Monroe elementary school student turned away from end-of-year program

MONROE, La. ( KTVE/KARD ) — A local elementary school student was told that he was unable to attend his end-of-year program due to his lack of participation during practices for the event.

5-year-old Zaylen, a child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), did not want to sing during these practices.  As a result, a note was sent home to his mother, informing her that he was not invited to the program.

Courtesy of Jacqulyn Smith, Facebook.

Zaylen was tested in 2021, and it was later confirmed that he had autism, and he did not begin speaking until he was 3 years old. Zaylen’s mother, Jacqulyn Smith, says that his journey has been far from easy, but he continues to make progress each day.

Smith says that receiving the note was “ heartbreaking, because as a parent, we look forward to getting to see our kids walk across stages, not just stages, like anything they do, any awards ceremony that they have, any programs or anything, we look forward to that. Then, to be told that it’s because he did not want to sing, I feel like that’s unfair to me as a parent and unfair to my child as well, who’s worked hard during the whole year .”

However, Zaylen still looked forward to going to school the very next day.

Smith says, “ Well, he just woke up the next morning and was like, ‘Hey, I want to go to school,’ and I was like, ‘You can’t go to school,’ and he was like, ‘Why momma?’ And I just said, ‘Well, baby, it’s summertime.’ That was the best way I could tell him without, pretty much, you know, saying, The school doesn’t want you there .”

Smith is determined to continue fighting for her son and will stand up for what she believes is right.

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