Sandra and Samantha Rodriguez.

Samantha Rodriguez was hanging her 3-year-old son's backpack on its hook at Aiken Elementary School in West Hartford two weeks ago when she heard his teacher's voice coming from behind her.

"She told me, ‘By the way, we used a weight vest on [your son] yesterday,'" said Rodriguez of the teacher, Ann Sullivan.

Rodriguez didn't know how to respond. Stunned, she asked exactly what was a weight vest? Pointing to some smocks the children wear for art, Sullivan said it looked like those, only it had weights in it "to weigh him down so he can stay sitting longer."

Rodriguez's son didn't want to sit still for "circle time," explained Sullivan. He was "wiggly" and didn't always listen well and the weight vest helped him. Rodriguez says the conversation took place in front of other parents dropping their children off - none of whose children had worn the weight vest. Humiliated and near tears, Rodriguez, 21, walked away without responding.

"It was sad because [my son] was the only one who had that used on him," said Rodriguez.

When, a short while later that day, Samantha's mother Sandra Rodriguez heard what had happened to her grandson, she immediately called the Board of Education to complain, leaving a message for Timothy Dunn, assistant superintendent for administration. Then she and Samantha jumped in the car and headed back to Aiken.

"I went straight to the teacher and waited for everybody to leave," said Sandra. "She was pale as a ghost when she saw us. I said, ‘I need to speak to you in private.' She said, ‘I know.'"

According to Sandra, the principal, Kathleen Rotchford-McKay, soon joined the trio and they went to her office to talk. Rodriguez and her daughter had never met Rotchford-McKay before, but recognized her as the woman they saw through a window, playing with Samantha's son, when they arrived.

Sandra says Rotchford-McKay apologized to her and her daughter for what had happened, and said the vest, which the principal described as an "occupational therapy device,"  would not be used on Samantha's son again.

Sullivan had something covered in brightly colored fabric crumpled at her feet. Would they like to see the vest? Sandra told them to get it out of the room before she did something she regretted.

"Why didn't you just tie him to a tree? It's the same thing," she remembered saying.

School officials declined to comment on the Rodriguezes' account of events.

Weighted vests are in fact used in therapy for autistic children, or children with sensory integration disorder - a condition that makes them uncomfortable with things like fluorescent lights, or the texture of their food - according to David Medina, spokesman for Hartford Public Schools.

Medina said the vests are used in the Hartford school system, but only with the parents' consent and only when prescribed by an occupational therapist. He said experts describe the effect of the vest, when used properly, as "like being hugged."

"It's a heavy coat with lead weights," said Medina. "It's not meant as a punishment and it's only to be applied for 15 minutes, approximately."

Susan Avena, a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Trinity College in Hartford, confirmed that the pressure of a weight vest can be soothing to children with autism or other disorders.

"Autism in general is not well understood, but think of it in terms of children not being able to filter out stimulation," said Avena. "They engage in behaviors to soothe that, repetitive behaviors like spinning the wheel of a toy truck over and over. Focusing in on one stimulus feels good to them. My understanding is that the pressure of a weight vest does the same thing, eliminating some of the stimuli."

Sandra Rodriguez says her grandson is not autistic or being treated for any other disorder. He did have speech therapy for a short time, she says, but that ended when it was decided he was simply a "very quiet little boy."

As for being wiggly, Avena says that's to be expected.

"Three-year-olds wiggle. You can't expect them to sit still all the time," said Avena. "You have to design the classroom around the idea that 3-year-olds have a short attention span and limits to the control they have over their energy. Punishment for not being able to sit still at this age is not appropriate."

By the end of the meeting that day at Aiken, Sandra Rodriguez says Ann Sullivan had tears in her eyes. She says Sullivan tried to hug her, but that she turned her away.

"I said, ‘Don't touch me,' and we left," she said.

That evening, Sandra says she received a call from Dunn, who said he was going to get to the bottom of the matter. Dunn's subsequent explanation that the vest was a "therapeutic occupational device" did little to calm Sandra's anger. But Dunn did respond quickly to the incident, and arranged for her grandson to be transferred to Whiting Lane School, where he had already attended summer school and was familiar with the teachers and other children.

"I feel that [Dunn] was fair. He resolved this in a professional manner," Sandra said. "He did the best he could with our story."

Dunn told the Advocate he was unable to comment for this story because of privacy considerations. He did confirm that, like Hartford schools, West Hartford schools use weight vests as therapy.

Returning home from school on a recent afternoon, Sandra's grandson had no trouble talking to me, marching over to shake my hand and say hello before settling in next to his grandmother to munch on french fries. Soon he left to play upstairs in the West Hartford home where he lives with his mother, uncle and grandparents.

"He was immobilized in front of all his peers. I can't imagine what he was thinking," Sandra said. "I keep asking him, but he doesn't know. He loves school. He probably doesn't understand what happened to him."

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