"She was only 13 years old, but she was 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, far larger than any of the teachers or school administrators...."

"For a moment, the only sound was Sabrina’s loud moans. She threw a shoe at a teacher. She took off her shirt. She cursed at the school staff arranged around her in a protective circle. Summoned to the scene, her parents tried to soothe her. She kicked and swung until they backed off. On the Sabrina tantrum scale, so far this registered only a 4 out of 10, declared her father.... This was the third time this week he had rushed to school for one of Sabrina’s meltdowns.... In interviews, parents across New York State described... being attacked by an adolescent child, now bigger and more aggressive than before....  In the years since [large state] institutions were closed, there has been a clear presumption [that] children with intellectual or developmental disabilities... should live at home through childhood.... But the presumption can fail a small number of families...."

From "Sabrina’s Parents Love Her. But the Meltdowns Are Too Much. Unpredictable violence, chaotic outbursts and countless trips to the emergency room. What happens when an autistic teenager becomes unmanageable at home?" (NYT).