I don't even think this thing is so much about whether the kid is autistic or not. The fact that he might be autistic adds to the potential damage that could be caused by having his whole class publicly ostracisze him. But the real issue is that this is no way for a teacher to discipline any kid, autistic or not. The teacher probably did not know he was autisitc, and I guess he hasn't even been officially diagnosed. But that doesn't excuse her. You don't deal with disruptive kids this way.