An Arizona mom defended her autistic son after a video of him using a urinal in a school bathroom was posted on social media, where users mocked his behavior.
Amanda Steele is now calling for increased sensitivity training for students in the Tempe Union High School District after her 18-year-old son, Jordan, was surreptitiously recorded while using the bathroom at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix as other students bullied him for his behavior.
A video showing the former Special Olympics medalist showing his self-stimulatory behavior — which is also known as “stimming” and can include repetitive movements or sounds — was posted to Snapchat, where vile users joined in on ridiculing the teen.
“These videos violate my son as a human being,” Steele posted on Facebook earlier this month. “These videos show a blatant disregard for my son’s sensory needs as well as his privacy. This video sheds light on the lack of sensitivity training the schools are providing our children.”
Steele said her son — a well-rounded athlete who attended the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle — “stims a lot” and needs frequent movement to satisfy his body’s heightened sensory needs.
“My son’s rights were violated,” Steele’s Facebook post continued. “His disability was ridiculed and his privacy was completely disregarded by these students. Please tell me how I can help your children understand that my child’s behaviors and needs do not warrant mockery and privacy violations?”
Steele said she now wants the “extremely inappropriate experience” to compel change at Jordan’s school and throughout the district. Her plea has led to a meeting to “raise awareness on school culture” to be held Dec. 10 at Jordan’s high school, the Arizona Republic reported.
“What he did was wrong,” Steele told the newspaper regarding one of the students who allegedly recorded her son, adding that the teen even told her he didn’t realize the video was insensitive. “What he did was not OK, but that one sentence is exactly why we need to create change, why we need to educate the community.”
A school district official told the newspaper that the parents of all students involved in producing the videos, as well as those who later posted them online, were notified and those teens now face disciplinary action. They could also possibly face criminal charges, the official said.
“It is an ongoing mission of all of our high schools to ensure that all students feel safe while on our campuses and that we focus on a culture of kindness and to work with students to become kind and respectful adults,” Jennifer Liewer, executive director of community relations for the Tempe Union High School District, told the newspaper.
Steele said she’s still waiting to hear back from Phoenix police after filing a report in connection with the videos. The students may face criminal charges due to the cyberbullying, which is considered harassment under state law, according to the Arizona Republic.
Jordan, meanwhile, has been “happier, healthier and more capable of being part of the community” since being encouraged by others to embrace his self-stimulatory needs, Steele said.
“Understand the stim!” Steele wrote on Facebook Wednesday. “Don’t stop the stim!”



