”
The defendant is North Richland Hills-based ABA Interactive, a
behavioral health facility that, according to its website, focuses
on applied behavior analysis (ABA) for adults and children with
special needs.
The lawsuit describes disturbing details in which the parents of
a 7-year-old non-verbal autistic boy noticed a large scratch and
several bruises on his face after picking up the child from ABA
Interactive in June 2024.
According to the filing, ABA staff members gave parents
different versions of events that led to the injuries. The parents
say they initially were told the boy scratched himself during a
behavioral episode. When they asked ABA management if they could
see surveillance video of the classroom, the school denied
permission to do so.
The parents say ABA Interactive’s founder, Kiara Henry, later
met with them to describe what she saw in the video and said the
child was subjected to gentle restraint on the day of the alleged
abuse after a tantrum.
Eventually, the parents were able to view a classroom video of
the incident after being provided a copy by another therapist,
according to the lawsuit. In the video, the child can be seen
patting a behavior therapist’s lap in order to get her attention.
Then another employee lifted the child from his collar and slammed
him against a wall with her hands around his neck, stepping on
another autistic child in the process.
The North Richland Hills police department is investigating.
“We’re going to investigate to see whether there may be other
instances of abuse against autistic children at ABA Interactive
that have been unreported to authorities,” said firm founder Eric
Firouzbakht.
The case is Ramila Chalise et al. vs. ABA Interactive LLC. Cause
no. 141-355277-24 in Tarrant County.
About Firouzbakht Law Firm
Firouzbakht Law Firm is an award-winning legal team dedicated to
securing justice on behalf of clients. With offices in Houston,
Dallas, Atlanta and Denver, Firouzbakht Law has helped those who
have been hurt or wronged by the negligence of others, specializing
in car accidents, workplace injuries, apartment complex violence
and wrongful death cases. For more information, visit
https://firouzbakhtlawfirm.com/
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Alyssa Woulfe 800-559-4534 alyssa@androvett.com