Mother horrified to discover autistic son was tied to chair for 'hours' at NSW school

A NSW mother said she was horrified to discover her autistic seven-year-old son was being strapped to a chair at school for hours every day.

Georgina Maker-North approached Taree’s Manning Gardens Public School after she became aware how they were treating her son Thomas, who has autism, is non-verbal, has an intellectual disability and can’t go to the toilet by himself.

The response she received only compounded her dismay.

“When I saw the chairs it was shown like it was a great show-and-tell piece: ‘they were fabulous’,” she told ABC’s 7.30 program.

“It’s something we thought was happening in the ‘70s and went away in the ‘70s and we don’t hear about it anymore.

"Since this has happened I’ve discovered it’s quite common.”

Ms Maker-North said she was left “gob-smacked” when asked if she’d prefer one that was “more aesthetically pleasing”.

NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes said the state’s education department had since been instructed to review procedures and provide more training to teachers.

He said he was "shocked and horrified" to see the restraining chair "being used in a NSW public school".

“Material like that should never be used in a public school and I stand by that, that sort of device has no place in a NSW public school," he told 7.30.

Thomas’ case was one of nearly 250 reports of mistreatment that were obtained using the Freedom of Information act.