Fixing Jeffrey Buffalo

In 2003, Jeffrey Buffalo was a little boy in Northern Ontario who had been caught up in a series of school suspensions. It had started in grade one. Jeffrey had thrown a girl's shoe over the fence; he got into fights in the playground. There was no question of weapons or serious injury, but he kept being suspended.

His grandparents, who were bringing him up, were concerned. They worked with the school. They took him to a string of doctors and psychologists. All of the medics concluded there was not a lot wrong with the Jeffrey, but he did have a learning disability. Nothing was being done about the learning disability and, not surprisingly, the little boy's behaviour was getting worse.

The school seemed convinced that this little boy needed medical "fixing"; that he needed to be detained in a secure facility.

This award-winning documentary by Karin Wells originally aired December 7, 2003.