New Jersey Teacher Arrested for Allegedly Slapping Autistic Child So Hard His Eye Swelled

A teacher from New Jersey was arrested Monday for the alleged April assault of a toddler who is autistic and nonverbal, according to police. The mother of the 2-year-old said a worker at her son Blessen’s day care called her to tell her he had woken up from a nap with a bruise. “His ear blood vessels was ruptured. His eye was swollen. His nose had bruising on it. You can just tell it was an adult smack,” said Jehan Attiyeh, who took her son to a hospital after seeing his injuries. Local police ultimately charged school staff member Jamie Price, 36, with two counts of child endangerment and simple assault. “Blessen…wakes up in the middle of the night, he’s crying — like nightmares and night terrors,” Attiyeh said of her son’s emotional state. She also encouraged parents to pay close attention to their kids, saying, “Your children will tell you when they are being mistreated and go with your gut.”