AURORA, Colo. -- How long is too long to spend in timeout?

An Aurora woman told 7NEWS that her 7-year-old son’s teacher has been putting him in a timeout room at school for most of the day and has been doing so since last October.

Raven Rainer said her son has Attention Deficit Disorder and that she knew the timeout room could be used if Debran became disruptive in class.

But Rainer said she had no idea Debran would be spending nearly his entire school day in isolation.

The boy’s grandmother said she learned that that was the case last month.

"I got a call around 9 on Feb. 17," Valorie Collins said. “They told me my grandson was on the school bus holding onto his seat and wouldn’t get off.”

Collins said that when she drove to Park Lane elementary school her grandson told her that he didn’t want to go into the room.

“I thought he was talking about his classroom,” she said. “I had another appointment, so I told him to go to class and I’d come and check up on him later.”

Collins said that when she went to visit later that day, she was surprised to find Debran’s teacher handing him flashcards through the door of the timeout room.

“I said, ‘What happened? What’s going on?’ She said, ‘Oh, this is where we keep him but we let him out to eat and to go to the bathroom,'” Collins said.

“I said, ‘excuse me?’ She never looked at me, she just kept sticking flashcards through the door,” Collins said. “I just burst out in tears. I told her that’s inhumane.”

7NEWS contacted several mental health professionals to ask if lengthy stays in timeout were appropriate or inappropriate.

None would talk specifically about this case.

But Dr. Shawn Worthy, a clinical psychologist at Metro State College in Denver said timeouts are typically brief.

“The rule of thumb,” Worthy said, “is about two minutes of timeout for every year of age. So if you’re talking about a 5-year-old, that’s 10 minutes of timeout.”

Worthy wouldn’t second-guess Aurora Public Schools.

Neither would Dr. Ed Steinberg, the state director of special education.

While Steinberg said that daylong timeouts are very much out of the ordinary, he added that, generally speaking, lengthy timeouts are indicative that there is some behavior that is out of control.

When asked if her grandson was disruptive in class, Collins said, “Yes, he could be.”

Collins said Debran’s behavior has changed dramatically over the last two months.

“He’s had difficulty sleeping. He won’t let us shut the doors or turn off the lights. And he’s been wetting himself and throwing feces,” Collins said.

The grandmother said she believes Debran’s behavior changes are a result of the long periods in timeout not the other way around.

Paula Hans, Media Relations Specialist at Aurora Public Schools, faxed a statement to 7NEWS that said, “Although we are unable to address a specific student matter due to privacy laws, we do take reports of this nature very seriously. We are investigating the allegations and will respond appropriately. Our top priority is to ensure a safe learning environment for all APS students.”