Have you ever felt hopeless? Have you ever watched a love one get so out of control you thought they or the rest of your family might be at risk because someone with special needs cannot control themselves or their meds are off and need adjusted? If you have ever had to put a loved one in the hospital due to those kinds of conditions, you find yourself trusting people like doctors, hospital staff and councilors These people are licensed, and certified to help those we love. So why does the thought of seeking help from these people scare me to death?
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Back in February my son was Baker acted and put into the Meridian CSU in Gainesville FL. While there he deliberately urinated on himself but was never bathed – my 6 year old has the right to refuse I was told. He was taken out of the hospital in socks when it was raining – again saying he has the right to refuse. He was put into an isolation room to calm down in the middle of the night after flashing all the patients and staff there…. Hmmm no choice in that it seems … I just don’t always get it …. They did nothing but order a stop medication for something I had already decided to stop giving him – seeing how it was affecting him (it was a new medication) and he was sent back home still completely out of control. But what is going on in schools and treatment facilities has become a nightmare to me.
It was just last year that my son was in Carroll County Georgia. At the very first IEP meeting they brought up how my son was running away at school – out of the building and going AWOL (I had the same problem at his daycare. I could see that Mommy trying to go to school was just too much stress for him. I dropped out of school so he would be safer than in the daycare. So at the IEP meeting I mentioned how this might not be the best place for him. Maybe he needs a special ed school. They shot me down suggesting different interventions that never worked. When I requested a special ed bus – because my son kept getting kicked off the bus – I was told they didn’t have special ed buses at their school. Ok. I know I did not get what was entitled to me through the ADA but I felt like I couldn’t fight a tidal wave. I had a teacher get very angry when I suggested a special needs bus for my son – saying my son just needs to learn to follow the bus rules. But it was the school that was not following the rules.
Now it seems there are much more dangerous situations my son could face … like being tazored by the police or even electroshock therapy. And what about the use of seclusion? There are some that say that if a child (or anyone) is put into seclusion for extended periods of time, that person can suffer from:
Prisoners who are isolated for prolonged periods of time have been known to experience "depression, despair, anxiety, rage, claustrophobia, hallucinations, problems with impulse control, and/or an impaired ability to think, concentrate, or remember." (2) Studies have also shown that isolation can cause "impaired vision and hearing... tinnitus [(ringing in the ears)], weakening of the immune system, amenorrhea [(absence of menstrual periods in women)], premature menopause... and aggressive behavior in prisoners, volunteers and animals." (1)
Previously healthy prisoners have "develop[ed] clinical symptoms usually associated with psychosis or severe affective disorders" (2) including "all types of psychiatric morbidity." (4) Many have committed suicide.
Individuals do vary in how well they can deal with living in isolation, however. (4) For prisoners with pre-existing mental or emotional disorders, living without normal human interaction, physical and mental activity and stimulation can aggravate their symptoms to levels equivalent to torture. (2), (3) In one complaint filed against the Connecticut Department of Correction in August 2003, social isolation and sensory deprivation drove some prisoners to "lash out by swallowing razors, smashing their heads into walls or cutting their flesh." (3)
So lets impose such a punishment to our children? Granted, my son has an isolation room at his school. They can put themselves into a "time out" for a duration of time or they can be forced into the ATS (Alternative To Suspension) where they are made to stand for a period of time, or put into an isolation room until the student calms down long enough to go back to class. I have seen it work for my son, but this is small amounts of time - not hours and certainly not for days. At
Villa Rica Elementary School they have put children in isolation for days.
Please be aware of what is going on at the facilities where your loved one is placed. Check out if the state you live in will treat a minor as an adult. Some children have been tazored by police. It is those who are most at risk are those with disabilities who look "normal". I feel like I can't get the good help that my son needs. I can't trust everyone who says they are a lisconsed professional. Just be careful what they are doing to "help" your loved one. Don't blindly trust.
http://www.alternet.org/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.davidicke.com/...
http://www.truecrimereport.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...