Autistic first grader suspended for biting sandwich into shape of gun, pointing it to classmate

An autistic first grader was suspended from school after biting his sandwich into the shape of a gun and pointing it at a classmate during lunch, according to a report.

John Medina, 6, was suspended for the incident at Sara Harp Minter Elementary in Georgia in March in what his mother claims is part of a wider issue of school officials disciplining her son without adequately considering his disability, leaving him feeling like a “bad kid,” Atlanta News First reported.

Since 2023, John has been disciplined at least 33 times, including 14 suspensions for incidents like kicking and punching classmates at recess, according to school records obtained by the outlet.

John was previously suspended for pointing a bottle of water at another student and making gun noises and also punished for drawing a pilgrim shooting a turkey, records seen by ANF reportedly show.

John’s mother, Kristin Medina, told the outlet she was “baffled” by the sandwich incident.

“I think he feels like he’s a bad kid,” she told ANF. “There were definitely times when he would come home and say ‘I’m a bad kid’ and that’s really hard to hear as a mom.”

Medina wants school officials to follow his individualized education program, or IEP, which included accommodations like taking John for a walk when he is overstimulated.

The family hired Donna Reynolds, a former special education director in another Georgia district, to represent them when meeting with Fayette County Schools.

“I don’t think a six-year-old without autism would understand that that’s not appropriate,” Reynolds said about the sandwich suspension. “They make their fingers into a gun. They pick up sticks and make them into guns.”

School districts need “to look at the whole picture,” she added. “You need to look at his age. You need to look at his disability. You need to look at past behavior, and you need to determine whether this is more of a teaching moment or is this something that really needs discipline, and is that discipline then going to change the behavior?”

Fayette County Schools Superintendent Jonathan Patterson told ANF the district is “committed to meeting parents to try to work through these challenging situations that maybe we agree on, that maybe we don’t agree on, but we’re committed to keep coming back to the table and trying to resolve those things.”

The Post left messages for the principal and assistant principal at Sara Harp Minter Elementary School, the Fayette County Public School District and Reynolds.