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I am so appalled, alarmed, and even frightened that the “state” would think they can do a better job of parenting than God-given parents. The Government is headed so fast toward Natzi-istic totalitarian invasion of civil liberties. This is spirit of Anti-Christ cloaked in a facade of good-will. Come quickly Lord Jesus!!!!!

Often the people who are striving for the the “best interest of the child’have not looked at all the evidence and take one side without thouroughly looking at all the aspects of what the child needs not what they think the child needs.

Talk about a horror story, that just breaks my heart!

I have an autistic son who also has a seizure disorder. Because of his autistic behaviors, his public school insisted we put him on psychotropic drugs, even though his neurologist stated they were unsafe for him and could cause life-threatening seizures and possibly death. We were using behavioral interventions that were recommended by a previous teacher and they were working well. However, his school said that ANY discipline (time out and counting to three) of a mentally retarded child was child abuse. We removed him from the school and began homeschooling him. It’s frightening to think what would have happened to him had we listened to the public schools or left him in that environment.

Previously, I worked in group homes for developmentally disabled adults and drugs, drugs, drugs were touted as the cure-all so that patients were too sedated to cause the staff problems. There needs to be a comprehensive investigation into overuse of psychotropic drugs and the mentally handicapped.

[…] Autistic Boy Removed from his Home Because the Government Disagreed with the Parents […]

I wrote to the governor pleading for his help. here is the link.

http://gov.ca.gov/interact

This is terrifying! My 11 yo son has so many behaviors that we keep him out of the public eye causing him great lonliness. He gets counseling and a SSRI for his depression and anxiety but he could easily be taken from us if the state disagreed with us. I signed that petition and would again a hundred times just to keep my child safe and loved.

Thank you for the link to write an email to the governor. Even though I do not live in CA, the email does not request information about where you live so I sent an email anyway.

i have 3 boys one who has a severe form of infantile autism and just because we asked for help all three of my boys were removed from my home by docs and then i was accussed of neglect but my boys were always centre of attention in the three years since they were born i didn’t have a day for myself because i was doing everything for them so how could i possibly have neglected them please help

This kind of persecution has been going on for centuries in other countries. Only as America has turned its back on God and allows sin of every kind, has this happened here. We must repent of our sins and trust in Jesus and know that he loves us and will take care of us. We can’t trust our government, only God.

About six years ago, my cousin in Michigan had her little boy removed from her custody for “failure to thrive.” He was not growing properly; the doctors could not determine why. My cousin was very concerned, and took him in regularly for medical check-ups. He even had to be hospitalized on two occasions because of his extremely low weight. On one of these occasions, my cousin was barred from the hospital room, and her baby was made a ward of the state. She was terrified that her baby was dying, but she was not allowed to see him at all during the remainder of his hospital stay. Sadly, although the child was placed in a foster home where he was given excellent care, this had no effect on his “failure to thrive” . . . and the doctors never got any closer to determining the cause of it. After two years of appeals and reviews, it was acknowledged that the foster-care intervention had not produced any better medical results, and the little boy was returned to my cousin.

There are times I think that it would be very interesting to see what one CPS worker or state official would do with my children if they were not allowed to have help from any outsiders. They alone had to take care of my children, teach them and keep them safe. I love my children too much to allow that though.

You can not know my world, if you don’t live here. A few of my friends have had some exposure and understand my world better. I am very blessed to have a pediatrician that understands my world and trusts me, or else, we could have lost our children long ago.

I have two children who do not understand danger with older siblings who are not observant. There are days I am not sure I can use the bathroom until Daddy gets home.

What is best for a child? Loving parents!

I find this absolutely appalling and devasting that people can be so ignorant and arrogant to think that they know better than so many LOVING birth parents. Parents of special needs children have more hope, love and drive to help their children grow and thrive than words can possibly express. It only destroys these families and THESE CHILDREN to remove them from the one environment that makes sense to them and the parents that REALLY CARE enough to do EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER to make ALL the difference in the potential outcome of the child’s future.
How does our government(?) sleep at night????

Wow!!!

Sounds like ancient Sparta doesn’t it? Does the state of CA want to raise the well babies too?

WOW if all of you followed up on the story at all you’d see it was rebutted..

I’m sure this was posted by the poor pitiful me parents who “tied” their kid up to keep him from hurting himself or others. This boy has major anger issues. I’m sure are beyond his self control.
I suppose it’s okay for him to attack those that work in the facility trying to give him a life free from being tied up, being that he’s autistic and all. He was obviously taken from his parents for a reason. Could it be, Maybe the government, you so much despise in this situation, felt it was a little extreme to tie their child to a chair day in and day out. Cause that’s what his parents did. TIED HIM UP TO A CHAIR PEOPLE!!!

The people in this facility have to deal with children/adults who have no self control over their anger day in and day out. The facility workers are subject to abuse from these children/adults and can do nothing about it. These kids/adults can punch, kick, throw them on the ground, and they don’t lay a finger on them. They take these jobs because they do care about children/adults with these kinds of disabilities. While the parents may feel it is in their best interest to have their son at home, they obviously could not care for his needs before, what’s changed that they could now? Is being tied up all day an acceptable way of life? Regardless if it’s Dr ordered or approved. Or is it in his best interest to have access to books, movie nights, and ice cream socials? Don’t you think that would be a better life for him? The kids/adults at this facility are far from abused. They’re well taken care of and while the parent’s may not agree, their son has mental disabilities, that the medication can offset. He’s not doped up all day long.

Theresa, caring for the individual physically, doing what may be obvious, as in the institutional environment, does not address the emotional needs of the individual in the same manner that parents can and most often do. While medication may offset the physical display of socially unacceptable expression, it is not an acceptable substitute for love and affection, and no institution can deliver that in the personal manner that parents can. How can you judge the need for physical control to be more important than the need for emotional validation ? I know this from a very personal perspective: I have worked closely w/ many such institutionalized individuals in the medical field for the past 10 years. Many of the children I have worked with could have had a much different quality of life had their parents been able or willing to provide their care.
Autistic children often have a great deal of immature development of emotions. Expression of anger on the part of the child does not mean that the parents are wrong nor does it mean that they caused the anger. It is an attempt of the autistic brain to grow and develop. It is emotional development that is out of sync and often out of proportion. It’s no different than watching the development of the terrible two’s or the “everything is no” phase of the three year old. It just takes a lot longer for autistic children, and some get stuck there. Society as a whole has no understanding of this developmental process, and therefore no tolerance for behavior that is different from what we know as normal. I know. I too have a special needs child. Taking the child from two loving parents is a mistake: If they choose to handle the situation w/o drugs, THAT SHOULD BE THEIR RIGHT.
It all comes down to a basic philosophical question: who should have the ultimate right to choose the best therapy for the child: the parents or the state ? God created the institution of parenting. I think I vote to trust His Divine wisdom !

This makes me very sad to read. My son has autism too and I got a lot of pressure from school people to medicate him. He’s impulsive and hyper, but not violent. I started homeschooling him because I could not deal with the school’s constant pressure to medicate him. They also wanted to move him off to a day program. I was told by a child advocate if he didn’t succeed at the day program, then they would ship him off to a facility. The day program was so depressing. I checked it out before making the decision to pull him from public school completely. If they start taking kids away for having autism, then we would have to go into hiding.

Lisa, i don’t disagree with you, but this person was not in a loving home. If tying him to a chair because they can’t handle his outburst love, then people have a very strange perception of love and care. all anyone is seeing one side of the story. While I’m sure his parents tried to help, they were obviously not going about it the right way. While i’m sure the parents may have had the boys interest best at heart, they did not handle the situation properly. Did you even read the article? It was primarly focused on destroying this facilities reputation based on fiction. There was absolutely no truth in what happened. Hence the reason why the paper published a rebuttle. I do believe the state should get involved if a child/adult is being abused by the person who is caring for them. A parent shouldn’t get to treat their child/adult however they feel like as long as the parents had their best interest at heart. that’s pretty much what people are saying. The bottom line is… In this case the state had every right to do what they did. They’re not always right, but in his situation, they weren’t wrong.

Theresa, you are wrong. I’m sorry but you are. I’ve worked in institutions for years. The average worker in an institution for the developmentally disabled is a single mother with low job skills who works two jobs. They are generally unskilled, overworked, and frazzled. As a general rule, they are not there because they love and care for the devleopmentally disabled. They are there because theirs is such a hard job that most institutions will hire just about anybody who applies. Turnover is high and quality of care is low. This is a nationwide phenomena. I have several scars on my body from being attacked by developmentally disabled and mentally ill clients. It’s part of the job. However, most people don’t just take it, they abuse the clients back. And managers generally do anything they can to cover it up so they don’t lose their jobs. These people are just cattle in the eyes of most institutions. And the rebuttal was the typical crap I would expect to hear from every institution.

I’ve worked with many adults who were raised in institutions and I can tell you, the State does a lousy job of raising children.

This country has launched an attack on the disabled. The Terri Schindler Schiavo case, where her husband dehydrated her to death because she was disabled, is evidence of that. We have a totally scewed view of the value of human life. Something must change and I’m happy to rally around this family to make their plight known to the world.

This family does not have an attorney. We need to find a way to rally together to raise funds for a defense fund for this family. If every parent of an autistic child in the USA gave only $10, we could easily provide this family with the funds it needs to get this child back home. Please post here if you’re willing to join with me to take action to help this family.

Another article about an autistic man at the same facility Nate is in who died under “mysterious” circumstances just a few months ago: http://www.ocregister.com/news/ingraham-state-fairview-1936192-bed-claim

The ever-so-caring attendants say he fell out of bed~and broke his neck. Doctor’s say that isn’t possible. The family is suing. Theresa, read this and see if you’re still so sure this is a good facility for Nate to be in.

Serena, I’m sorry you have scars from your experience. I’m not defending all facilities, just this particular one. This actual case. You all are reading third party. Fortunately I know the truth. The person involved dedicates his/her whole time to this place. He/She is educated. WELL educated and doesn’t deserve the false accusations either. Before people start thinking that the whole world is evil and picks on under developed children/adults they should see for themselves the care that this facility gives. While a good portion of the system may be broken, the employee’s at this facility do care. And the parents were wrong.

Again regardless if a dr authorizes parents to tie their child up, doesn’t make it right. That isn’t a form of healthy or loving tactics either.

Do you all honestly believe the parents were justified in tying their son up to a chair? If you can say YES, I have nothing more to say, except maybe CPS should visit your house.

They didn’t take this boy from his parents because of his disability, they took him and placed him because the parents were not properly caring for him and his disability.

UH yeah I do, because some of the people that work there are good friends.

This other article, doesn’t state how the poor guy slipped and fell on his own secretions. His brother pulled him off life support after a week! But the article says nothing about that huh. Anything is possible. Most people are suppose to die after 9 shots to the head and chest, but some live. The human body is a very complicated. While they can say it may almost never happen, it still can happen.

All I’m saying is until you see this place for yourself. DON’T be so quick to judge. The people who work there are passionate. They do care. They ARE very well educated.

Theresa, I don’t have scars from my experience. I have opened eyes.

Theresa, the issue is that the parents were caring for the child in concert with their doctor, providing care that they agreed was appropriate for this child. This is the right of the parents. Regarding the child being tied to a chair, when my autistic son attended public school the teachers requested permission to put my son in a special vest that was attached to a chair and, when he sat down, they could zip him into the vest. They said he wouldn’t know he was tied up that way. I refused permission. Another school put him in a big high chair with a tray they could put down over him so that he couldn’t get out of it and pretended that wasn’t a restraint. I refused that. We looked into a third school but saw upon entering the classroom that they had chairs with seat belts in them that they used to restrain children. Thus we decided to home school. My understanding is that Nate self-abuses and is restrained to prevent him from hurting himself. Restraining him with medicine is still a restraint and has resulted in seizures. Did the restraints at home result in brain damage for this boy, as seizures do? My son’s teacher demanded we put him on medication for his “behaviors,” despite the fact that his child neurologist said that psychotropic drugs are inappropriate and can be fatal in a child with a seizure disorder. (Note that Nate has had grand mal seizures since being placed on these drugs at Fairview.) Nate’s parents tried medicine before and it didn’t work. This is a clear cut case of the government overstepping its bounds.

You said he did not come from a loving home. Are you really ready to make that assertion? These parents kept him at home and were caring for him rather than dumping him in some developmental center as so many parents do. That takes love.

You say it is wrong for parents to restrain a child, even if it is doctor authorized. I say it is wrong to improperly drug a child, even if it is doctor authorized.

I’ve worked with many patients who had to wear helmets because they would beat their heads against the wall. Do you consider these helmets abusive?

The concept of what is and is not proper care is first and foremost to be decided by the parents and the child’s doctors, not the government. Do you propose the government remove children from the homes of Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Amish because they do not follow conventional medical practices? Whether you and I agree 100% with the care these parents provided, this is their child and they were providing care deemed appropriate by the child’s physician.

Please answer three questions for me. Why has the number of residents at Fairview Developmental Centers dropped so dramatically in the past 12 years? Also, is Nate now living a happy life at the Center without physical and pharmacological restraints? And do you personally know and can vouch for the quality of each and every caregiver who is caring for Nate at the facility on all shifts every day?

Theresa, I’m sure there are some people who work there who are wonderful. But it would be an unusual workplace if indeed every employee was as wonderful as you seem to think. And there are developmentally disabled people who have no other place to go, which is why these facilities are necessary. All I’m saying is that, when there are loving parents who are willing and able to care for their child and who are providing approved medical care, even if it doesn’t meet the standards you or I would like, he should not be placed in an institution against his and their will.

1) I can’t speak for numbers, Maybe more families are providing the care needed for these sort of handicaps… that could be various reason which i’m sure would be more extensive then just a simple answer. Not only that but the kind of care that these facilities need to provide is a large drain on the economy.

2) Is he happy? maybe most days in comparison. He does have access to books. He does get to attend social events. He does have movie nights. He has freedom to socialize and interact with others instead of being confined to his home in a chair with restraints all day

3) For every worker?? NO but for the worker they’re accusing of abusing him yes! The worker who was involved in this case didn’t touch him. The worker had to leave home and see his Dr and off work for a week, because this boy threw him on the ground and injured his arm, back and head. SO in this CASE yes the boy was wrong! The abuse was reverse. The worker didn’t do anything to this boy.

Any more questions????

Yes. Do you work there? Also, how many developmentally disabled children do you have?

Theresa, I have to logoff. I’m taking my two developmentally disabled children and my developmentally disabled cousin (aged 47), who also lives with me since his father died, to a special education religious ed class. However, I will log back on tomorrow if you wish to post anymore. Peace.

I do not work there. Like I said, a very close friend of mine was involved in this incident. I give you major kudos for all your patience. That must take a toll on you. most kids do, even if they’re “normal” (what ever that is). But to deal with children/adults with disabilities is even more of a challenge. good luck to you ….

Janice Black: My 1 year-old son was diagnosed “failure to thrive” because he wasn’t growing per the charts and was losing ground. It turns out he had giardia, probably from contaminated water (we had floods that year).

That was 12 years ago. He was treated, but did not regain his appetite for years. Prayer, papaya, and pineapple turned his digestion around and he has returned to health.

Theresa,

I hope you understand that our reactions as parents to this story is not a personal attack on anyone at the institution your friends work at. This is not the only time something like this has happened, and just because it was rebutted does not mean the first story was inaccurate or that it was even partially inaccurate.

Being well educated does not mean that you are good at what you do nor does it mean that you are the best person for a job. I hope that this young man is getting excellent care as you assure us he is. The only problem with your assertions are you have no real way of knowing this to be 100% true.

As a well educated woman and mother of two boys with ASD’s I know that no one could love them and care for them as I do. I have been blessed with the ability to care for them well and I have also been blessed with boys who have been able to overcome some of their challenges to a point where they are moderate & high functioning. My point is this, when well educated and well meaning teachers were caring for my youngest son he regressed. I have my theories as to why, but what was very obvious was that they did not love him. They dealt with him, were kind and did their best. Their best was not good enough for him.

I do not believe attacking one another on here is the answer to any of this. You are stating that this young man was restrained all the time at home and that his parents were not good parents. I assume you have first hand knowledge of this to be true and not just the allegations of the court and CPS. Although the idea of restraining like that sounds horrible to me, why did the courts not just assign someone to work with the parents and medical team and try to find a better solution than the Doctor’s advice? Removing, institutionalizing and forcing medication on someone who can be dealt with in safer ways seems like overstepping the bounds to me. These drugs are such unknowns. Having studied pharmacology in college I can assure you that they are by no means a one size fits all solution for everyone. An institution and complete removal of his parents is just too much in my opinion.

The fact is that children who are with parents who are drug addicts and confirmed abusers need the court to step in. In these cases the children need someone to protect them and it is the courts job to do so as long as there is evidence to support the claims. But when it comes down to the government trying to say they know better than the whole care team and family I give pause. I hope to be able to find out accurate details on my own to better asses this particular situation. I do not believe that any story has one side nor do I believe what you are telling me just because you happen to like the people who work there. There a people who have been married to pedophiles or murderers and had not idea they were capable of such evil.

I, again, am not saying that your friends have done anything wrong. I will tell you that while working on the nursing staff in a well run nursing home, with mostly good caring people employed there, we occasionally run into issues with certain staff. I was attacked by a patient once myself and had a pretty severe back injury as a result. I was scared and worried about myself and that patient since they were not in control of their behaviors. I however saw some staff, kind and seemingly caring people in normal situations, react with anger to similar such attacks. Even though I never personally witnessed anyone hurting a resident I saw the potential more than once and stepped in. Unless you were there you just don’t know. Maybe someone else hurt him and he took it out on your friend. You would have to understand Autism and this young man in particular to even begin to assess what could have been the factors in this case.

I hope that everything come into the open for all people involved in this case and that this young man can be cared for in a loving and suitable environment.

God Bless,
Rebecca

Theresa, I think the problem you have with people making judgments about your friend, alleging (in your opinion falsely) that he/she is guilty of some kind of abuse or improper behavior toward Nate at the institution where he now resides is the same problem many have with CPS workers judging Nate’s parents in a similar fashion. Sometimes things may appear one way, even if you KNOW them to be different. Which is the point: the government should not have the right to forcibly remove Nate from his home because it APPEARS the parents’ methods of dealing with their own child’s behavior are less than ideal. It’s not the government’s call. It’s the PARENTS’. The same helpless feeling you have about your friend being (falsely) accused and you not being able to definitively PROVE it is the one parents in these kinds of situations have. How can you prove conclusively that all unwitnessed actions and responses were completely warranted and proper when no one else has access to all of the pertinent background information? You can’t. So you don’t take kids away from their parents without undeniable PROOF of their crimes. And you don’t villify a worker doing his/her best to take good care of a difficult patient without proof. Suspicions do not amount to proof in America; at least they’re not supposed to.

Rebecca, well put and i agree. the system is broken as I stated before. Maybe there are preventive measures they could take? who knows. There’s a lot in your argument that you took out of context. For example, the comment made was people who work at places like this are often un-educated and over worked. That is what the educated comment addressed.

Elizabeth, sorry you’re clueless. So you mean to tell me if a the state can’t “prove” that a child is abused they should be able to remain in the home with the abuser? Molestation is hard to prove, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, so unless we prove or witness the act ourselves they should stay in the home of the abuser? Seriously does that even make sense. There was obviously strong evidence against the parents. The state just doesn’t wake up one day and decide they are going to take someone’s kid from them.
I’d agree with that there should be initial steps taken prior to removing a child in “this” situation, doesn’t mean that it goes for all. And where do you draw the line? What abuse is more extreme then another? As far as I’m concerned neglect is abuse. They neglected to properly care for their son. I’m sure there are plenty of options out there on how to cope with these sorts of situations and highly doubt any of those avenues were taken. They had one Dr authorize this boy to be tied up. Sorry if a dr told me to tie my kid up, I’d find another Dr. That wouldn’t be the solution I’d look for. Call me crazy just don’t think that I could treat my child like a dog. Animals get tied up… NOT humans - that goes for parents thinking it’s ok to put their kid on a leash because they can’t keep them under control at stores, malls and any other place.

Less IDEAL? So the tape that came out a while back (in CA) where a mom was caught beating her child, that was ok because it was her method of dealing with the situation right. Might not be “ideal” but hey she’s the mom, right…. GET REAL

I am truly sorry about this situation.

Theresa, I’d be much more interested in talking to your friend, who was actually there. Why don’t you get her to post?

I am a single mother who has a child with autism. My son self-injures himself through scratching, slapping and sometimes even head-banging. These are common traits to a child who has autism and it is my theory that it’s part of a stem stimulation and sensory issues that has the children behave in such a matter. This testimony is beyond terrifying to me and it is my opinion that it is completely absurd for the state to take the child away, stick him in a mental institution and drug him up against the parents and even the child’s will. Though we don’t know their names, we should pray for this family and other families going through similar circumstances. If we don’t stand together as a nation of people and declare that this is wrong and we’re not going to stand for it anymore; I fear that this nation’s government will continue to deteiorate. As a parent myself, it is our children that are going to continue to grow and live in this nation…this world. We need to prepare the way…for not only them…but for the Lord’s return.

Hi Serena, I can ask HIM if he will?? not sure if they’re allowed to participate or not.

Great, I’ll wait to hear from him. He can certainly post anonymously as just a worker, no names or identifying information given.

Theresa,
Do you even have children? Much less one with developmental problems? You comment often on the physical restraints being a great evil. You accuse the parents of keeping him in them continually, but I don’t see that in the artical. Were you or your friend in his home? Did either of you see this supposed abuse? Your opinion is that drugs offer a better alternative, but has that been in any way been proven. His condition has deteriorated. YOU need to get a grip of course abuse needs to be proven. We operate in a sysem that is innocent until proven guilty.Not the other way around.Or do you believe that government is a benign entity that would never overstep it’s bounds in less it was justified. If you do you are way too innocent and naive. Governments do not make good parents historically. If you don’t believe this, I suggest you go take a few courses in world history. The issue here is not whether your friend abused Nate or not, but rather whether the government should have had the authority to place him there in the first place just because they “thought” he was better off. Your personal opinions on restriants not withstanding sometimes they are necessary,and their appropriate use does not constitute abuse. You say over and over again that the parents were tieing him up all day like an animal. Where do you get this info? Awe yes you assume this must have been the case or the government would not have intervened. Well you know dear what they say about assumeing…. This is one step away from the government deciding that Nate (and people like him)are a burden to himself and the larger society… so it would be in his and everybodies best interest to euthanize him (them). Once again if you don’t believe that this is precisely where this kind of broad government control and thinking leads take a course,until then you should really stop makeing posts based on emotionalism. There is alot more at stake here than your friends hurt feelings. Also you equate this situation to the video of the mother beating her child. Your argument here is moronic. These two situations are not even remotely the same. In that case the child was clearly being abused. In Nate’s case that is not at all clear. It is a difference of opinion as to what constitutes abuse/neglect. According to the artical, This same facillity uses ocassional restraints. The appropriate use of restraints is not abuse or neglect. Psycotropoic drugs can and sometimes do cause more harm than good. THIS WAS THE PARENTS CHOICE OF PREFERED METHODS. As to the harnesses some parents employ in malls and other areas, Again a matter of opinion as any parent of a small child will tell you no matter how much control you may have over your child. They can and do still get away from you. These parents no doubt prefer the harness to the risk of their child being abducted and mutilated by some maniac.

This si sad and scarry. It seems that society today runs straight for drugs as an answer to everything. your depressed? get on heavy drugs…your kid is misbehaving (mostly due to lack of parenting and attention) so drug him too…drugs are not the answer and neither is the government sticking thier noses in at every step!

I would just like to point out that IF anything that Theresa has said is true, then Theresa herself is proving how unprofessional his caregivers are. WHY? Because if they are blabbing to her about ANYTHING about him being there, then they are in SERIOUS violation of HIPPA laws. And is Theresa, if she is a medical care giver. Everything she just divulged is illegal to say. They are not even allowed to acknowledge who patients are. So Theresa, thank you for proving everyone’s point. And I hope “your friend” is seriously punished for violating HIPPA laws.

Please someone that knows how to contact them (this website owner perhaps?) pass Theresa’s comments onto this boy’s parents, and an attorney, his caregivers are in violation of FEDERAL law by giving out ANY information about him.

Also the family of the man who died needs to be notified of her comments, as she violated HIPPA law with him as well. These things are taken *extremely* seriously people. Please if you know how, notify them.

If anyone here is local to this, or aware of the facility where this boy is, PLEASE print out this page and report Theresa. She is violating federal law.

They do this to this poor family and do away with home schooling. It sounds to me like the lawmakers in the wonderful state of California have been using too much medicinal marijuana lately.

Wow!!! I think several other posters started out that way…Wow!!
This whole issue is very scary! I have 6 boys, one of which is a special needs child and we homeschool.
My special needs son is 15 and is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of Autism. He doesn’t suffer from many of the things that true Autistic children suffer from but rather, he suffers from severe depression, very few social skills and the inability to reason his way through a situation that’s even the slightest bit different than familiar. On top of that he also suffers from ADHD and OCD, can’t see without glasses, is normally very overweight and has a speech problem.
All of these things put together propelled him towards suicide while in public school due to the fact that the public school environment is so unrelenting in it’s obsession to make each child in it’s own image, or to make a square peg fit into a round hole, so to speak, not to mention the sheer cruelty of his classmates.
Without the use of medications and homeschooling, my son would have continued to be morbidly obese, unable to focus on one topic long enough to finish a thought, having terrible nightmares about being eaten by fire ants (which was not a real threat, only imagined) and suicidal. I truly believe that medications can and do help in certain situations, BUT my child is not plagued with seizures.
If I knew that my child were going to have seizures from taking medications there would be no way on earth I would administer them. We would find some other way of dealing with all of these issues. Even if it meant restraints! To protect my child from injuring himself, if that were a threat, while he may not be responsible for his own actions, which most Autistic children are not, I would do what ever it took!
You can not judge the decisions of parents of special needs children until you’ve experienced the pain, stress, confusion, helplessness, hopelessness at times and the heartbreak that accompanies raising a special needs child. The task is overwhelming! But most of us do it because we love our children so very much! We love them and do the best we can with what we have to work with. Which most of the time is very little at best and absolutely nothing if we don’t have extended family and friends who are willing to help us.
Parents of “normal children” have it hard. There’s no instruction manual given us at the birth of our children. But then when there’s a child born that doesn’t fit all the “norms”, what then? We muddle through…we find others who’ve been there and done that…and we pray.

If the government wants to “help” then why aren’t they doing more to find out what causes these disorders or trying to educate the general population about what’s going on. They always know the answers when it’s a matter of taking our parental rights and our children away from us, but what are they really giving back? Where are they when we truly need help? When we’re out of work and can’t find a job that will pay enough to support our families. When we’re trying to raise our children to be responsible, decent citizens who actually care about others instead of just themselves.

Our government is becoming a bully that seems to think that “just because they can” makes it right.

My prayers are with this family and Nate! It’s too close to home!

My husband and I had the same type of experience with CPS regarding our granddaughter who is also autistic. She had been sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of 7. The mother refused to cooperate in the investigation of CPS and the police (she is a state employee), protective services swept the case under the rug. Only after having our granddaughter visit with us for the summer and having the police in CA contact us directly, did our granddaughter get tested for sexual assault and found to have been violated. After jumping through a series of hoops, CPS was able to deal with/manipulate the FL DHS, our granddaughter was returned to CA, placed in foster care and ultimately returned to the mother who previously had not protected her and who had full knowledge of the abuse.

That being said, nothing, absolutely nothing, surprises me about what CPS does. They act underhandedly, inappropriately, and ultimately aren’t always interested in the welfare of the children in their charge.

It is important that concerned parents continue to inform people about what is going on in their state and what they can do to stop things like this from happening. These types of agencies are waaaay out of control!

I certainly pray that things get turned around for this young man and his family and that they can find a way to get out of the clutches of the system.

Germany did the very same thing last year. Judges should Judge legal debates based on established laws and not legislate. There training is based solely on law. What makes them think their limited ‘core’ knowledge (law) makes them decision makers outside that scope? Lawyers become judges and carry with them there ‘good and bad guys list’ and use it for pay back. We had a personal experience with California CPS when our 7 year old granddaughter was sexually assaulted by my daughters boyfriend . The case worker was Gretchen Boyle in San Mateo County who lied to us and to her supervisors and told us that their goal was to “repatriate the child with the offending parent,which is what she did. My daughter continued her relationship with the offender. The offender was a girls soccer coach and CPS took no action against him or my daughter. Our states and Federal government are chipping away at our rights and if we let it continue we wil soon have no need for a consitution. My wife and I are self-employed partners and home school our eight year old daughter. If our daughter were in public school, she would be stranded in her “age appropiate” grade level and not be were she is now. Our daughter is reading 7th grade unassisted and assisted with the next level. She is doing 4th grade work and was going to public school one day a week where she was out performing children three and four years older. One last unsolicited opinion, if judges want to make legal decisions based on one specific case then all judges should be chastised for all the bad seeds in their profession.

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Being safe and conscious is a preferred state over a drug induced state of mind. I have no knowledge of this particular family or this specific institution, however, based on historical patterns, the way a society holds family as an institution, is the way of it with the whole nation. The one of the first things Hilter did when in power was to kill all persons in mental institutions and the elderly. The Roman Empire fell because the family as an institution did not exist.

I have read the comments here, and the recurring statement is “TIED HIM UP TO A CHAIR”. If that is the worse thing that a parent does in an attempt to support a child from hurting himself and others from abuse while providing care for the family in all areas, mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, a family is doing very well. This treatment is preferrable over being drugged all day, unable to give or receive love. No institution, regardless of how loving it is, can do that for an individual. Nor, do they.

Please understand, I do not know anything about this specific family, and I would do my homework before I submit an opinion on this specific story.

Regardless of that, the institution of the family has to be supreme in this great nation or it will no longer be great. We all have a story, which can prevent seeing all sides to an issue, lets stay focused on what the Creator tells us works, He should know, he created the family, us, and wrote the manual.

I have always been enraged at the thought of the government interfering with my family and parenting skills. God help the person or agency who tries to take my children away from me. At the first sign or mention of the possibility I will send my wife and children to stay with a friend sell everything we own and join her. Let me say that it is a sad day when you have to go on the run like a criminal for wanting to keep your own children. I have heard countless stories, read countless articles and even seen movies about the abuses of power these agencies have committed. Yes I know that they do help families and children in most instances and that these abuses are in the minority but the system needs to reorganize its methods and have sufficient checks and balances. I was abused as a child and for this reason I know that I would never hurt my children. However these agencies could use my past abuse against me and look for any evidence however circumstantial and use it out of context to take my children away from me under the “suspicion” of my wrong-doing and label it “in the best interest of the child”.

I believe these govt agencies want to help and think they are helping. If I didn’t know Jesus Christ and the Hope that is in Him, I can almost imagine being in their shoes. The underlying problem in this world is the Veil that covers people’s eyes and their trust in worldly wisdom. Prayer, hope and my passion for Christ will be the stronghold for my future generations.

[…] More recently an autistic boy was forcibly removed from his home despite the evidence being “clear that the parents have always stood by and tried to help their son.” Read about this tragic story on our blog here. […]

please help me pray for my son if you do pray . he was admitted to a hospital in streamwood IL last wednesday for agressive behavior but i’ve seen him wear the same clothes even if i already brought him clean ones , the staff at the hospital could barely keep up with all of them & i’m afraid he’s being neglected.he lost weight & i’m worried. i feel so broken hearted for this story as well , and i definitely hope that this child be released to his parents.

This is just another example of “America the free” becoming socialized and this is just the begining of our rights being taken away if we don’t start standing up and fighting, at all cost, for our rights and not just complaining about these issues. King David faced many giants as we are today and with his same faith in Christ, we too can take these giants down and fight for the future of our children.

99.99% of the time parents are the absolute best care takers of their children. There are few cases where children would be better off elsewhere. As far as restraints go, we restrain babies in high chairs, we put children in car seats. When small babies scratch their faces with their nails we put socks on their hands. We even put harnesses on our children when they could be in a dangerous situation. We as a society use restraints all the time. I think a restraint lovingly used with great care and consideration is far better than a drug to put the person in a stupor.

It is ridiculous that we have let the government think it can just come into any home and take the children away.
Sometimes I think I am going to have to buy 200 acres and put a house in the middle of it with a large fence to raise my little ones as I wish.

What is next? CPS tramping into homes to check the amount of candy vs vegetables you have in a home.

Teresa,

I’m sorry to say it sounds like our government has you exactly where they want you– very dependent on them. In order for someone to defend them in such an action with such intensity. I feel sorry for you.

Teresa,

I haven’t heard anything out of you lately. Are you still visiting this blog? Any news from your friend, if he wants to come lay out his side of the story?

I have an 8 yr old autistic grandson who is very smart but has the dis-connect that is typical of these children. I’d restrain him in a heartbeat if I thought that was the only way to keep him from hurting himself or another! He was potty trained in 2 weeks before he was 3, at 6 he was running around counting IN ITALIAN a YEAR after my daughter had rented a tape for the kids to learn! He’s been in public school and has theraphy several times a week. This child is amazing! I dare ANY institution to say they could have gotten my grandson this far! Not a chance!

Dr Underwood hit the nail on the head. People like Teresa blindly follow anything the government wants to dish out, especially when they say “it’s for the children”! Any time a government official/organization uses that phrase, we all need to run like Hell! Day after day after day, you can read in any paper where government agencies have lost/misplaced/hurt/killed children or didn’t notice the child was losing ground instead of gaining while in their care. A previous post mentioned single mothers working at these places? Not only them but anyone needing in a job. Period! Background checks? Yeah right! You have all kinds of people working in state run facilities and private ones as well. Not all places taking care of children are bad, I’m sure, but as far as the State - or CPS - is concerned, the ONLY time they should ever take a child from his home is if they truly believe the child will be dead by morning! If not, err on the side of the parents. As another blogger mentioned, not everything is as it seems!

Theresa, if you’re still out there~

Has the abuse & neglect investigation of your friend been concluded and, if so, was he found not guilty of abuse & neglect?