by John and Diane.
A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune-Utah discusses a case where a mother of a severely autistic child had to make the decision to give her child up for state custody because her insurance would not cover the treatment and services she needed to keep him at home.
An escalating series of dangerous and violent behavior made intensive treatment and therapy for her son necessary, resulting in the drastic decision for him to be institutionalized as a ward of the state.
Foster, adoptive and bio parents are also faced with issues, usually behavioral, which may force them to consider giving up a child in their household for state custody or another housing solution. Sometimes, even though from the outside it may seem to be a cold choice, or the end result of a parent simply not doing enough or trying hard enough, it is the best thing for a troubled child.
Many times a change from a home environment may indeed mean breaking ineffective disciplinary and reward cycles or co -dependent relationships and can give children an opportunity for therapeutic treatments they may not otherwise have access to. Although traumatic for a child to be taken out of a home, if the end result is a more well-adjusted, happy and successfully functioning young adult,it is hard to say it was a bad choice.
Of course, one doesn't know the end result of the decision when it is made.
Read the article about the tough decision this Utah Mom had to make, and tell us what you think....
First Published Sep 29 2012 06:17 pm • Last Updated Oct 01 2012 12:16 pm
A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune-Utah discusses a case where a mother of a severely autistic child had to make the decision to give her child up for state custody because her insurance would not cover the treatment and services she needed to keep him at home.
An escalating series of dangerous and violent behavior made intensive treatment and therapy for her son necessary, resulting in the drastic decision for him to be institutionalized as a ward of the state.
Foster, adoptive and bio parents are also faced with issues, usually behavioral, which may force them to consider giving up a child in their household for state custody or another housing solution. Sometimes, even though from the outside it may seem to be a cold choice, or the end result of a parent simply not doing enough or trying hard enough, it is the best thing for a troubled child.
Many times a change from a home environment may indeed mean breaking ineffective disciplinary and reward cycles or co -dependent relationships and can give children an opportunity for therapeutic treatments they may not otherwise have access to. Although traumatic for a child to be taken out of a home, if the end result is a more well-adjusted, happy and successfully functioning young adult,it is hard to say it was a bad choice.
Of course, one doesn't know the end result of the decision when it is made.
Read the article about the tough decision this Utah Mom had to make, and tell us what you think....
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Desperate parents surrender autistic children to state custody
Families who can’t afford mental health care, behavioral therapy, other services for their autistic kids are giving them up to the state.
By Julia Lyon | The Salt Lake Tribune
In the weeks before Garrett Lines was
hospitalized, he insisted on symmetry and separation. If he said
"goodbye" and someone responded "see you later" instead of echoing him,
he screamed. If he stepped on someone’s shadow, he ran backward to
escape. By the time he arrived at the state’s hospital for the mentally
ill, Garrett had tried to choke himself with his shirt, stuff his hand
down his throat and jam a plastic knife in a light socket, hoping to
electrocute himself.
Garrett was 12 years old. Diagnosed with
autism at the end of kindergarten, he had access to only short-term
crisis care and limited counseling due to the restrictions of his
mother’s private health insurance. Thirty-two states now require
insurance companies to cover autism treatment. But Utah is not one of them.
Read the full article here...
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