A Nova Scotia school is changing its playground policy after a father complained that children with special needs were being put inside a fenced-in hockey rink during lunchtime.
For a number of years it has been routine for Harbour View Elementary School to put the children into the rink while the other students play together.
Every day Sean Christie picks up his five-year-old son for lunch so he won't have to spend the break inside the rink, which is on school grounds.
"He's a sweet little boy, he likes his video games, he likes his puppy," Christie said about his son, who has autism.
"He loves playing on the playground but all the other kids would just know that either he's a danger to himself or a danger to other kids and he's put away everyday.
Christie said he feels his son is treated like a "goldfish in a bowl: he's just put on display for the other kids."
A spokesperson with the Halifax Regional School Board said the school isn't trying to segregate children with special needs, it's just trying to keep them safe. The school said there are concerns that the kids will run away if not in the fenced-in area.
Up to 10 children have special needs.
"All schools in the province believe firmly in inclusion and in creating opportunities for the students to be included in all activities within the schoolyard. The challenge at times is to ensure that student safety" is addressed, said Doug Hadley, from the Halifax Regional School Board.
But Christie said he is concerned about safety inside the rink.
"I walk inside of there and there's broken beer bottles, the leaves have never been raked up, there's dog poop bags in there," he said.
The school board said it has addressed that issue and it won't happen again. It says it will follow the wishes of any parent who does not want his or her child in the rink.
Also, they said they encourage children with special needs to bring friends into the rink with them.
Christie said his son is largely non-verbal and couldn't invite a friend into the rink even if he wanted to.
"Everyone continuously tells me that he's going to be able to do the same things that anybody else can do -- read, everything. And I believe it, he's a smart little guy, but how is he supposed to be able to do all these things if no one is giving him the opportunity to try?" he said.
Christie added that he worries about how the situation makes his son feel.
"That breaks your heart. He has it hard in so many other ways in life that school shouldn't be where he's getting a hard time," he said.
With a report by CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell
