Michigan high schooler with Down syndrome gets new shot at playing hoops

A Michigan high school student with Down syndrome deemed too old to play basketball in his upcoming senior season may get a shot after all, FoxNews.com has learned.

Eric Dompierre, a 19-year-old junior at Ishpeming High School, received new hope on Monday when the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced it was asking its member schools to make an exception and waive its maximum age limitation under “narrowly defined” circumstances. The move came after an Internet campaign generated nearly 100,000 signatures supporting Dompierre's right to suit up as a senior.

“I told him yesterday after school and he seemed very pleased,” Eric’s father, Dean Dompierre, told FoxNews.com. “This whole process has been great for him. He’s empowered and feels as if he’s helped himself.”

No student is currently permitted to complete in MHSAA athletics if the student turns age 19 prior to Sept. 1. Dompierre, who plays on the boy’s varsity basketball and football teams, was held back in kindergarten and first grade.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/08/michigan-high-schools-to-vote-on-challenge-to-age-limit-rule-by-student-with/?test=latestnews#ixzz1uN2bwBtp

Missouri Boy, 14, With Down Syndrome Suspended for Allegedly Sexually Harassing Bus Aide

A 14-year-old Missouri boy with Down syndrome whose mother says he “gives people hugs all the time” has been suspended from middle school for allegedly sexually harassing a bus aide, a school official told FoxNews.com.

Desi Mayberry, Central R-III School District superintendent, told FoxNews.com that Aleczander Fujiomoto, of Park Hills, Mo., grabbed an unidentified female bus aide while aboard a school bus last Wednesday and imitated a "sexual act" while on top of the woman, who is no longer considering  pressing charges for sexual harassment.

"He grabbed her around her waist, like a bear hug, and then he gets on top of her and moves in a sexual motion, imitating a sexual act," Mayberry said.

The aide then "screamed for help," leading the school bus driver to separate Fujimoto and the aide, Mayberry said. The incident led to a "short-term" suspension for Fujimoto, according to Mayberry, who declined to indicate exactly how many days the boy was banned from school.

Mayberry said all of the district's buses have security cameras, but added that Fujimoto's mother was not allowed to see the footage of the alleged incident, despite her requests.

The boy's mother, Tonia Fujimoto, who could not be reached for comment on Monday, told KSDK.com that her son was suspended for merely hugging the aide.

"If you know Down syndrome children, they're very loving," Tonia Fujimoto told the website. "And they're going to display more public affection than anyone else is going to display."

Regarding the alleged sex act, the boy's mother denied those claims.

"There was no such thing," she told KSDK.com. "He was excited. And I feel like when he gets excited and he hugs me, it's like Christmas morning. He'll come up and give me a hug you know. And he'll be jumping up and down. And I feel like that may be what she experienced. I don't think his act was sexual in nature. He gives people hugs all the time."

FoxNews.com's Joshua Rhett Miller contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/19/missouri-boy-with-down-syndrome-suspended-for-sexually-harassing-bus-aide/#ixzz1h12JA3MH