Stuart Chaifetz's son Akian is a gentle, mild-mannered boy who has autism. In 2012, Stuart heard Akian, who was 10 years old at the time, was acting out in school and displaying violent behavior. The single father from Cherry Hill, New Jersey was instantly concerned, but claimed the school wouldn't provide him with any helpful answers or assistance. He had a sinking feeling that Akian wasn't getting the support at school he needed.
In a bold and controversial move, Stuart became his own detective. He slipped a tape recorder into Akian's back pocket and sent him off to school. Later that day when Akian arrived home, Stuart pressed play on the recorder — and what he allegedly heard shocked him to the core.
The tape reportedly contained over six hours of inappropriate (and downright disturbing) exchanges. Stuart realized Akian's teacher was berating him in class in front of the other students and making his time at school absolutely miserable. She was completely ignorant to Akian's autism, going so far as to call Akian a "bastard" and talking in class about sex and alcohol use.
Months later, Stuart uploaded a video to YouTube to describe the situation and share the shocking audio with the public. Unsurprisingly, his video went viral with millions of views and helped add to the important conversation surrounding the bullying epidemic. Only this time, the bullying came at the hands of the very people who are supposed to protect against it.
While some may have a problem with a child using a secret recording device, many applaud Stuart for taking the steps to help his son when no one else would…
