Teacher with fear of children sues Ohio district

By Amanda Lee Myers - Associated PressAssociated Press - Posted:   01/15/2013

CINCINNATI -- A former high school teacher suing the school district where she used to work is accusing its administrators of discriminating against her because of a rare phobia she says she has: a fear of young children. Maria Waltherr-Willard, 61, had been teaching Spanish and French at Mariemont High School in Cincinnati since 1976.

Waltherr-Willard, who does not have children of her own, said that when she was transferred to the district's middle school in 2009, the seventh- and eighth-graders triggered her phobia, caused her blood pressure to soar and forced her to retire in the middle of the 2010-2011 school year……Waltherr-Willard has been treated for her phobia since 1991 and also suffers from general anxiety disorder, high blood pressure and a gastrointestinal illness. She was managing her conditions well until the transfer, according to the lawsuit.   "Working with these younger students adversely affected (Waltherr-Willard's) health, due to her disability. (She) was unable to control her blood pressure, which was so high at times that it posed a stroke risk," according to the lawsuit, which includes a statement from her doctor about her high blood pressure. "The mental anguish suffered by (Waltherr-Willard) is serious and of a nature that no reasonable person could be expected to endure the same." …To Read More…..

My Take - I intend to try and follow this story.  I would loved to have seen some interviews with her former workmates.  I would be willing to bet that would be telling.