A woman from Madison is accusing her nonverbal autistic son’s high school of feeding him dog food instead of a regular school lunch.
A mother is accusing staff at Madison East High School of feeding her non-verbal autistic son dog food in place of a proper school lunch, sparking outrage and prompting an investigation by the Madison Metropolitan School District.
Debra Hawkes told WISC-TV that her 15-year-old son Jaden, a freshman with autism who is non-verbal, was given a can of wet Nutrish dog food by a staff member several weeks ago. School personnel reportedly sent her a photo showing Jaden had consumed part of it—described by Hawkes as “at least three, 4 or 5 bites”—and called to confirm the incident occurred.
“Jaden hasn’t been himself [since the alleged incident],” she said, adding that he is usually energetic and kind. She questioned how such an occurrence could be accidental, noting concerns about safety: providing a sharp can and plastic fork to a student with disabilities.
“My heart hurt, my heart is broke,” Hawkes said. “I don’t feel like my son is safe at school. And you can’t be safe in school. Where could he be safe at?”
According to WISC, school staff informed Hawkes on Thursday that the involved employee had been fired. Hawkes responded, “He don’t need to work with kids no more… He don’t need to work with nobody else no more.”
The Madison Metropolitan School District declined to comment on specific students or employees due to privacy rules but confirmed an active investigation. In a statement: “We take all safety-related concerns extremely seriously, and this is no exception. We will determine next steps following the outcome of our investigation.”
